Reactivation of a commercial diesel oxidation catalyst by acid washing.

The catalytic activity of samples taken from an oxidation catalyst mounted on diesel-driven automobiles and aged under road conditions was recovered to a significant extent by washing with a dilute solution of citric acid. The characterization of samples arising from a fresh, a vehicle-aged, and a regenerated catalyst was carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Relatively high levels of S and P, in the form of aluminum sulfate and phosphate, respectively, together with contaminant Si were detected in the used catalyst.