Methods and systems are provided for partially regenerating a lean NO.sub.x trap in response to an engine shutdown request. In one example, an engine shutdown is delayed so that a low-temperature storing region of the lean NO.sub.x trap is regenerated without regenerating a high-temperature storing region of the lean NO.sub.x trap. A battery charge is replenished during the shutdown, wherein the charge may be consumed during a subsequent engine operation.

An after treatment method is disclosed. The after treatment method may include: operating an engine at a lean air/fuel ratio; calculating an amount of NH.sub.3 stored in an SCR catalyst; calculating an amount of NOx which will flow into the SCR catalyst; determining whether conversion to a rich air/fuel ratio is desired; calculating, when the conversion to the rich air/fuel ratio is desired, a rich duration for which the rich air/fuel ratio is maintained and a target air/fuel ratio; and operating the engine at the target air/fuel ratio for the rich duration.

An exhaust purification system of an internal combustion engine 50 comprises: an adsorbent 20 adsorbing HC and NOx in exhaust gas, a catalyst 24 removing HC and NOx, an air-fuel ratio control part 31 configured to control an air-fuel ratio of exhaust gas discharged from an engine body of the internal combustion engine to the exhaust passage, and a temperature calculating part 32 configured to calculate a temperature of the adsorbent. At the adsorbent, a desorption temperature of HC is higher than a desorption temperature of NOx. The air-fuel ratio control part is configured to make the air-fuel ratio a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio when a temperature of the adsorbent is in the vicinity of the desorption temperature of NOx, then make the air-fuel ratio leaner than the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio when the temperature of the adsorbent reaches the vicinity of the desorption temperature of HC.

An exhaust emission control device for an engine is provided with a first purifying catalyst including an HC adsorbent that adsorbs HC at a low temperature and releases HC at a high temperature and a diesel oxidation catalyst capable of oxidizing HC, a second purifying catalyst including a NOx catalyst capable of storing NOx contained in exhaust, a NOx catalyst regenerator that regenerates the NOx catalyst while raising the temperature of the NOx catalyst, and HC controller that decides whether the amount of adsorbed HC that is HC adsorbed by the HC adsorbent is equal to or more than a preset reference amount and, when the amount of adsorbed HC is decided to be equal to or more than the reference amount, raises the temperature of the first purifying catalyst.

According to one or more embodiments described herein, an exhaust system for treating exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine in a motor vehicle includes a passive NOx absorber (PNA) device, and a model-based controller that controls an amount of NOx stored by the PNA device. Controlling of the amount of NOx stored includes computing a predicted NOx storage level of the PNA device using a prediction model of the PNA device, and in response to the predicted NOx storage level of the PNA device being greater than a predetermined cold-start threshold, raising a temperature of the exhaust gas by changing an operation of the internal combustion engine.

A catalyst state estimation apparatus includes a first sensor, a memory and a processor. The first sensor is configured to acquire information about a catalyst that removes a toxic substance in an exhaust gas, the first sensor being provided in a main passage into which the exhaust gas flows from an internal combustion engine. The memory is configured to previously store a catalyst state estimation model that includes at least one mathematical model. The processor is configured to estimate a removal performance of the catalyst by applying the information about the catalyst acquired by the first sensor to the catalyst state estimation model.

An emissions control system for a motor vehicle that includes an internal combustion engine includes a first selective catalytic reduction (SCR) device and a reductant injector, The system further includes a model-based controller that is configured to calculate a target amount of reductant to inject to maintain a predetermined ratio between an amount of NH3 and an amount of NOx at the outlet of the first SCR device, and to send a command for receipt by the reductant injector to inject the calculated amount of reductant. The model-based controller is further configured to send a command for receipt by an engine controller to influence NOx production by the engine by modifying an engine operating parameter, based on a calculated target amount of NOx at the inlet of the first SCR device.

Methods and systems are provided for monitoring a NOx storage capacity of a passive NOx adsorption catalyst (PNA) included in an exhaust gas after-treatment system of an engine. In one example, a method may include, after an engine cold start and prior to an exhaust gas temperature reaching an upper threshold temperature, indicating degradation of the PNA based on an amount of NOx measured downstream of the PNA during a fuel cut event and while the exhaust gas temperature is between a lower threshold temperature and the upper threshold temperature. In this way, degradation of the NOx storage capacity may be inferred based on an amount of NOx released from the PNA and independent of a NOx storage measurement.

The present disclosure relates to ECU for an exhaust purging system comprises: a NOx catalyst provided in an exhaust passage; and a second composite sensor detecting an air-fuel ratio in a downstream of the NOx catalyst, the ECU, which performs a routine of a purge control, calculates the sum of values of the reductant that have been supplied to the NOx catalyst since the start of the routine of the purge control, determines whether the sum is greater than or equal to an end determination threshold, determines whether the air-fuel ratio is less than or equal to a predetermined value, and ends the routine of the purge control in response to an earlier one of a first affirmative determination that the sum is greater than or equal to the end determination threshold and a second affirmative determination that the air-fuel ratio is less than or equal to the predetermined value.

An after treatment method is disclosed. The after treatment method may include: operating an engine at a lean air/fuel ratio; calculating an amount of NH.sub.3 stored in an SCR catalyst; calculating an amount of NOx which will flow into the SCR catalyst; determining whether conversion to a rich air/fuel ratio is desired; calculating, when the conversion to the rich air/fuel ratio is desired, a rich duration for which the rich air/fuel ratio is maintained and a target air/fuel ratio; and operating the engine at the target air/fuel ratio for the rich duration.