Temperature swing adsorption and selective catalytic reduction NOx removal system

A vehicle, comprising:

• an internal combustion engine producing exhaust during operation;
• an NOx adsorber having channels for the exhaust and configured to receive the exhaust from the internal combustion engine;
• valves and conduits being configured to channel exhaust from the internal combustion engine through the NOx adsorber and out of the vehicle during an adsorption cycle and being further configured to interrupt the flow of exhaust from the internal combustion engine to the NOx adsorber and, in conjunction with a fan, recirculate gas through the NOx adsorber during a regeneration cycle;
• valves and conduits configured to selectively channel ambient air through the NOx adsorber during a cooling cycle.

A vehicle, comprising:

• an internal combustion engine producing exhaust during operation;
• an NOx adsorber having channels for the exhaust and configured to receive the exhaust from the internal combustion engine;
• valves and conduits being configured to channel exhaust from the internal combustion engine through the NOx adsorber and out of the vehicle during an adsorption cycle and being further configured to interrupt the flow of exhaust from the internal combustion engine to the NOx adsorber and, in conjunction with a fan, recirculate gas through the NOx adsorber during a regeneration cycle;
• a heating system configured to heat recirculating gas, the heating system having a structure selected from the group consisting of electrical resistance heaters and fluid heat exchangers, the heating system being located outside the NOx adsorber and functional to heat the NOx adsorber through the medium of the recirculating gas.

A method of reducing the amount of NOx in the exhaust of a vehicle, comprising:

• passing the exhaust over a first NOx adsorption bed;
• substantially isolating the bed from the exhaust;
• heating the adsorption bed to desorb NOx;
• combining the desorbed NOx with a reductant selected from the group consisting of synthesis gas products, ammonia, hydrocarbons, and oxygenated hydrocarbons to form a gas mixture;
• passing the gas mixture over a catalyst to induce a reaction that reduces NOx to N2
• further comprising cooling the first NOx adsorption bed following desorption by flowing ambient air through the bed.