Reaction characteristics of the diesel oxidation catalyst of particulate matters from the diffusion flame of a oiler burner

The objective of this experimental study is to investigate the characteristics of the size distribution and the number concentration of PM (particulate matters) emitted from the diffusion flame of a boiler burner, which has the same type of combustion as a diesel engine. This study is performed to investigate the emission characteristics of nanoparticles generated from diffusion combustion in diesel fuel, and it considered fuel factors and the reaction characteristics of the nanoparticles on the DOC (Diesel oxidation catalyst). The factors examined in this experiment included the sulfur content in the fuel, the blend of the diesel fuel containing biodiesel and bio-ethanol, and the concentration of engine oil (0.1% and 1.0%) blended with diesel fuel. The particle size distribution of the nanoparticles exhausted from the boiler burner was measured by an SMPS (scanning mobility particle sizer). The number concentration of PM that were smaller than 70 nm in diameter greatly increased in the rear of the DOC when fuel containing 250 ppm of sulfur was used. The experiment also suggested that the particle number concentration in both the front and rear of the DOC was lower when ULSD (ultra low sulfur diesel) fuel blended with biodiesel and bio-ethanol, which are oxygenated fuels, was used than when only ULSD fuel was used. The higher the content of engine oil in the fuel, the higher the particle number concentration was in the front and rear of the catalyst. When the first dilution air temperature is increased from 30°C to 180°C, the nanoparticle number concentration dramatically dropped in the rear of the catalyst when fuel containing 250 ppm of sulfur was used, while the particle size distribution remained almost the same when the fuel with engine oil was used.     

Measurement of soot oxidation with No<Subscript>2</Subscript>-O<Subscript>2</Subscript>-H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O in a flow reactor simulating diesel engine DPF

Understanding the mechanism of carbon oxidation is important for the successful modeling of diesel particulate filter regeneration. Characteristics of soot oxidation were investigated with carbon black (Printex-U). A flow reactor system that could simulate the condition of a diesel particulate filter and diesel exhaust gas was designed. Kinetic constants were derived and the reaction mechanisms were proposed using the experimental results and a simple reaction scheme, which approximated the overall oxidation process in TPO as well as CTO. From the experiments, the apparent activation energy for carbon oxidation with NO₂-O₂-H₂O was determined to be 40±2 kJ/mol, with the first order of carbon in the range of 10∼90% oxidation and a temperature range of 250∼500°C. This value was exceedingly lower than the activation energy of NO₂-O₂ oxidation, which was 60±3 kJ/mol. When NO₂ exists with O₂ and H₂O, the reaction rate increases in proportion to NO₂. It increases nonlinearly with O₂ or H₂O concentration when the other two oxidants are fixed.