PNNL

Abstract

Diesel offers higher fuel efficiency, but produces higher exhaust particulate matter. Diesel particulate filters are presently the most efficient means to reduce these emissions. These filters typically trap particles in two basic modes: at the beginning of the exposure cycle the particles are captured in the filter holes, and at longer times the particles form a "cake" on which particles are trapped. Eventually the "cake" removed by oxidation and the cycle is repeated. We have investigated the properties and behavior of two commonly used filters: silicon carbide (SiC) and cordierite (DuraTrap® RC) by exposing them to nearly-spherical ammonium sulfate particles. We show that the transition from deep bed filtration to "cake" filtration can easily be identified by recording the change in pressure across the filters as a function of exposure. We investigated performance of these filters as a function of flow rate and particle size. The filters trap small and large particles more efficiently than particles that are ~80 to 200 nm in aerodynamic diameter. A comparison between the experimental data and a simulation using incompressible lattice-Boltzmann model shows very good qualitative agreement, but the model overpredicts the filter’s trapping efficiency.