Demonstration of Diesel Engine Air Emissions Reduction Technologies
Abstract
Diesel engines are widely used throughout the Department of Defense (DoD) for powering tactical and nontactical vehicles and vessels, off-road vehicles and equipment, engine-generator sets, aircraft ground-support equipment, and a variety of other applications. Although diesel engines are known to emit several types of pollutants into the atmosphere, human health concerns regarding the penetration of the small particulate matter (PM) into the deeper regions of the lungs have greatly increased interest in diesel PM emissions in the recent past. PM emissions are regulated as a criteria pollutant by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards established by the Clean Air Act (CAA). Although most regulations are directed at the certification of new diesel engines, increasingly, emphasis is being placed on in-service engines. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has issued PM control regulations requiring the retrofit of school buses, garbage trucks, and offroad vehicles. To address these compliance requirements, many exhaust gas treatment devices are coming onto the market, but the selection of the optimal one (which also must meet the approval of applicable regulatory bodies) depends on several factors that must be evaluated for each application. This project demonstrated two diesel engine exhaust gas treatment devices believed to have the potential for assisting the DoD in meeting applicable PM regulatory requirements. In both cases, the technology consists of a high-temperature filter designed to remove the PM from the exhaust stream. The difference between the two filter designs involves the filter pore size and thus their ability to capture the PM emissions (50% vs. 85% PM reduction), as well as their method for regeneration. Both filters include the ability for in-use regeneration, the difference is the fact that one is regenerated passively, using only the heat of the engine, while the other is actively regenerated using direct fuel injection into the filter.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA606994
Entities
People
- Norman Helgeson
Organizations
- Environmental Security Technology Certification Program