Background Information

                 Before any true advancement could be made in terms of solving the aforementioned problem, sufficient background research had to be conducted. The research was conducted on three specific areas:

 

1. Properties of Diesel Exhaust

2. Diesel Engines

3. Diesel Soot Filters

 

I. Properties of Diesel Exhaust:

 

                 Diesel fuel is a mixture of many different hydrocarbon molecules. The combustion, both complete and incomplete, of diesel fuel forms a complex mixture of hundreds of organic and inorganic compounds in the gas and particle phases.

 

1. Gaseous Components of Diesel Exhaust:

Carbon dioxide

Oxygen

Nitrogen

Water vapor

Carbon monoxide

Nitrogen compounds

Sulfur compounds

Low-molecular-weight hydrocarbons

 

2.  Toxicologically Relevant Gaseous Components:

Aldehydes (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein)

Benzene

1,3-butadiene

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)

Nitro-PAHs

 

3.  Particulate Component of Diesel Exhaust (Diesel Particulate   Matter - DPM):

Elemental carbon

Adsorbed organic compounds

Small amounts of sulfate, nitrate, metals,

and other trace elements.

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Cummins

Diesel Particulate Filter