Electrochemical Reactor for Exhaust Gas Purification

A concept for an electrochemical reactor acting as a trap for the removal of soot particles from diesel exhaust gas has been developed and presented earlier [1].

Only small scale flat plate samples tested with synthetic exhaust gas was presented. Since then, the sample size has been increased, and test on a diesel engine in a test bench has been carried out. Various concepts for the establishment of a sufficient filtering surface and for the electrical connections have been tested, and the construction of a muffler with an electrochemical reactor installed has been initiated. This is to be on a passenger car for on-road test.

The preliminary bench test indicates a soot removal efficiency of 75-90% with no accumulation of soot at the reactor, at temperatures above 250°C.

A separate project has been started to evaluate the possibilities of lean NO_x removal on a similar reactor. Results from this will be reported separately.