Characteristics of DPF for Diesel Engine Fueled With Biodiesel Fuel - First Report: Self-Regeneration Behavior on Vehicle Road Test and Engine Bench Rig Test

The performance of Diesel Particulate Filter(DPF) using biodiesel fuel was evaluated in a vehicle road test and in a diesel engine bench rig. The DPF used for the tests was made of SiC honeycomb which had a soot filtering efficiency close to 100%. The DPF/diesel engine system used was not configured for continuous regeneration. Regeneration was completed by batch heating with electric power. From the result of vehicle road test, the distance between regeneration for the vehicle fueled with biodiesel fuel was longer than that fueled with petro-diesel fuel. This gain in distance was greater than what was expected from the soot reduction because of the biodiesel fuel characteristics. This observation was further investigated in diesel engine bench rig with the DPF using several biodiesel fuels with different degree of purity. From the experimental results, it was found that there was a self-regeneration of the DPF enabled by the residual potassium methoxide as catalyst from biodiesel fuel. This catalyst was used in the transesterification in the fuel preparation process.