Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF) are becoming mandatory for many Heavy Duty Vehicle (HDV) and Non Road Mobile Machinery (NRMM) applications as the requirement for particulate filtration performance has increased over this past decade. In a previous study, a new generation of cordierite DPF was developed to meet the latest major emission regulations; PN-PEMS requirement for EuroVI StepE, while maintaining a lower pressure drop and high ash capacity. Despite the improvements made in the latest generation DPF material, the introduction of tighter particulate regulations demands further improvement in DPF technology. More specifically, PN emission limits for Euro7 under wide operation conditions in conjunction with PN down to 10nm, as described in the proposal from Consortium for Ultra Low Vehicle Emission (CLOVE), requires further improvement in PN filtration performance. Pressure drop, which may negatively influence the CO2 emissions, remains a key performance criteria. The DPF must also have high ash capacity per unit volume to ensure there is enough packaging space for the light off SCR, which is likely going to be essential in managing the severe NOx emissions limits. Furthermore, there is also the chance that other regions such as China and India may choose to adopt these stringent European regulations in an effort to achieve better air quality. To fulfill Euro7 requirement, DPF technologies will need to improve PN emission by more than one order of magnitude while sustaining equal or lower pressure drop and equal or higher ash capacity. This paper investigates the development of new generation Cordierite DPF, whose material concept was optimized to minimize both large and small pores to achieve a good balance between the trade-off performance of PN filtration and pressure drop. Both laboratory and engine bench tests were carried out to compare the performance of this state-of-the-art technology with the performance of the conventional material. The results are presented relative to the assumed Euro7 PN boundary conditions.
