Diesel Particulate Oxidation Model: Combined Effects of Volatiles and Fixed Carbon Combustion

Diesel particulate samples were collected from a light duty engine operated at a single speed-load point with a range of biodiesel and conventional fuel blends. The oxidation reactivity of the samples was characterized in a laboratory reactor, and BET surface area measurements were made at several points during oxidation of the fixed carbon component of both types of particulate. The fixed carbon component of biodiesel particulate has a significantly higher surface area for the initial stages of oxidation, but the surface areas for the two particulates become similar as fixed carbon oxidation proceeds beyond 40%. When fixed carbon oxidation rates are normalized to total surface area, it is possible to describe the oxidation rates of the fixed carbon portion of both types of particulates with a single set of Arrhenius parameters. The measured surface area evolution during particle oxidation was found to be inconsistent with shrinking sphere oxidation. When the oxidation model for the fixed carbon was combined with a first-order model for the release and oxidation of volatiles, it was possible to obtain good agreement with the observed oxidation rates for both types of nascent (non-devolatilized) particulates. Additional studies are underway to confirm that intermediate fuel blends behave consistently with these limiting cases.