Oxidation Catalytic Converter and Emulsified Fuel Effects on Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine Particulate Matter Emissions

The effects of an oxidation catalytic converter (OCC), an emulsified fuel, and their combined effects on particle number and volume concentrations compared to those obtained when using a basefuel were studied. Particle size and particulate emission measurements were conducted at three operating conditions; idle (850 rpm, 35 Nm), Mode 11 (1900 rpm, 277 Nm) and Mode 9 (1900 rpm, 831 Nm) of the EPA 13 mode cycle. The individual effects of the emulsified fuel and the OCC as well as their combined effects on particle number and volume concentrations were studied at two different particle size ranges; the nuclei (less than or equal to 50 nm) and accumulation (greater than 50 nm) modes. An OCC loaded with 10 g/ft³ platinum metal (OCC1) and a 20% emulsified fuel were used for this study and a notable influence on the particle size with respect to number and volume distributions was observed. A model of the volume distribution of particulate emissions was also developed to estimate the composition of exhaust components of different size particles.