Combustion Modeling Of Soot In Ceramic Filter Traps For Diesel Engines

Abstract

A new approach to the use of ceramic traps as the core of a retro-fit system to limit diesel particulates emitted by buses and heavy-duty trucks in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area is presented, along with a mathematical modeling of soot combustion inside the trap. The main objective is to attain the emission levels set forth by the EPA for 1998 both on PM and NOx, without encountering the problems identified in traditional approaches using ceramic filters. These can be avoided by the use of a catalyzed filter and an inverse regenerating flow which obtains its high temperature from a thermal energy reservoir (TER). The system represents a new hardware capable of performing the filtering of Diesel soot and the later regeneration of the filter using a simple and inexpensive control system.