Effect of an Iron Compound Added to Diesel Fuels in Both Soot Reduction Capacity and Soot Oxidation Reactivity

Abstract

This study evaluates the effect of an iron precursor incorporation (50 ppm and 1500 ppm by weight) into a commercial diesel and a laboratory-prepared diesel surrogate, not only in the in situ soot reduction capacity, but also, in the physicochemical characteristics and reactivity of this carbonaceous material towards oxidation. The in situ soot reduction capacity measurements and the Fe-containing soot sample collection for after-treatment tests were performed in a drop-tube like reactor placed inside of a vertically tubular furnace operated at 900 °C. The results indicate that as the iron content in fuel increases, the in situ soot reduction capacity increases up to 50% for commercial diesel and 42% for the diesel surrogate. However, although the soot particles collected on filters did not show significantly changes in the main chemical groups due to the fuel additive incorporation, the graphitization degree among samples differ, being structurally more ordered the soot particles from pure fuels than tho...