CONVENTIONAL AND NOVEL METHODS FOR PARTICULATES REDUCTION IN AUTOMOTIVE DIESEL ENGINES

The various methods investigated and applied to diesel engines for reducing particulate emissions are reviewed in the context of present and future exhaust emission legislation. These include ways to reduce soot formation and/or enhance soot oxidation in the engine cylinders, after-treatment devices either at the prototype stage or in production, as well as novel techniques which offer promise for reduction of particulate emissions in the tailpipes of automotive diesel engines. Strategies combining in-cylinder and after-treatment techniques, together with the availability of low-sulphur and oxygenated diesel fuel, are expected to satisfy the very stringent particulate emission standards proposed for the end of the century.