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Why have i got a diesel particulate filter ?
Why have I got a DPF or Diesel Particulate Filter ?
Diesel engines are the main power system for passenger vehicles, light / heavy commercial vehicles and industry in Europe. These reliable, fuel-efficient, high torque engines power many of the world's heavy-duty trucks, buses, and non-road vehicles such as construction and agriculture machineries.
While diesel engines have many advantages, they have the disadvantage of emitting significant amounts of toxic particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the atmosphere. Health experts have concluded that those pollutants adversely affect human health and contribute to acid rain, ground-level ozone and reduced visibility. Studies have shown that exposure to diesel exhaust causes lung damage and respiratory problems and there is increasing evidence that diesel emissions may cause cancer in humans.
A diesel particulate filter, sometimes called a DPF, is a device designed to remove diesel particulate matter or soot from the exhaust gas of a diesel engine. Wall-flow diesel particulate filters usually remove 85% or more of the soot, and can at times (heavily loaded condition) attain soot removal efficiencies of close to 100%. A diesel-powered vehicle equipped with a functioning filter will emit no visible smoke from its exhaust pipe.
In addition to collecting the particulate, a method must exist to clean the filter. Some filters are single-use (disposable), while others are designed to burn off the accumulated particulate, either through the use of a catalyst (passive), or through an active technology, such as a fuel burner which heats the filter to soot combustion temperatures, through engine modifications (the engine is set to run a certain specific way when the filter load reaches a pre-determined level, either to heat the exhaust gases, or to produce high amounts of NOx, which will oxidize the particulates at relatively low temperatures), or through other methods. This is known as "filter regeneration".
