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India BS6 Stage2 (2023) regulations demand all gasoline direct injection (GDI) vehicles to meet particulate number emissions (PN) below 6x10+11# per km. Gasoline particulate filters (GPF) are a proven technology and enable high PN filtration efficiencies throughout the entire vehicle lifetime. One challenge for GPF applications could be the changing emission performance characteristics as a function of mileage due to collected ash and/or soot deposits with implications on back pressure losses. The main objective of this technical contribution is to study the above-mentioned challenges while applying Indian driving conditions and typical Indian climate and other ambient conditions. The substrate technology selected for this study is a high porosity GPF designed to enable the integration of a three-way functionality into the GPF, commonly described as catalyzed GPF (cGPF).

Governing bodies world-wide are setting increasingly tighter emission standards to help improve air quality. US and Californian LEV/ULEV standards are pace setting, European Stage II legislation has just become effective. In Brazil, the upcoming 1997 standards are also demanding for tighter emission control. The monolithic ceramic honeycomb catalytic converter -for more than the past 20 years- has been a reliable key element in the automotive emission control systems. In order to help meet tightened emission regulation as well to satisfy even more stringent durability requirement, an advanced thinwall ceramic Celcor XT has been developed for increased geometric surface area and reduced backpressure. The product properties as well as FTP and ECE emission and durability test results are being described in this paper. Converter system durability is also determined by robust canning and mounting systems. A durable mounting concept, especially for preconverters, is being described.

As the official proposal for emission regulation Euro 7 has been released by European Commission, PN above 10nm is taken into consideration for the ultrafine particulate emissions control. The challenges of GPF filtration efficiency emerge for the light-duty manufactures to meet the future emission standards. In the present study, a China 6 compliant vehicle was tested to reveal its performance over the China 6 standards and potential to meet the upcoming Euro 7. Three GPF product types (Gen 1, Gen 2, and concept Gen 3) were mounted to the tested vehicle. WLTC tests were conducted on chassis dynamometer in laboratory as well as a self-designed aggressive cycle (“Base Cycle”) tests. To explore the GPFs performance for PN emissions above 10nm against the proposed limit 6.0E11 #/km, PN emission above 10nm were measured in our laboratory tests for both engine out and tailpipe as well as the PN emission above 23nm.

With the increasing number of automobiles, the worldwide problem of air pollution is becoming more serious. The necessity of reducing tail-pipe emissions is as high as ever, and in countries all over the world the regulations are becoming stricter. The emissions at times such as after engine cold start, when the three-way catalyst (TWC) has not warmed up, accounts for the majority of the emissions of these pollutants from vehicles. This is caused by the characteristic of the TWC that if a specific temperature is not exceeded, TWC cannot purify the emissions. In other words, if the catalyst could be warmed up at an early stage after engine start, this would provide a major contribution to reducing the emissions. Therefore, this research is focused on the substrate weight and investigated carrying out major weight reduction by making the porosity of the substrate larger than that of conventional products.

The key diesel emission control papers of the last 12 months have been summarized. In addition, the emerging US and European light-duty and heavy-duty tailpipe regulations are compared. Results are reported on light-duty diesel filtration regeneration systems and experiences, including effects of ash build-up and some recent modeling work. On the heavy-duty side, optimization of SCR catalysts and systems are described, as well as experiences with the first integrated SCR/filter systems, which are already achieving “Euro V” 2008 standards. An update on NOx adsorbers is also provided. The results with new NOx formulations are described, as well as the system performance in a light-duty diesel application.

This paper gives a comprehensive overview of the current state-of-the-art in diesel emission control. The nature of diesel particulates is summarized. The variety of diesel particulate filter regeneration strategies that will become so important to filter application are reviewed. Filter retrofit and durability issues are addressed. DeNOx catalysts, SCR, NOx traps for diesel, and non-thermal plasma methods are summarized. Integrated NOx/PM systems are described. And reduction of exhaust toxics is discussed. The paper covers all major conferences in the year 2000 that occurred in the US and Europe. US and Europe.

Extruded metal honeycombs are used as electrically heated catalysts (EHCs). The durability requirements of this application make demands on high surface area, thin cross-section metal honeycombs. Significant durability improvements over previous extruded metal honeycomb EHCs have been achieved by material and package design changes. The product redesign was supported by finite element models and extensive testing. The redesigned EHC has passed severe laboratory and field testing. The tests include electrical cycling to 1000°C/1600 cycles, hot vibration to 60g/900°C and demanding on-vehicle exposure. Excellent durability of the extruded metal honeycomb has been demonstrated.

The motorcycle emissions regulations for both two-stroke and four-stroke engines, which are receiving worldwide attention, will go into effect in the very near future. To meet these regulations, the motorcycles will require a catalyst in conjunction with the muffler due to space limitations. The combination of high engine speeds, high vibrational acceleration, high HC and CO emissions, high oxidation exotherms, and stringent durability requirements, points to cordierite ceramic substrate as an ideal catalyst support. However, as an integral unit within the muffler, its packaging design must be capable of withstanding isothermal operating conditions which may exceed the upper intumescent temperature limit of the ceramic mat. This paper describes a durable packaging design for the ceramic catalyst which employs a hybrid ceramic mat, special end rings and gaskets, and high strength stainless steel can.

Multi-scale computational chemistry methods based on the ultra-accelerated quantum chemical molecular dynamics (UA-QCMD) are applied to investigate electronic and atomistic roles of cordierite substrate in sintering of washcoated automotive catalysts. It is demonstrated that the UA-QCMD method is effective in performing quantum chemical molecular dynamics calculations of crystals of cordierite, Al₂O₃ and CeZrO₄ (hereafter denoted as CZ). It is around 10,000,000 times faster than a conventional first-principles molecular dynamics method based on density-functional theory (DFT). Also, the accuracy of the UA-QCMD method is demonstrated to be as high as that of DFT. On the basis of these confirmations and comparison, we performed extensive quantum chemical molecular dynamics calculations of surfaces of cordierite, Al₂O₃ and CZ, and interfaces of Al₂O₃ and CZ with cordierite at various temperatures.

The gasoline particulate filter (GPF) represents a practical solution for particulate emissions control in light-duty gasoline-fueled vehicles. It is also seen as an essential technology in North America to meet the upcoming US EPA tailpipe emission regulation, as proposed in the “Multi-pollutant Rule for Model Year 2027”. The goal of this study was to introduce advanced, uncoated GPF products and measure their particulate mass (PM) reduction performance within the existing US EPA FTP vehicle testing procedures, as detailed in Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 1066. Various state-of-the-art GPF products were characterized for their microstructure properties with lab-bench checks for pressure drop and filtration efficiency, then pre-conditioned with an EPA-recommended 1500 mile on-road break-in, and finally were tested on an AWD vehicle chassis-dyno emissions test cell at both 25°C and -7°C ambient conditions.

The ceramic wall-flow filter has now been globally commercialized for aftertreatment systems in light-duty gasoline engine powered vehicles. This technology, known as the gasoline particulate filter (GPF), represents a durable solution for particulate emissions control. The goal of this study was to track the evolution of tailpipe particulate and gaseous emissions of a 4-cylinder gasoline turbocharged direct injected (GTDI) 2018 North American (NA) mild-hybrid light-duty SUV, from a fresh state to the 4,000-mile, EPA certification mileage level. For this purpose, a production TWC + GPF aftertreatment system designed for a China 6b-compliant variant of this test vehicle was retrofitted in place of the North American Tier 3 Bin 85 TWC-only system. Chassis dyno emissions testing was performed at predetermined mileage points with real-world, on-road driving conducted for the necessary mileage accumulation.

With stricter emissions standards, low back pressure requirements, and 100,000 mile durability specifications, ceramic catalysts have undergone significant developments over the past few years. The thrust in the ceramics area has centered on thin-wall structures to minimize back pressure and on high cell density for rapid light-off in close-coupled applications. The thin-wall structures are extruded from low expansion cordierite ceramic with adequate strength and thermal shock resistance equivalent to those of standard cordierite substrate. Examples of thin-wall substrate include 350XT which is extruded from a very low expansion dense cordierite ceramic, and 400/4 and 600/4 cell structures extruded from a low expansion modified cordierite ceramic. This paper will focus on the high fatigue resistance, excellent conversion efficiency, and low back pressure of 350 XT substrates with advanced washcoat system.

High temperature modulus of rupture (MOR) data, published previously, show that the ceramic catalyst supports get stronger with temperature due to the absence of water vapor and closure of microcracks which would otherwise act as stress concentrators [1, 2 and 3]*. The increased MOR value is partially responsible for the excellent durability of ceramic catalyst supports at high temperature. In this paper, we will present the compressive strength data of ceramic substrates at high temperature, namely the crush strength along B-axis and biaxial compressive strength of the whole substrate. Since the honeycomb strength is directly related to that of the individual cell wall, the compressive strength should also increase with temperature similar to the modulus of rupture. Accordingly, the ceramic substrates are capable of supporting higher mounting pressures exerted by the intumescent mat at high temperature [4].

A production calibrated GTDI 1.6L Ford Fusion was used to demonstrate low HC, CO, NOx, PM (particulate mass), and PN (particulate number) emissions using advanced catalyst technologies with newly developed high porosity substrates and coated GPFs (gasoline particulate filters). The exhaust system consisted of 1.2 liters of TWC (three way catalyst) in the close-coupled position, and 1.6L of coated GPF in the underfloor position. The catalysts were engine-aged on a dynamometer to simulate 150K miles of road aging. Results indicate that ULEV70 emissions can be achieved at ∼$40 of PGM, while also demonstrating PM tailpipe performance far below the proposed California Air Resources Board (CARB) LEV III limit of 1 mg/mi. Along with PM and PN analysis, exhaust system backpressure is also presented with various GPF designs.

One approach to the remediation of NOx generated under lean automotive engine conditions is its controlled storage and then periodic release and reaction under enriched conditions. This process is being considered for automotive exhaust systems that will be operated pre–dominantly lean for reasons of fuel economy. Because of the special characteristics of alkali and alkaline earth elements in the presence of NOx, they are being considered for use, in conjunction with γ–alumina–based washcoats and precious metal catalysts, as NOx catalyst coatings on cellular supports. It is known that alumino–silicates will react with alkali and alkaline earth elements to form stable ceramic phases when mixtures of the components are held in direct contact at elevated temperatures.

The adoption of head-up displays (HUDs) is increasing in modern automobiles. Yet integrating this technology into vehicles with standard windshield (WS) laminates can create negative effects for drivers, primarily due to the thickness of glass used. The double ghosting in HUD images is typically overcome by employing a wedged PVB between the two glass plies of the laminate. Another solution is to reduce the thickness of the glass without impacting the overall windshield toughness. Although this still requires the use of a wedged PVB to eliminate HUD ghosting, the thinner glass provides opportunity to increase the image size. However, reducing the thickness of a soda-lime glass (SLG) ply or plies in a conventional soda-lime glass (SLG) laminate can significantly impact the robustness of the laminate to external impact events.

Low mass extruded electrically heated catalysts (EHC) followed directly by light-off and main converters resulted in non-methane hydrocarbon emissions (NMHC) between .020 and .023 g/mi at power levels as low as 1 kw and energy levels as low as 4 whr. These results were achieved on a 1993, 2.2 liter vehicle. The success of this system is due to rapid heat up of the catalyzed surface areas of both the heater and light-off converter. The energy added to the exhaust from both the heater and the light-off is then efficiently transferred to the main converter. In addition, the impact of power and energy on NMHC levels was determined. The Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicle (ULEV) standard was also achieved with uncatalyzed heaters and on a 1990, 3.8 L vehicle. The new California Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) and Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) standards require a significant reduction in tail pipe emissions compared to current standards.

As the China 6 light duty vehicle emission regulation is being implemented, PN becomes a challenge for vehicle type-approval emission tests. WLTC has replaced NEDC as the Type-I test cycle on the chassis dynamometer with more dynamic driving events. In addition, on-road RDE test is a challenge to calibrate the engine to meet tailpipe PN emissions because of the nature of the on-road conditions, i.e. varying ambient temperature, driving dynamics, altitude, etc. In response to China 6 requirements, GPF technology has been introduced. In this study, we pulled four China 6 compliant gasoline vehicles for the PN emission survey. The selected vehicles covered typical engine technologies including GDI/MPI with natural aspiration/turbo charger, representing the state of the art of the local engine capability. On one hand, it helps to build insight into the status of China 6 engine emission control technology through WLTC and RTS95 tests.

Particulate emission from diesel engines is one of the most important pollutants in urban areas. As a result, particulate emission control from urban bus diesel engines using particle filter technology is being evaluated at several locations in the US. A project entitled “Clean Diesel Demonstration Program” has been initiated by NY City Transit under the supervision of NY State DEC and with active participation from several industrial partners. Under this program, several NY City transit buses with DDC Series 50 engines have been equipped with continuously regenerating diesel particulate filter system and are operating with ultra low sulfur diesel (< 30 ppm S) in transit service in Manhattan since February 2000. These buses are being evaluated over a 8-9 month period for operations, maintainability and durability of the particulate filter.

In urban areas, particulate emission from diesel engines is one of the pollutants of most concern. As a result, particulate emission control from urban bus diesel engines using particle filter technology is being evaluated at several locations in the US. A project entitled, “Clean Diesel Vehicle Air Quality Project” has been initiated by NY City Transit under the supervision of NYSDEC and with active participation from several industry partners. Under this program, 25 NY City transit buses with DDC Series 50 engines have been equipped with continuously regenerating diesel particulate filter systems and have been operating with ultra low sulfur diesel (< 30 ppm S) in transit service in Manhattan since February 2000. These buses were evaluated over a 9 month period for operations, maintainability and durability of the particulate filter.