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In an effort of providing better understanding of regeneration mechanisms of diesel particulate matter (PM), this experimental investigation focused on evaluating the amount of heat release generated during the thermal reaction of diesel PM and the concentrations of soluble organic compounds (SOCs) dissolved in PM emissions. Differences in oxidation behaviors were observed for two different diesel PM samples: a SOC-containing PM sample and a dry soot sample with no SOCs. Both samples were collected from a cordierite particulate filter membrane in a thermal reactor connected to the exhaust pipe of a light-duty diesel engine. A differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) were used to measure the amount of heat release during oxidation, along with subsequent oxidation rates and the concentrations of SOCs dissolved in particulate samples, respectively.

The limited spatial area in conventional diesel particulate filter (DPF) systems requires frequent regenerations to remove collected particulate matter (PM) emissions, consequently resulting in higher energy consumption and potential material failure. Due to the complex geometry and difficulty in access to the internal structure of diesel particulate filters, in addition, many important characteristics in filtration processes remain unknown. In this work, therefore, the geometry of DPF membrane channels was modified basically to increase the filtration areas, and their filtration characteristics were evaluated in terms of pressure drop across the DPF membranes, effects of soot loading on pressure drop, and qualitative soot mass distribution in the membrane channels. In this evaluation, an analytical model was developed for pressure drop, which allowed a parametric study with those modified membranes.