Technical Paper
Spray Characterization of the Urea-Water Solution (UWS) Injected in a Hot Air Stream Analogous to SCR System Operating Conditions
2019-04-02
2019-01-0738
The Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system has great potential in reducing NOx emissions. The urea-water solution (UWS) is the preferred method on vehicles for obtaining the ammonia, the required reductant for SCR. The UWS spray is necessary to transform exhaust gas into nitrogen and water and plays an important role in the performance of this system. The UWS needs to be properly mixed with the exhaust gas coming from the engine before entering the SCR, therefore the solution must be injected in the exhaust pipe in a way that it completely vaporizes in order to reduce deposit formation and guaranteeing a proper functioning and durability of the NOx reduction system. Achieving complete vaporization of the UWS spray is not an easy task, mainly due to reduced package space. Another challenge for converting UWS to ammonia is the latent energy in the exhaust.