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The combination of advanced combustion with advanced selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalyst formulations was studied in the work presented here to determine the impact of the unique hydrocarbon (HC) emissions from premixed charge compression ignition (PCCI) combustion on SCR performance. Catalyst core samples cut from full size commercial Fe- and Cu-zeolite SCR catalysts were exposed to a slipstream of raw engine exhaust from a 1.9-liter 4-cylinder diesel engine operating in conventional and PCCI combustion modes. The zeolites which form the basis of these catalysts are different with the Cu-based catalyst made on a chabazite zeolite which las smaller pore structures relative to the Fe-based catalyst. Subsequent to exposure, bench flow reactor characterization of performance and hydrocarbon release and oxidation enabled evaluation of overall impacts from the engine exhaust.

An experimental study was performed to develop a more fundamental understanding of the effects of secondary air injection (SAI) on exhaust gas emissions and catalyst light-off characteristics during cold start of a modern SI engine. The effects of engine operating parameters and various secondary air injection strategies such as spark retardation, fuel enrichment, secondary air injection location and air flow rate were investigated to understand the mixing, heat loss, and thermal and catalytic oxidation processes associated with SAI. Time-resolved HC, CO and CO₂ concentrations were tracked from the cylinder exit to the catalytic converter outlet and converted to time-resolved mass emissions by applying an instantaneous exhaust mass flow rate model. A phenomenological model of exhaust heat transfer combined with the gas composition analysis was also developed to define the thermal and chemical energy state of the exhaust gas with SAI.

Direct injection spark-ignition (DISI) gasoline engines can offer better fuel economy and higher performance over their port fuel-injected counterparts, and are now appearing increasingly in more U.S. vehicles. Small displacement, turbocharged DISI engines are likely to be used in lieu of large displacement engines, particularly in light-duty trucks and sport utility vehicles, to meet fuel economy standards for 2016. In addition to changes in gasoline engine technology, fuel composition may increase in ethanol content beyond the 10% allowed by current law due to the Renewable Fuels Standard passed as part of the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA). In this study, we present the results of an emissions analysis of a U.S.-legal stoichiometric, turbocharged DISI vehicle, operating on ethanol blends, with an emphasis on detailed particulate matter (PM) characterization.

Lean NOx Trap (LNT) catalysts can effectively reduce NOx from lean engine exhaust. Significant research for LNTs in diesel engine applications has been performed and has led to commercialization of the technology. For lean gasoline engine applications, advanced direct injection engines have led to a renewed interest in the potential for lean gasoline vehicles and, thereby, a renewed demand for lean NOx control. To understand the gasoline-based reductant chemistry during regeneration, a BMW lean gasoline vehicle has been studied on a chassis dynamometer. Exhaust samples were collected and analyzed for key reductant species such as H₂, CO, NH₃, and hydrocarbons during transient drive cycles. The relation of the reductant species to LNT performance will be discussed. Furthermore, the challenges of NOx storage in the lean gasoline application are reviewed.

Engine-out HC emissions from a PFI spark ignition engine were measured using a gas chromatograph and a flame ionization detector (FID). Two port fuel injectors were used respectively for ethanol and gasoline so that the delivered fuel was comprised of 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% (by volume) of ethanol. Tests were run at 1.5, 3.8 and 7.5 bar NIMEP and two speeds (1500 and 2500 rpm). The main species identified with pure gasoline were partial reaction products (e.g. methane and ethyne) and aromatics, whereas with ethanol/gasoline mixtures, substantial amounts of ethanol and acetaldehyde were detected. Indeed, using pure ethanol, 74% of total HC moles were oxygenates. In addition, the molar ratio of ethanol to acetaldehyde was determined to be 5.5 to 1. The amount (as mole fraction of total HC moles) of exhaust aromatics decreased linearly with increasing ethanol in the fuel, while oxygenate species correspondingly increased.

Ash, primarily derived from diesel engine lubricants, accumulates in diesel particulate filters directly affecting the filter's pressure drop sensitivity to soot accumulation, thus impacting regeneration frequency and fuel economy. After approximately 33,000 miles of equivalent on-road aging, ash comprises more than half of the material accumulated in a typical cordierite filter. Ash accumulation reduces the effective filtration area, resulting in higher local soot loads toward the front of the filter. At a typical ash cleaning interval of 150,000 miles, ash more than doubles the filter's pressure drop sensitivity to soot, in addition to raising the pressure drop level itself. In order to evaluate the effects of lubricant-derived ash on DPF pressure drop performance, a novel accelerated ash loading system was employed to generate the ash and load the DPFs under carefully-controlled exhaust conditions.

A transient, one-dimensional lean NOx trap (LNT) model is described and implemented for vehicle systems simulations. The model accounts for conservation of chemical species and thermal energy, and includes the effects of O₂ storage and NOx storage (in the form of nitrites and nitrates). Nitrites and nitrates are formed by diffusion of NO and NO₂, respectively, into sorbent particles, and reaction rates are controlled by chemical kinetics and solid-phase diffusion. The model also accounts for thermal aging and sulfation by means of empirical correlations, which have been derived from laboratory experiments. Example simulation results using the Powertrain Systems Analysis Toolkit (PSAT) are presented.

Mechanisms of NH₃ generation using LNT-like catalysts have been studied in a bench reactor over a wide range of temperatures, flow rates, reformer catalyst types and synthetic exhaust-gas compositions. The experiments showed that the on board production of sufficient quantities of ammonia on board for SCR operation appeared feasible, and the results identified the range of conditions for the efficient generation of ammonia. In addition, the effects of reformer catalysts using the water-gas-shift reaction as an in-situ source of the required hydrogen for the reactions are also illustrated. Computations of the NH₃ and NOx kinetics have also been carried out and are presented. Design and impregnation of the SCR catalyst in proximity to the ammonia source is the next logical step. A heated synthetic-exhaust gas flow bench was used for the experiments under carefully controlled simulated exhaust compositions.

Ash accumulation in diesel particulate filters, mostly from essential lubricant additives, decreases the filter's soot storage capacity, adversely affects fuel economy, and negatively impacts the filter's service life. While the adverse effects of ash accumulation on DPF performance are well known, the underlying mechanisms controlling these effects are not. To address these issues, results of detailed measurements with specially formulated lubricants, correlating ash properties to individual lubricant additives and their effects on DPF pressure drop, are presented. Investigations using the specially-formulated lubricants showed ash consisting primarily of calcium sulfates to exhibit significantly increased flow resistance as opposed to ash primarily composed of zinc phosphates. Furthermore, ash accumulated along the filer walls was found to be packed approximately 25% denser than ash accumulated in the channel end-plugs.

Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI) is an engine combustion strategy that utilizes in-cylinder fuel blending to produce low NOx and PM emissions while maintaining high thermal efficiency. Previous RCCI research has been investigated in single-cylinder heavy-duty engines [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. The current study investigates RCCI operation in a light-duty multi-cylinder engine over a wide number of operating points representing vehicle operation over the US EPA FTP test. Similarly, previous RCCI engine experiments have used petroleum based fuels such as ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel (ULSD) and gasoline, with some work done using high percentages of biofuels, namely E85 [7]. The current study was conducted to examine RCCI performance with moderate biofuel blends, such as E20 and B20, as compared to conventional gasoline and ULSD.

Lignin by-products from biorefineries has the potential to provide a low-cost alternative to petroleum-based precursors to manufacture carbon fiber, which can be combined with a binding matrix to produce a structural material with much greater specific strength and specific stiffness than conventional materials such as steel and aluminum. The market for carbon fiber is universally projected to grow exponentially to fill the needs of clean energy technologies such as wind turbines and to improve the fuel economies in vehicles through lightweighting. In addition to cellulosic biofuel production, lignin-based carbon fiber production coupled with biorefineries may provide $2,400 to $3,600 added value dry Mg−1 of biomass for vehicle applications. Compared to producing ethanol alone, the addition of lignin-derived carbon fiber could increase biorefinery gross revenue by 30% to 300%.

A commercial three-way catalyst (TWC) was evaluated for ammonia (NH3) generation on a 2.0-liter BMW lean burn gasoline direct injection engine as a component in a passive ammonia selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system. The passive NH3 SCR system is a potential low cost approach for controlling nitrogen oxides (NOX) emissions from lean burn gasoline engines. In this system, NH3 is generated over a close-coupled TWC during periodic slightly rich engine operation and subsequently stored on an underfloor SCR catalyst. Upon switching to lean, NOX passes through the TWC and is reduced by the stored NH3 on the SCR catalyst. NH3 generation was evaluated at different air-fuel equivalence ratios at multiple engine speed and load conditions. Near complete conversion of NOX to NH3 was achieved at λ=0.96 for nearly all conditions studied. At the λ=0.96 condition, HC emissions were relatively minimal, but CO emissions were significant.

Two hybrid powertrain configurations, including parallel and series hybrids, were simulated for fuel economy, component energy loss, and emissions control in Class 8 trucks over both city and highway driving conditions. A comprehensive set of component models describing engine fuel consumption, emissions control, battery energy, and accessory power demand interactions was developed and integrated with the simulated hybrid trucks to identify heavy-duty (HD) hybrid technology barriers. The results show that series hybrid is absolutely negative for fuel-economy improvement of long-haul trucks due to an efficiency penalty associated with the dual-step conversions of energy (i.e. mechanical to electric to mechanical).

A central challenge for efficient auto-ignition controlled low-temperature gasoline combustion (LTGC) engines has been achieving the combustion phasing needed to reach stable performance over a wide operating regime. The negative valve overlap (NVO) strategy has been explored as a way to improve combustion stability through a combination of charge heating and altered reactivity via a recompression stroke with a pilot fuel injection. The study objective was to analyze the thermal and chemical effects on NVO-period energy recovery. The analysis leveraged experimental gas sampling results obtained from a single-cylinder LTGC engine along with cylinder pressure measurements and custom data reduction methods used to estimate period thermodynamic properties. The engine was fueled by either iso-octane or ethanol, and operated under sweeps of NVO-period oxygen concentration, injection timing, and fueling rate.

Fuel-specific differences in exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) dilution tolerance are studied in a modern, direct-injection single-cylinder research engine. A total of 6 model fuel blends are examined at a constant research octane number (RON) of 95 using n-heptane, isooctane, toluene, and ethanol. Laminar flame speeds for these mixtures, which are calculated using two different methods (an energy fraction mixing rule and a detailed kinetic simulation), span a range of about 6 cm/s. A nominal load of 350 kPa IMEPg at 2000 rpm is maintained with constant fueling and varying CA50 from 8-20 CAD aTDCf. EGR is increased until a COV of IMEP of 5% is reached. The results illustrate that flame speed affects EGR dilution tolerance; fuels with increased flame speeds have increased EGR tolerance. Specifically, flame speed correlates most closely to the initial flame kernel growth, measured as the time of ignition to 5% mass fraction burned.

This work examines the effect of valve timing during cold crank-start and cold fast-idle (1200 rpm, 2 bar NIMEP) on the emissions of hydrocarbons (HC) and particulate mass and number (PM/PN). Four different cam-phaser configurations are studied in detail: 1. Baseline stock valve timing. 2. Late intake opening/closing. 3. Early exhaust opening/closing. 4. Late intake phasing combined with early exhaust phasing. Delaying the intake valve opening improves the mixture formation process and results in more than 25% reduction of the HC and of the PM/PN emissions during cold crank-start. Early exhaust valve phasing results in a deterioration of the HC and PM/PN emissions performance during cold crank-start. Nevertheless, early exhaust valve phasing slightly improves the HC emissions and substantially reduces the particulate emissions at cold fast-idle.

The latent heat-of-vaporization (HoV) of blends of biofuel and hydrocarbon components into gasolines has recently experienced expanded interest because of the potential for increased HoV to increase fuel knock resistance in direct-injection (DI) engines. Several studies have been conducted, with some studies identifying an additional anti-knock benefit from HoV and others failing to arrive at the same conclusion. Consideration of these studies holistically shows that they can be grouped according to the level of fuel octane sensitivity variation within their fuel matrices. When comparing fuels of different octane sensitivity significant additional anti-knock benefits associated with HoV are sometimes observed. Studies that fix the octane sensitivity find that HoV does not produce additional anti-knock benefit. New studies were performed at ORNL and NREL to further investigate the relationship between HoV and octane sensitivity.

Lean gasoline engines offer greater fuel economy than the common stoichiometric gasoline engine, but the current three way catalyst (TWC) on stoichiometric engines is unable to control nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions in oxidizing exhaust. For these lean gasoline engines, lean NOX emission control is required to meet existing Tier 2 and upcoming Tier 3 emission regulations set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). While urea-based selective catalytic reduction (SCR) has proven effective in controlling NOX from diesel engines, the urea storage and delivery components can add significant size and cost. As such, onboard NH3 production via a passive SCR approach is of interest. In a passive SCR system, NH3 is generated over a close-coupled TWC during periodic slightly rich engine operation and subsequently stored on an underfloor SCR catalyst. Upon switching to lean operation, NOX passes through the TWC and is reduced by the stored NH3 on the SCR catalyst.

The increasing use of gasoline direct injection (GDI) engines coupled with the implementation of new particulate matter (PM) and particle number (PN) emissions regulations requires new emissions control strategies. Gasoline particulate filters (GPFs) present one approach to reduce particle emissions. Although primarily composed of combustible material which may be removed through oxidation, particle also contains incombustible components or ash. Over the service life of the filter the accumulation of ash causes an increase in exhaust backpressure, and limits the useful life of the GPF. This study utilized an accelerated aging system to generate elevated ash levels by injecting lubricant oil with the gasoline fuel into a burner system. GPFs were aged to a series of levels representing filter life up to 150,000 miles (240,000 km). The impact of ash on the filter pressure drop and on its sensitivity to soot accumulation was investigated at specific ash levels.

Low temperature combustion engine technologies are being investigated for high efficiency and low emissions. However, such engine technologies often produce higher engine-out hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions, and their operating range is limited by the fuel properties. In this study, two different fuels, a US market gasoline containing 10% ethanol (RON 92 E10) and a higher reactivity gasoline (RON 80 E0), were compared on Delphi’s second generation Gasoline Direct-Injection Compression Ignition (Gen 2.0 GDCI) multi-cylinder engine. The engine was evaluated at three operating points ranging from a light load condition (800 rpm/2 bar IMEPg) to medium load conditions (1500 rpm/6 bar and 2000 rpm/10 bar IMEPg). The engine was equipped with two oxidation catalysts, between which was located the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) inlet. Samples were taken at engine-out, between the catalysts, and at tailpipe locations.