SAE TECHNICAL

PAPER SERIES

1999-01-0108

Diesel Exhaust Treatment - New Approaches to

Ultra Low Emission Diesel Vehicles
Hartmut Lders and Peter Stommel
FEV Motorentechnik, Aachen

Sam Geckler
FEV Engine Technology, Auburn Hills

Reprinted From: Diesel Exhaust Aftertreatment 1999

(SP-1414)

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1999-01-0108

Diesel Exhaust Treatment - New Approaches to

Ultra Low Emission Diesel Vehicles
Hartmut Lders and Peter Stommel
FEV Motorentechnik, Aachen

Sam Geckler
FEV Engine Technology, Auburn Hills
Copyright 1999 Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc.

ABSTRACT

technology, including Diesel particulate filters and NO X

catalysts, have previously been subjected to detailed
research. In this paper, some new approaches are
described, and their potential to large-scale vehicle application is assessed.

Currently, throughout the world combustion engine development is influenced by two primary concerns. First is
the increasing concern for global warming, and second is
the concern over particulate and oxides of nitrogen emissions, each of which affect the environment and human
health because of the particles' toxicity and ground level
ozone production, respectively.

1 INTRODUCTION
Because of environmental concerns associated with Diesel exhaust emissions, emission limits for Dieselpowered vehicles have been reduced throughout the
world. Figure 1 shows the emission standards currently
in force in the European Community and those to be
implemented in the near future [1].

To address the global warming issue, in late 1997, various nations approved the Kyoto Protocol to reduce CO2
emissions because of its identified contribution to the
greenhouse effect. The Diesel engine is the most efficient
power plant for mobile and stationary purposes and,
thus, Diesel engines are considered to be one alternative
to gasoline engines to reduce fuel consumption and,
thus, CO2 emissions.

1,5

Emission [g/km]

To address the emission concerns, the European Community and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) proposed emissions standards prescribing substantial reductions of NO X and PM emissions [1,2]1. As a
result of these proposed standards, reductions in particulate and NOX emissions have become major challenges
in Diesel engine development. Unfortunately, in the paradigm of Diesel engine development, ultra low emissions
and very low fuel consumption are two opposing objectives. Moreover, NOX reduction from lean exhaust is fundamentally difficult because of the excess oxygen
present. Particulate mass emissions from modern Diesel
engines are already on very low levels; however, recently
particulate numbers rather than particulate mass have
attracted much attention and, thus, further reductions are
necessary.

1,0

Currently no Limitation of
NOX as a Single Pollutant

0,5

0,0

CO

NOx

NOx + HC

PM

Figure 1. European Emission Limits

All regulated pollutants will be subjected to substantial
reductions. Worth particular scrutiny are the proposed
standards for oxides of nitrogen (NO X) and particulate
matter (PM) which might be on a critical level even for
modern Diesel engines. Emission limits for both these
pollutants are reduced by as much as 50 %.

This paper describes new approaches to ultra low emission Diesel vehicles that comply with the proposed emission standards. Advanced exhaust gas aftertreatment
1

European Emission Limits for Passenger

Diesel Vehicles
EURO 2 (currently in force)
EURO 3 (to be implemented in 2000)
EURO 4 (to be implemented in 2005)

Apart from the European Community, the United States

of America, lead by the state of California, have adopted

Numbers in parenthesis correspond to the references at the end of the paper.

the most severe emission standards. In 1997, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced proposed
light-duty LEV II emission standards listed in Table 1 [2].

Combustion
System
Steady-State
Application

Table 1.

*)

Proposed LEV II Standards*)

Category

NOX [g/mi]

PM [g/mi]

TLEV

0.6

0.04

LEV

0.07

0.01

ULEV

0.07

0.01

SULEV

0.02

0.01

Vehicle
Application
Exhaust Gas
Aftertreatment

Figure 2. Simultaneous Emissions Reduction Process

CARB proposal for a 120,000 miles (11 years) useful life

2.1 DIESEL ENGINE TECHNOLOGY Modern Diesel

engine technology has drastically changed the image of
the Diesel engine that was in the past badly reputed as a
noisy, smoky, and sluggish power plant. Today's powerful
Diesel engines combine low fuel consumption, excellent
driving performance, and superior driving comfort with
low emission characteristics. For these reasons, Diesel
engines have garnered a significant European market
share even in the automobile luxury class. Because of its
excellent driving performance, the Diesel engine has
made its arrival even in racing cars [3] - something unbelievable some years ago. Recently, a Diesel-powered
vehicle won a German 24 hour race [4].

Under the CARB proposal, NOX and PM standards for all

emission categories are significantly tightened. Beginning with the 2004 model year, all light-duty LEV and
ULEV vehicles must meet a 0.07 g/mi NOX standard to
be phased-in over a three year period. A full useful life
PM standard as low as 0.01 g/mi is proposed for lightduty Diesel vehicles and trucks less than 7,000 lbs curb
weight certifying to LEV, ULEV, and SULEV standards,
also beginning in 2004. Certainly, the SULEV proposal
will be a real challenge for Diesel vehicles.
Having identified these challenges, it is likely that most
passenger cars will achieve EURO 3 standards without
advanced aftertreatment devices such as NO X adsorber
catalysts (NAC) or Diesel particulate filters (DPF). EURO
4 and SULEV standards, however, are supposed to be
serious challenges especially for heavy-weighted vehicles, and from today's point of view many vehicles may
require aftertreatment to remove either NO X or particulates or perhaps both.

Figure 3 provides an overview of the exhaust emission

reductions that have been achieved in the last few years
in Europe. From model year '96 to model year '98 combined HC and NOX emissions, as well as particulate
emissions, were reduced by 60 % on average. These
reductions resulted primarily from careful combustion
system development together with Diesel oxidation catalyst improvements.

2 ULTRA-LOW EMISSION TECHNOLOGIES

Ultra low emissions and minimum fuel consumption, however, are targets which readily oppose each other, and
therefore, exhaust aftertreatment might play an important
role to overcome the dilemma. Emissions of oxides of
nitrogen and particulate matter are the subject of particular concern, hence advanced aftertreatment systems
focus on the reduction of these pollutants.

It is now clear that both engine and aftertreatment technology must make a significant contribution towards
achieving either EURO 4 or LEV II compliance.
Furthermore, it is now widely understood that during the
development of a Diesel engine combustion system, the
engine control and aftertreatment system technology
must be considered jointly, as depicted in Figure 2, since
modern, highly flexible engine control systems make it
possible to consider the requirements of the aftertreatment system. To comply with future emission standards it
is more important than ever to consider the typical needs
of the aftertreatment system from early in the engine
development process. If, for example, the engine is calibrated for ultra-low HC emissions, some NOX-reducing
technologies may not be effective.

2.2 DeNOx AFTERTREATMENT TECHNOLOGY A

number of DeNOx technologies have been developed.
Table 2 provides a survey of current DeNOx technologies
and typical NOX reduction rates achieved over the New
European Driving Cycle (NEDC). Maximum NOX reduction largely depends on the catalyst, the vehicle, and the
calibration; therefore, individual results may significantly
differ from those given below.

 Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology relying on Ammonia or Urea, and

0.15

Particulates [g/km]

MY 97
0.10

MY 96

NOX adsorber catalysts.

Each these technologies is discussed in the following
sections.

Euro II

MY 98

SCR Technology SCR technologies utilizing Ammonia

or Urea to control NOX are well known from stationary
power plants. Applying these technologies to transient
operating conditions appeared exceedingly difficult. Yet,
for the first time, in 1995, a SCR system based on an
aqueous Urea/water solution was demonstrated for vehicle application [7]. NOX reduction rates as high as 65 %
over the New European Driving Cycle were achieved with
this system. Over the US FTP cycle NOX reduction rates
of more than 75 % were achieved.

0.05 Euro III

Euro IV
Prototypes
0.00
0.00

0.25

0.50
0.75
1.00
HC+NOx [g/km]

1.25

1.50

Figure 3. Current Emission Status of European DI

Diesel Passenger Cars; Emissions Data from
[5]

Table 2.

DeNOx Technologies

Technology

Reductant

Maximum NOX
Reduction

Lean NOx (passive)

HC

15 % 1)

Lean NOx
(active)

HC supplement

30 % 1)

SCR

Urea, Ammonia

65 % 2)

NOX Adsorber
Catalysts

HC, CO, H 2

54 % 3)

Plasma Technolo- - / Ammonia

gies

Figure 4. Urea SCR Injection & Control System

10 / 50 % 4)

Urea SCR is a favorable technology, and its feasibility has

been successfully demonstrated. For vehicles operated
in fleets under well defined conditions, accurate maintenance and proper infrastructure (reductant availability),
an Urea SCR system relying on an aqueous Urea/water
solution might be a good solution. For passenger car
application, however, such a SCR system can not be
practical because of the weight and the volume of the
Urea/water tank required to cover practical refilling intervals.

1)

over the New European Driving Cycle, Ref.: [6]

over the New European Driving Cycle, Ref.: [7]
3) over the New European Driving Cycle, Ref.: [8]
4) Steady-State Testing, Ref.: [9]
2)

The designation Lean NOX refers to technologies relying on hydrocarbons as the reductant. Passive Lean NOX
systems use the hydrocarbons present in the raw engine
exhaust. Unfortunately, the hydrocarbon concentration in
Diesel exhaust is inherently low and, thus, maximum
NOX conversion with passive systems is currently limited
to approximately 15 %. By supplying additional hydrocarbons, e.g., by means of post-injection, maximum NOX
conversion rates can be increased to about 30 % (such
systems are referred to as active systems).

After reflecting on these results it seems prudent to envision a system that does not require water to be stored
on-board. A reductant - probably one other than Urea could be stored in a canister or a cartridge. Without the
need for additional on-board water, as much as 60 % in
reductant volume and about 70 % in reductant mass can
be saved compared to a conventional Urea/water SCR
system. With such a system, refilling intervals of about
15,000 to 30,000 km appear achievable, hence the cartridge could easily be exchanged during maintenance or
service intervals. There are at least two (2) persuasive
arguments supporting this technology:

An evolving technology for NO X removal is the non-thermal plasma device [10]. It is, however, not clear whether
non-thermal plasma technologies are suitable for vehicle
application, and research on this technology is ongoing.
The results of these investigations shall be presented in a
future paper on the technology.
When NOX conversion rates of more than 60 % are
required, only two (2) promising technologies are currently available:

this technology does not require a special fuel quality,

and
3

 it is suitable for retrofitting since direct interaction with

the engine controller is not necessary.

regeneration, significant application effort will be necessary.

For these reasons, there is ongoing work focusing on a

solid reductant technology.

Not all manufacturers will move to injection and control

systems with the flexibility required to properly control
this technology. Thus, retrofit systems are under development, i.e. systems that can be installed in the exhaust
system of indeed any Diesel engine.

NOX Adsorber Catalysts (NAC) An emerging technology is the NO X adsorber catalyst which relies on chemical adsorption of NOX in lean exhaust and periodic
regeneration under rich conditions. Principles of this
technology are described in [12,13,14]. For lean burn
gasoline engines, the NOX adsorber catalyst is currently
the most promising aftertreatment technology, and some
production direct injection gasoline vehicles already use
these catalysts.

In addition to the question of how to regenerate a NOX

adsorber catalyst on a Diesel engine, sulfur poisoning of
these catalysts is a major concern. Even with very low
fuel sulfur levels, rapid aging has been observed. It is
believed that sulfur tolerance is one of the most important
issues to resolve to make NOX adsorber catalyst technology feasible for mass production.

The primary technical concerns with this technology, in

application to Diesel engines, are its sulfur tolerance actually the lack of sulfur tolerance - and the regeneration
under rich exhaust conditions.

Air / Fuel Ratio [1]

3,0

On Diesel engines regeneration under rich conditions is

fundamentally difficult since Diesel engines readily produce black smoke under rich conditions. Steady-state
tests, however, have shown that rich Diesel engine operation is feasible without unacceptable penalties concerning smoke number as long as the combustion process is
carefully calibrated. With this method for regeneration,
HC concentrations up to 7,500 ppm and CO concentrations as high as 4 % were achieved, Figure 5, which is
sufficiently high for NOX adsorber catalyst regeneration.

Lean
Rich

2,5
2,0
1,5
1,0
0,5
0,0

1 bar

2 bar

4 bar

1 bar

2 bar

4 bar

10000

Under rich conditions, fuel consumption increases, as

shown in Figure 6. For the purpose of this initial
approach, smoke numbers of about 2.8 Bosch were
accepted as shown in Figure 6. Considering, however,
that regenerating conditions will be applied infrequently
and even then only for a few seconds, the total fuel consumption penalty and particulate emissions increase less
than 2 % for the conditions shown in Figures 5 and 6.
Further testing has indicated that the increase in particulate emissions can be reduced to levels much lower than
those shown in Figure 6.

HC [ppm]

7500
5000
2500
250
0

From the operating conditions shown above a test cycle

was derived. Testing was conducted on a steady-state
test bench with cyclic changes from lean operation
(adsorption) to rich operation (regeneration). To provide
sufficient regeneration conditions an adsorption/regeneration duration ratio of 50 sec to 2 sec was selected.

CO [%]

Figure 7 shows that the regenerating conditions applied

were sufficient to properly regenerate the NO X adsorber
catalyst. Over the cycle shown a NOX reduction efficiency of more than 90 % was achieved with a new catalyst.

2
0,15
0,10
0,05
0,00

1 bar

2 bar

4 bar

Break Mean Eff. Pressure

While regeneration of NOX adsorber catalysts is feasible

under steady-state conditions, regeneration under transient operating conditions - as is the case during actual
vehicle operation - requires a highly sophisticated control
strategy. Since the driver must not be able to detect the

Figure 5. Steady-State Lean and Rich Engine Operation

of a 2 liter Common Rail Diesel Engine at n =
2,000 rpm and BMEP = 1, 2, and 4 bar

Smoke Number [Bosch]

standards making either an active or a passive Lean NO X

catalyst appropriate for European vehicles in these categories. For special applications, even light-weight vehicles may require very high NO X reduction rates, e.g. if the
combustion process is calibrated for very low particulate
emissions.

6
Lean
Rich

5
4
3
2

Table 3.

Technology
Lean NOx
(passive)
Lean NOx
(active)
SCR
NOX Adsorber
Catalysts
Plasma Technologies

1 bar

2 bar

4 bar

BSFC [g/kWh]

1200
1000
800
600

200

2 bar

4 bar

Break Mean Eff. Pressure

Figure 6. Steady-State Lean and Rich Engine Operation
of a 2 liter Common Rail Diesel Engine at n =
2,000 rpm and BMEP = 1, 2, and 4 bar

300

NOx [ppm]

[1]

200

4
3
2
1

100
upstream NOx Adsorber Cat.

light- and medium weight vehicles

medium- and heavy-weight vehicles
medium- and heavy-weight vehicles
with flexible injection Systems
to be determined

In recent years, particle number emissions rather than

particulate mass emissions have become the subject of
controversial discussions. Recent results from health
studies imply that it is possible that particulate mass does
not properly correlated with the variety of health effects
attributed to Diesel Exhaust. Concern is instead now
focusing on nano-sized particles. Since Diesel particulate
filters have proven to be the sole technology capable of
reducing emissions of nano-sized particles by more than
two orders of magnitude, shown in Figure 8, a high
demand for DPF technology has arisen.

Adorption/ Regeneration Ratio = 25/1 sec

Rel. Air-Fuel Ratio

Preferred Application
light- and medium weight vehicles

2.3 DIESEL PARTICULATE FILTER TECHNOLOGY

For many years Diesel particulate filters (DPF) were not
considered for large scale vehicle application primarily
because there was no technical need. A short-lived
approach was introduced to the U.S.-market by a German manufacturer in the mid 80's. Recently a French
manufacturer announced that it would bring DPFs into
mass production in the year 2000 [11]. Clearly, the DPF
has seen rising interest since the proposal of ultra low
particulate standards.

400

1 bar

Applications of DeNOx Technologies

Filtration of particulate matter as such is not a problem

since a number of filtering materials are available. The
major problem associated with DPF technology remains
the removal of particulates from the filter (regeneration).
Though DPF regeneration has been subjected to extensive development work for more than 15 years, a fully
convincing solution for passenger car application is not
yet available.

downstream NOx Adsorber Cat.

Time
Figure 7. Adsorption/Regeneration Test Cycle at n =
2,000 rpm, BMEP = 2 bar, Exhaust Gas
Temperature = 300 C (NO X Adsorber Catalyst
provided by Engelhard Technologies)

Active DPF Regeneration Systems Active systems rely

on a secondary energy supply, by means of electrical
heaters or fuel burners, to heat the exhaust gas to temperatures at which soot burns. Most of the active systems
available today suffer from high costs and high technical
and application effort. For these reasons active systems
are not a preferred choice for passenger car application.

Which DeNOx-Technology to Use? Table 3 provides an

overview of the preferred applications for various DeNOx
technologies, but Table 3 does not cover all possible
applications.
For light- and medium-weight vehicles, NO X reduction of
less than 30 % should be sufficient to meet the EURO 4

original EGR Line

6,9 Liter Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine,

Engine Speed = 1.440 rpm, Full Load
without Exhaust Aftertreatment
with Diesel Particulate Filter

modified EGR Line

4-Cylinder
Diesel Engine

Muffler

Oxidation Catalyst
Diesel Particulate Filter

Figure 9. Exhaust System of the Test Vehicle

10

100
Particle Diameter [nm]

0,15

1000
Particulates [g/km]

Particle Number [1/cm]

10

10
9
10
8
10
7
10
6
10
5
10
4
10
3
10
2
10
1
10

Figure 8. Effect of a Diesel Particulate Filter on Particle

Number Emission
Passive DPF Regeneration Systems Passive systems
fully rely on catalytic effects, e.g. from additives blended
into the fuel, additives injected into the DPF, or catalytic
elements on the DPF surface (coated DPF). With these
systems, DPF regeneration at temperatures as low as
350 C was observed. There are, however, indications
that it might not succeed in covering the low temperature
operating range of today's modern Diesel engines.

THC+NOx = 25 % Production

0,10

Vehicle

PM = 95 %

0,05 EURO 3

Modified EGR +
Lean NOx Catalyst +
Diesel Particulate Filter

EURO 4

0,00
0,0

0,5

1,0

1,5

THC + NOx [g/km]

Figure 10. Performance of a DPF System on a Light Duty
Diesel Vehicle over the New European Driving
Cycle

Another approach to passively regenerating DPFs is to

install a catalyst upstream of the DPF whose products
are capable of regenerating the DPF. One such system,
known as a continuously regenerating Diesel particulate
filter, is commercially available. With this system, a Ptbased catalyst is utilized to convert NO to NO2 which
then is utilized to oxidize the soot trapped in the DPF [15].
If ultra-low sulfur Diesel fuel (<< 50 wt.-ppm S) is available, this system functions properly in a temperature
range from about 200 C to 500 C, which is indeed suitable for most modern Diesel engines. The only obvious
concern is the availability of ultra-low sulfur Diesel fuel.

The vehicle is currently in use for transportation services

with approximately 75 % urban driving and the remainder
extra-urban and Autobahn driving conditions. Figure 11
depicts typical backpressure and exhaust gas temperature traces from a 20 hour road test. The mean backpressure was about 55 mbar. It should be noted, however,
that the vehicle's exhaust gas temperature range is quite
favorable for such a system which has an operating range
from approximately 200 C to 500 C.

Backpressure [mbar] / Temperature [C]

A light duty Diesel truck has been equipped with a similar

system. The modifications included:
installation of a Pt-based oxidation catalyst,
installation of a Diesel particulate filter downstream
the oxidation catalyst,
cooled and filtered EGR, and
use of ultra-low sulfur Diesel fuel.
Figure 9 depicts a schematic of the vehicle's exhaust system.
With these modifications the vehicle, which previously
complied with the EURO I Standard, operated far below
the EURO 4 particulate emission levels as shown in Figure 10. Although a 25 % reduction of (THC+NOX) emissions was achieved by using this system, EURO 3
emission standards were not achieved because of the
very high engine out emission level of the vehicle.

600
Exhaust Gas Temperature
400

200
Backpressure
0
0

10

15

Time [h]
Figure 11. Typical Backpressure and Exhaust Gas
Temperature Traces, Mileage: 500 km
6

20

trapped in a DPF can be easily oxidized, e.g. by one of

the following reactions:

C + NO2
C + O3
C + 2 OH

600

400

Exhaust Gas Temperature

200

10
Time [h]

15

CO + NO
CO + O2
CO + H2O

0,8

Backpressure

Figure 13 depicts test results from a 2.5 l DI Diesel

engine (n = 1,500 rpm, BMEP = 2 bar; T = 230 C).
Energy consumption of the prototype plasma device was
1 kW. The results identify the successful regeneration of
the DPF when the exhaust gas was treated with the
plasma.

20

Backpressure [bar]

Backpressure [mbar] / Temperature [C]

Figure 12 shows again typical backpressure and exhaust

gas temperature traces from a road test but recorded
after approximately 5,000 km. The average backpressure
level is still very low indicating the excellent soot oxidation
performance of the system.

Figure 12. Typical Backpressure and Exhaust Gas

Temperature Traces, Mileage: 5,000 km
For vehicles operating under well defined conditions this
type of system may very well be an acceptable technical
solution. It is especially true that light-weight vehicles,
which normally have exhaust gas temperatures significantly lower than those of the light-duty truck described,
may need another solution since low temperature operation is not favorable for this technology.

untreated exhaust gas

plasma-treated exhaust gas

0,6
0,4
0,2
0,0

Time
Figure 13. Backpressure Traces with and w/o PlasmaTreatment (2.5 l DI Diesel Engine, n = 1,500
rpm, BMEP = 2 bar, T = 230 C)

DPF regeneration by means of reactive species as

described previously appears to be a promising
approach. Since current technologies require sulfur free
Diesel fuel and exhaust gas temperatures sufficiently
high to form the reactive species, new approaches that
do not require special fuel qualities were investigated
with regard to the feasibility of DPF regeneration.

Though the results appear quite promising there remains

significant work to be done in the development of this
technology. Today's systems must be reduced in both
size and energy consumption.

Non-Thermal Plasma Technologies A new approach to

exhaust gas aftertreatment is available in non-thermal
plasma technologies. In a non thermal plasma device, a
high local electrical field is applied to generate microdischarges in the exhaust gas which directly produce highly
energetic electrons. Because of the short duration of the
microdischarges (< 100 nsec) the electrons and the bulk
exhaust gas do not thermally equilibrate and, thus, the
temperature of the bulk exhaust gas remains essentially
constant. By electron-impact dissociation and ionization
of exhaust gas molecules, reactive species, e.g. O3,
O(2)*, OH and NO2 are produced which either promote
oxidation or reduction reactions.

Engine-Controlled DPF Regeneration Systems When

describing NOX adsorber technology, it was mentioned
that today's Diesel engine provides highly flexible injection and control systems. Using these systems, the combustion process can be tuned to obtain the proper
regenerating conditions as occasionally required by
either a NOX adsorber catalysts or a DPF. For DPF
regeneration, the combustion process can be occasionally adjusted to achieve exhaust gas temperatures high
enough to oxidize the soot trapped in the DPF, e.g. by
varying injection timing. Of course this must be done
under both steady-state and transient operation without
any impact on driveability. Thus, similar to NO X adsorber
catalyst regeneration, some application effort is necessary.

As described before, this technology was originally developed to reduce NOX in a lean exhaust environment. It
was, however, discovered that the process can be
designed to enhance the oxidizing pathway rather than
the reducing pathway, and thereby, form oxidizing species
like NO2, O3, O*, and OH. Using these species soot

Although, in contrast to NOX adsorber catalyst regeneration, DPF regeneration appears to be easier. With commercially available pressure sensors a closed-loop
control strategy can be realized. Furthermore, if the
7

engine produces additional smoke during regeneration,

the DPF will trap the smoke and reduces it to invisible levels.

Particulate Emission Level [%]

100

Significant fuel consumption penalties are not anticipated

with the application of DPF's because modern Diesel
engine DPF regeneration will be rarely required and then
only for a very short duration.
Engine-controlled DPF regeneration appears to be one of
the most promising regeneration technologies now available for development. However, up to this point in time,
this approach is only applicable to common rail Diesel
engines.

100 % = Today's Emission Levels

80

Engine Technology

60
40
DPF Technology

NOx Adsorber

20 or SCR
Technology

Lean NOx
Technology

0
0

Combined DPF Regeneration Systems Another promising approach to DPF regeneration may be the combination of a passive system with an active one. In this case,
the fuel additive or the coated DPF covers the medium
and high temperature operating range and an additional
active system functions as a stopgap measure only if the
engine is operated at low load conditions resulting in
excessive backpressure.

20

40
60
80
NOx Emission Level [%]

100

Figure 14. Emissions Reduction Potentials

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge Engelhard Technologies for supporting the work on NO X adsorber catalyst
regeneration.

3 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The authors also thank Johnson Matthey Catalytic Systems Division for supporting the work included on lightduty Diesel truck particulate regeneration.

The EURO 4 and LEV II standards demand a significant

reduction in NO X and particulate emissions from Diesel
engines for compliance. Furthermore particle number
emissions might become subject to future emission regulations.

REFERENCES
1. EC Press Release 98/230 (July 07, 1998)

Some new exhaust gas aftertreatment approaches for

ultra low emission Diesel engines were investigated with
regard to suitability for large-scale vehicle application.
Though feasibility of NOX adsorber catalysts and enginecontrolled DPF regeneration has been demonstrated in
principle there remains much work to resolve the driveability issue when using these systems. Moreover, the
durability of these approaches has not been addressed
sufficiently with significant concern remaining for the
durability of NOX adsorber catalysts.

2. California Air Resources Board Press Release

3. n.n. Motorsport Information; Auto News - The Internet Auto
Magazin (December 1998)
4. Backhaus, R. Diesel-Rennmotor mit Direkteinspritzung von
BMW, MTZ Motortechnische Zeitschrift 59, Issue 9, Page
578 - 579 (1998)
5. Type Approval
(March 1998)

Data,

Kraftfahrtbundesamt

Flensburg

6. Diesel Lean NOX Catalyst Technologies, SAE Special

Paper No. 1211 (October 1996)

For NOX reduction, a SCR system relying on a solid

reductant is a promising approach when NOX reduction
rates of more than 50% are required. This technologys
insensitivity toward fuel sulfur and the lack of control system interaction are the most convincing arguments to
develop this approach.

7. Lders, H.; Backes, R.; Hthwohl, G.; Ketcher, D.A.; Horrocks, R.W., Hurley, R.G.; Hammerle, R.H. An Urea Lean
NOX Catalyst System for Light Duty Diesel vehicles, SAEPaper No. 952493 (1995)
8. Krmer, M.; Abthoff, J.; Duvinage, F.; Krutzsch, B.; Liebscher, Th. Chancen von Abgasreinigungskonzepten fr
den Pkw-Dieselmotor mit schwefelfreiem Kraftstoff, 19.
Internationales Wiener Motorensymposium (1998)

Diesel combustion system development, in the form of

state-of-art engine technologies, and Diesel exhaust
aftertreatment can independently and substantially
reduce both particulate emissions and NO X emissions.
Together, however, they can reduce Diesel engines emissions to very low levels as shown schematically in Figure
14.

9. Non-Themal Plasma Session on 1998 SAE International

Fall Fuels & Lubricants Meeting and Exposition
10. Hentschel, K.; Wolters, P.; Lepperhoff, G. Lean-Combustion
Spark-Ignition Engine Exhaust Aftertreatment Using Non
Thermal Plasma, SAE-Paper No. 982512 (1998)

14. Brogan, M.S.; Clark, A.D.; Brisley, R.J. Recent Progress in

NOX Trap Technology, SAE-Paper No. 980933 (1998)

11. Engine Technology International, Issue 11 (1998)

12. Burk, P.; Punke, A.; Dahle, U. Future Aftertreatment Strategies for Gasoline Lean Burn Engines, Graz Conference
Engine and Environment (1997)

15. Warren, J.J.; Allanson, R.; Hawker, P.N.; Wilkins, A.J.J.

Effects of Aftertreatment on Particulate Matter when using
the CRT, Global Emission Management, Issue 7 (1998)

13. Strehlau, W.; Hhne, J.; Gbel, U.; Trillaart, J.A.A.; Mller,
W.; Lox, E. New Developments in the Catalytic Exhaust
Gas Aftertreatment of Lean Burn Engines, Graz Conference Engine and Environment (1997)