In-flight diesel particulate matter removal using nonthermal plasma filtering

Haruhiko Yamasaki¹, Akihiro Shidara¹ Yuya Shimidzu¹, Tomoyuki Kuroki¹, Hak-Joon Kim², Masaaki Okubo^{1, *}

^* The author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Osaka Prefecture University, Japan
² Department of Environmental Machinery, Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, Republic of Korea

Abstract

The concentration of particulate matter (PM), which is present in the atmosphere, is a major environmental problem in Korea and Japan. We propose a plasma filtering method for the removal of PM or nanoparticles in flight by direct plasma application to passing PM-containing gas. The method ensures that pressure-loss is low and does not require filter regeneration or cleaning. In this method, PM is removed by the chemical reactions and electrostatic precipitation effects associated with plasma by passing the PM-containing gas through a cylindrical plasma reactor containing surface discharge electrodes. The exhaust gas emitted from a diesel engine is diluted and introduced into the plasma reactor and the PM removal efficiency is investigated using a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) apparatus. In order to examine the PM removal reactions in the reactor, the exhaust gaseous component concentrations of NOx, NO, CO, and O₂ are measured. The results indicate that no PM is observed inside the reactor and an increase in CO is detected. The combustion removal of PM using the plasma is thus confirmed. A PM removal efficiency of more than 85% is achieved when 200 -400 W of electrical input power is applied to the cylindrical plasma reactor and with an applied engine load of 0% and 25%. We demonstrated the possibility of the simultaneous reduction of PM and NOx by adjusting the plasma processing conditions.

Keywords - Diesel particulate matter, nonthermal plasma, partial collection efficiency, NOx.

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