Effect of Drive Cycle and Gasoline Particulate Filter on the Size and Morphology of Soot Particles Emitted from a Gasoline-Direct-Injection Vehicle.

The size and morphology of particulate matter emitted from a light-duty gasoline-direct-injection (GDI) vehicle, over the FTP-75 and US06 transient drive cycles, have been characterized by transmission-electron-microscope (TEM) image analysis. To investigate the impact of gasoline particulate filters on particulate-matter emission, the results for the stock-GDI vehicle, that is, the vehicle in its original configuration, have been compared to the results for the same vehicle equipped with a catalyzed gasoline particulate filter (GPF). The stock-GDI vehicle emits graphitized fractal-like aggregates over all driving conditions. The mean projected area-equivalent diameter of these aggregates is in the 78.4-88.4 nm range and the mean diameter of primary particles varies between 24.6 and 26.6 nm. Post-GPF particles emitted over the US06 cycle appear to have an amorphous structure, and a large number of nucleation-mode particles, depicted as low-contrast ultrafine droplets, are observed in TEM images. This indicates the emission of a substantial amount of semivolatile material during the US06 cycle, most likely generated by the incomplete combustion of accumulated soot in the GPF during regeneration. The size of primary particles and soot aggregates does not vary significantly by implementing the GPF over the FTP-75 cycle; however, particles emitted by the GPF-equipped vehicle over the US06 cycle are about 20% larger than those emitted by the stock-GDI vehicle. This may be attributed to condensation of large amounts of organic material on soot aggregates. High-contrast spots, most likely solid nonvolatile cores, are observed within many of the nucleation-mode particles emitted over the US06 cycle by the GPF-equipped vehicle. These cores are either generated inside the engine or depict incipient soot particles which are partially carbonized in the exhaust line. The effect of drive cycle and the GPF on the fractal parameters of particles, such as fractal dimension and fractal prefactor, is insignificant.

Black carbon emissions in gasoline exhaust and a reduction alternative with a gasoline particulate filter.

Black carbon (BC) mass and solid particle number emissions were obtained from two pairs of gasoline direct injection (GDI) vehicles and port fuel injection (PFI) vehicles over the U.S. Federal Test Procedure 75 (FTP-75) and US06 Supplemental Federal Test Procedure (US06) drive cycles on gasoline and 10% by volume blended ethanol (E10). BC solid particles were emitted mostly during cold-start from all GDI and PFI vehicles. The reduction in ambient temperature had significant impacts on BC mass and solid particle number emissions, but larger impacts were observed on the PFI vehicles than the GDI vehicles. Over the FTP-75 phase 1 (cold-start) drive cycle, the BC mass emissions from the two GDI vehicles at 0 °F (-18 °C) varied from 57 to 143 mg/mi, which was higher than the emissions at 72 °F (22 °C; 12-29 mg/mi) by a factor of 5. For the two PFI vehicles, the BC mass emissions over the FTP-75 phase 1 drive cycle at 0 °F varied from 111 to 162 mg/mi, higher by a factor of 44-72 when compared to the BC emissions of 2-4 mg/mi at 72 °F. The use of a gasoline particulate filter (GPF) reduced BC emissions from the selected GDI vehicle by 73-88% at various ambient temperatures over the FTP-75 phase 1 drive cycle. The ambient temperature had less of an impact on particle emissions for a warmed-up engine. Over the US06 drive cycle, the GPF reduced BC mass emissions from the GDI vehicle by 59-80% at various temperatures. E10 had limited impact on BC emissions from the selected GDI and PFI vehicles during hot-starts. E10 was found to reduce BC emissions from the GDI vehicle by 15% at standard temperature and by 75% at 19 °F (-7 °C).

Assessment of particle and gaseous emissions and reductions from gasoline direct injection passenger car and light-duty truck during passive regeneration.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of two passive regenerating gasoline particulate filters (GPFs) on reducing both gaseous and particle phase pollutants from a gasoline direct inject (GDI) passenger car (PC) and light-duty truck (LDT). In the absence of filter regeneration, observations from this study are consistent with other studies demonstrating how particle number (PN), particulate matter (PM), and black carbon (BC) emissions were reduced from the two vehicles with the use of GPFs. The significance of this study was to demonstrate the ability of the GPF to mitigate gaseous and particulate pollutants during severe passive filter regeneration, which was often observed on the LDT during aggressive US06 drive cycle testing. Partial filter regeneration happened on the LDT during some FTP-75 tests, as well as on the PC during some US06 drive cycles, however, this did not impact the GPF filtration efficiency (FE) to reduce particulate and gaseous pollutants. Using a cleaner fuel with lower overall tailpipe PM emissions could potentially lead to more frequent partial regenerations. This could produce the benefit of lower exhaust back pressure during and immediately after regeneration but still provide sufficient reduction in both particle and gaseous emissions.