An evaluation of particle oxidation catalyst (POC) performance and a study of particle formation for sulphur containing diesel fuels

This paper describes and analyses the overall impact of fuel sulphur content on particulate oxidation catalyst (POC) performance, focusing mainly on particulates emission reduction and the ability to regenerate. Studies were carried out for diesel fuels containing different levels of sulphur, covering the range from 6 to 340 parts per million. The results presented in this paper give an outlook on specific issues and problems associated with POC application when running on fuels containing high sulphur level. The test methodology was experimentally established and then applied for POC catalysts to run on different sulphur level fuels. Each fuel was tested on an identical fresh POC sample. It was observed that the Fuel Sulphur Content (FSC) significantly affects catalyst conversion efficiency, as well as the particle size distribution. It also has a remarkable influence on particulate matter (PM) mass accumulation inside the POC and on the ability of the POC to regenerate passively. Regarding the latter aspect, NO2 formation was also determined. Extended test results and analyses presented in this paper are presented in SAE technical paper 2012-01-0366 [1].