Sustainable Mobility

Technical and environmental challenges for the automotive sector

Week 3 Session 5 Emissions and Aftertreatment

systems: Pollutant reduction at source
Prakash Chandra Dewangan

IFPEN / IFP School 2014

In order to reduce the pollutants, there are two options; first, reduce where the pollutants are
formed, that is to say, reduction at source or at the engine. To do this, we could work on engine
design, geometries, dimensions etc.; or, add specific technologies to the engine; or we could
include alternative combustion as we discussed in the previous video. We could also work on how
to use the engine at different conditions known as calibration; and also, on how we control the
engine in different circumstances.

The second option is to let the pollutants be produced in the engines and treated later with special
systems known as aftertreatment systems.
In general, the pollutants are reduced with the combination of these two options.

In the discussion of the first option, examples of some of the main technologies which are part of
engine design today will be discussed. Everything else, combustion, calibration and controls are out
of the scope of this introductory coursework.
A recap of pollutant formation: from the discussion of pollutant formation, we know that pollutants
are either the product of incomplete combustion or the by-product of combustion.
Also, we know that the gas composition and temperature together guide the combustion process
as seen on the right of this slide.
We have also seen that CO is produced in rich combustion and HC is produced due to incomplete
combustion. Sometimes, especially in gasoline engines, fuel is trapped in engine corners where the

W3 S5 Emissions and aftertreatment systems2 p. 1

IFPEN / IFP School 2014

flame does not reach it during combustion giving HC emissions. Soot is a product of a very rich mix
at a high temperature, and NOx is a product of a lean mix at a very high temperature.
To reduce pollutants at source, we must manage both gas composition and temperature during
combustion.
We will mainly discuss technologies for soot and NOx reduction at source. Because today emissions
are a bigger problem for diesel engines than for gasoline engines, and as we have already seen,
soot and NOx are the main emissions for diesel.

The first example is Exhaust Gas Recirculation or EGR. This technology is mainly used to reduce
NOx at source.
As the name suggests, part of the exhaust gases are reintroduced at the entrance of the engine.
Due to CO 2 produced in the combustion, there is an excess of CO 2 in the exhaust gases; therefore,
using EGR, the amount of CO 2 in the mixture inside the engine increases and as a result the relative
amount of O 2 reduces. As CO 2 is not involved in the combustion, EGR increases the fraction of
unreactive gases in the mixture. These unreactive gases act as a heat sink during combustion and as
a result, combustion temperature goes down.

W3 S5 Emissions and aftertreatment systems2 p. 2

IFPEN / IFP School 2014

As the temperature goes down, NOx decreases, as we can see in the graph. Although the desired
effect is shown by the arrow on the graph below:

the actual effect of EGR is as in the graph below. As a result, combustion enters the soot zone,
resulting in an increase in soot and, in turn, increased smoke. This is the down side of EGR

EGR is a standard for modern diesel engines and is increasingly being used in modern gasoline
engines with direct injection.

W3 S5 Emissions and aftertreatment systems2 p. 3

IFPEN / IFP School 2014

As a second example of pollutant reduction technologies, we will discuss the Common Rail Direct
Injection system; also known as CRDi.
It is mainly for soot reduction. The idea is to inject the fuel at a very high pressure into the engine.
The pressure can go as high as 2000 bar for diesel engines. Fuel injected with this high pressure
atomizes rapidly giving very small droplets which mix quickly with the air around the jet. It can be
seen in the blue picture (below) of the simulation of high pressure jet injection in a gas. In the
middle, you can see a typical Common Rail system with injectors in green and a common rail
attached to them at the back.

In the case of diesel engines, as the jet is at a very high pressure, it could reach the walls causing
droplet deposit at the wall. To avoid this, a swirl motion is introduced inside the engine.
The use of swirl and high pressure injection ensures better mixing, which as a consequence avoids
pockets of rich zones.

W3 S5 Emissions and aftertreatment systems2 p. 4

IFPEN / IFP School 2014

Consequently, local richness decreases, as shown by the arrow in the graph below, and this reduces
soot.

However, in reality, instead of following the arrow in the graph above, we follow the arrow in the
graph below, towards the zone of NOx formation. Therefore, as one of the drawbacks of the CRDi
system, NOx rises.

The last technology we will see is the alternative fuels.

Fuels like ethanol and natural gas are less carbon intense in comparison to gasoline or diesel. They
have a higher number of hydrogen atoms per carbon atom. Therefore, during their combustion,
more H 2 O is produced than CO 2 .
Consequently, they tend to produce lower CO 2 when compared with the combustion of gasoline or
diesel.
Also, these gases have smaller and simpler molecules giving cleaner combustion. This results in less
soot formation.

W3 S5 Emissions and aftertreatment systems2 p. 5

IFPEN / IFP School 2014

Due to these advantages, these fuels mixed with more conventional fuels are often used in certain
engine technologies. These mixed fuels are called dual fuels; prominent examples being ethanol
with gasoline; natural gas with gasoline; and natural gas with diesel.

W3 S5 Emissions and aftertreatment systems2 p. 6

IFPEN / IFP School 2014