Methods in current practice

Diesel Particulate Filter:

Wall-flow diesel particulate filters usually remove 85% or more of the soot, and under certain
conditions can attain soot removal efficiencies approaching 100%. Some filters are singleuse, intended for disposal and replacement once full of accumulated ash. Others are designed
to burn off the accumulated particulate either passively through the use of a catalyst or by
active means such as a fuel burner which heats the filter to soot combustion temperatures.
This is accomplished by engine programming to run (when the filter is full) in a manner that
elevates exhaust temperature In conjunction with an extra fuel injector in the exhaust stream
that injects fuel to react with a catalyst element to burn off accumulated soot and convert it to
ash where it is stored in the DPF filter, or through other methods. This is known as "filter
regeneration". Cleaning is also required as part of periodic maintenance, and it must be done
carefully to avoid damaging the filter. Failure of fuel injectors or turbochargers resulting in
contamination of the filter with raw diesel or engine oil can also necessitate cleaning. The
regeneration process occurs at road speeds higher than can generally be attained on city
streets; vehicles driven exclusively at low speeds in urban traffic can require periodic trips at
higher speeds to clean out the DPF. If the driver ignores the warning light and waits too long
to operate the vehicle above 40 miles per hour (64 km/h), the DPF may not regenerate
properly, and continued operation past that point may spoil the DPF completely so it must be
replaced. Some newer diesel engines, namely those installed in combination vehicles, can
also perform what is called a Parked Regeneration, where the engine increases RPM to
around 1400 while parked, to increase the temperature of the exhaust.
Exhaust Gas Recirculation:

In modern diesel engines, the EGR gas is cooled with a heat exchanger to allow the
introduction of a greater mass of recirculated gas. Unlike SI engines, diesels are not limited
by the need for a contiguous flame front; furthermore, since diesels always operate with
excess air, they benefit from EGR rates as high as 50% (at idle, when there is otherwise a

large excess of air) in controlling NOx emissions. Exhaust recirculated back into the cylinder
can increase engine wear as carbon particulate wash past the rings and into the oil.
Since diesel engines are unthrottled, EGR does not lower throttling losses in the way that it
does for SI engines. Exhaust gaslargely carbon dioxide and water vapourhas a
higher specific heat than air, so it still serves to lower peak combustion temperatures.
However, adding EGR to a diesel reduces the specific heat ratio of the combustion gases in
the power stroke. This reduces the amount of power that can be extracted by the piston. EGR
also tends to reduce the amount of fuel burned in the power stroke. This is evident by the
increase in particulate emissions that corresponds to an increase in EGR.
Particulate matter (mainly carbon) that is not burned in the power stroke is wasted energy. By
feeding the lower oxygen exhaust gas into the intake, diesel EGR systems lower combustion
temperature, reducing emissions of NOx. This makes combustion less efficient,
compromising economy and power. Diesel EGR also increases soot production, though this is
masked by the simultaneous introduction of diesel particulate filters. EGR systems can also
add abrasive contaminants and increase engine oil acidity, which in turn can reduce engine
longevity.

Selective Catalytic Reduction:

Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) is a means of converting nitrogen oxides, also referred to
as NOx with the aid of a catalyst into diatomic nitrogen, N2, and water, H2O. A
gaseous reductant, typically anhydrous ammonia, aqueous ammonia or urea, is added to a
stream of flue or exhaust gas and is adsorbed onto a catalyst. Carbon dioxide, CO2 is a
reaction product when urea is used as the reductant. Diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) is an aqueous
urea solution made with 32.5% high-purity urea and 67.5% deionised. DEF is used as a
consumable in selective catalytic reduction (SCR) in order to lower NOx concentration in
the diesel exhaust emissions from diesel engines

Air Pollution Reduction System Setup:

Physical matter, as in soot and other particulate matters, that is a major constituent of diesel
exhaust, is the second of most harmful constituent of the diesel exhaust. Air pollution
reduction system is a prototype of a system that we suggested, which was to be installed at a
traffic junction where most of the vehicles found are heavy duty diesel vehicles. This system
inhales the exhaust from the atmosphere near the vehicles and passes it through different
layers of filters, at the end of which physical matter as in suspended particulate matter, diesel
particulate matter, soot, etc is filtered. Physically corrected air comes out of the system at the
outlet as per the requirements of PUC. The system is powered by solar energy and battery.
The system is supposedly helpful in reducing the effects of inhaling the particulate matter and
soot on the human body.

Methodology

The work was carried out in four phases:

3.2.1

Phase 1

Drawing of hopper, outlet duct, enclosure.

Drawings of the setup.

Decision on selection of materials required as per setup.

Selection of solar various components(solar panel, battery, dc blower, etc).

3.2.2

Phase 2
Purchasing of MS sheets.

Cutting of MS sheets as per drawing.

Fabrication of hopper, outlet duct and enclosure.

Fabrication of stand for solar panel and battery.

3.2.3

Phase 3

Purchasing of solar panel, DC blower, battery, filters, solar controller, etc.

Assembly of the setup as per the drawing.

Final changes to the enclosure for exhaust inlet.

Completion of circuit powering the setup.

Brought the smoke detector machine on rent.

3.2.4

Phase 4

Experimentation

Smoke meter was placed near the silencer of the experiment vehicle for taking the
readings of smoke density according to the hart ridge units.

The setup was placed near the experiment vehicle and silencer was connected to the
inlet of the setup.

The smoke meter was placed at the outlet of the setup for taking the readings of
smoke density after filtration of exhaust.

Comparison of the readings before and after the application of the setup.

Constructional Features

The structure of the system is made up of MS sheets. The inlet pipe is a flexible rubber pipe,
connected to the enclosure. A hopper is placed at the centre inside the enclosure. At the end
of the hopper, that is at the top of the enclosure, a DC blower is stationed for the suction of
exhaust. An outlet duct is connected to the casing of this dc blower to ensure the exit of
filtered exhaust at a safe distance. The dc blower is connected in series with the solar panel,
solar collector and the battery. Solar panels power the battery and the battery powers the dc
blower. Each component of the system is explained below.

1.Hopper
In general, a hopper is used to guide & stack. In this system we have employed the hopper
for the same function, but by placing it in a inverted way. The main function of hopper is to
guide the exhaust to the inlet of DC blower. Hopper was fabricated from MS Sheet of 1mm
thickness.
2. Outlet Duct
Outlet duct is connected at the outlet of DC blower. The purpose of the duct is to guide the
filtered exhaust coming out of the blower to a safe distance. Outlet duct was fabricated from
MS Sheet of 1mm thickness.
3. Enclosure of the setup
The main purpose of the enclosure is not to allow the exhaust to come out of the system
before it is filtered. The inlet of the system is attached to one of the walls of the enclosure.
Enclosure of the setup was fabricated from MS Sheet of 1mm thickness.
4. Solar Panel, Solar Controller, Battery
PV panel is made of poly crystalline silicon cell. We used the solar panel
for charging the battery in order to run the DC blower. Solar controller is
used to limit the rate at which the electric current is drawn from or added

to the batteries. This helps in preventing overcharging of battery &

protects against from over voltage, to increase the performance and life
span of the battery. There are electrochemical cells that are imparted in
the battery which convert chemical energy into electrical energy.
5. DC Blower:
DC blower is used for suction of the exhaust that is guided via the inverted hopper. The DC
blower is powered by the battery.

TESTING & SUMMARY OF RESULTS

Testing:
For the sake of testing we needed a vehicle that used diesel for fuel. One of the college bus
was made available to us. All the following observations and readings were taken from the
college bus. A smoke meter was brought on rent for two days for the testing.
1.The diesel engine (college bus) was started.
2.The smoke meter pipe was inserted in the silencer of the bus and exhaust smoke density
was measured.
3.Keeping the engine on, the silencer of the bus was inserted in the inlet pipe of the enclosure
of setup.
4. Exhaust was made to pass through the filtration system with the help of suction created by
the blower.
5.Smoke meter was connected to the outlet pipe of the system and smoke density was

measured again.
6.The densities of the direct exhaust gas and filtered gas were compared.

Observation:
The unit of the smoke density is Hart ridge unit.
Obs.
no
1
2
3
4
5

Time
duration(min)
2
4
6
8
10

At silencer

At outlet duct

end
92
91
90
90
90

69
67
67
67
66

Percentage

of

density reduced
25%
26.37%
25.55%
25.55%
26.66%

1. After testing, it was observed that the smoke density of the experiment
vehicle was found to be way over the acceptable value of hart ridge unit.
2. The observations show that the readings of the smoke density after passing
the exhaust through the filtration system are approximately equal to 67 hart
ridge unit.
3.This value of smoke density is acceptable.

4. The mean smoke reduction by the application of filtration system was 25.82%

DATA COLLECTION / TOOLS / PLATFORMS USED

For this Project i.e. Air Pollution Reduction System, it was necessary to collect ample data
of different vehicles so that the task of controlling pollution could be made easy. The exhaust
coming out from the vehicles differs depending upon the fuel used. Diesel engines generally
have more pollutants and particulate matter than the petrol engine. Thus, diesel engines were
taken into account for this project.

The main factors on which data collection was necessary were,

a) Diesel Particulate Matter,
b) Suspended Particulate Matter,
c) Soot.
Particulate Matter (PM) is very similar

to smoke in

that it consists of small solids and/or

liquids suspended in air; however, the sources of the suspended substances are not
necessarily

the

result

of

burning

organic

substances.

Dust, sand, abraded material from tires and brakes, salt sprays, and even small water droplets
like fog are some of the other constituents. PM is usually the terminology used from a regula
torycompliance perspective and may be further subdivided into size related classifications suc
h as PM10, PM2.5, etc.
The size and amount of particulate matter can be known by knowing the density of the
exhaust air. The more the dense air is, more will be the amount of particulate matter. So, a
Smoke density meter was used to find out the density of exhaust coming out from different
vehicles.
The some density meter was taken to different vehicles and accordingly data was collected.
Trials were done on light duty vehicles & heavy duty vehicles and the data was collected.
Due to unavailability of nitrogen measuring device in the city, NOx emissions were not
measured.
The project consisted of 3 main partsa) Enclosure
b) Blower
c) Filters
For construction of chamber 1mm MS sheets were used. The sheets were cut
according to the decided sizes and figures and the welded properly under expert supervision
for perfect finish. The chamber was provided with a hopper from inside which was connected
to the inlet of the blower. The chamber was constructed for accumulation of exhaust gases.
The blower was of 3000rpm. It was used to suck the exhaust accumulated in the chamber.
Filters were used to filter the particulate matters in the exhaust. One filter was fitted at the
entrance of the chamber and other was fitted at the inlet of blower.

Tools used for measurement of particulate matterSmoke density meter

Smoke density is a term usually associated with opacity measurements where there is
reason to assume that the optical measurement relationships follow the BeerLambert
exponential laws. The BeerLambert Law is usually expressed as T=eKL where T is
transmittance (same as 1opacity/100), K is the smoke density factor in units
of inverse length, and L is path length of the measured smoke sample column.
Conceptually, the smoke density term represents the exponential light loss
sensitivity per unit length of the smoke column.
Smoke and smoke opacity meters are instruments measuring the optical properties of diesel
exhaust. These instruments have been designed to quantify the visible black smoke emission
utilizing such physical phenomena as the extinction of a light beam by scattering and
absorption. In general, smoke and opacity meters are much simpler (some of them very
simple) and less costly in comparison to most other instruments used for PM measurement.
They are often used to evaluate smoke emissions in locations outside the laboratory, such as
in maintenance shops or in the field. In fact, the smoke opacity measurement is the only
relatively low-cost and widely available method to measure a PM-related emission parameter
in the field. For this reason, opacity limits are used in most inspection and maintenance
(I&M) or periodic technical inspection (PTI) programs for diesel engines. Smoke opacity
limits may be also included as auxiliary limits in new engine emission standards.
In view of the demands of advanced, low emission diesel engines, the following areas of
concern can be identified in conventional smoke opacity meter technology:

Insufficient resolution: Smoke levels in low emission, smokeless diesel engines (e.g.,
Euro IV) are near the resolution of a conventional opacity meter. Resolution, stability,
and noise have to be improved to allow opacity measurements in advanced diesel
engines.

Cross sensitivity to nitrogen dioxide: Catalytic exhaust after treatment devices, such
as oxidation catalysts or particulate filters, can increase the percentage of NO 2 in the
total NOx from less than 10% to as much as 40% and more. Nitrogen dioxide absorbs
green light, which is used in conventional opacity meters. Opacity meters read

between 0.00016 and 0.00024 m-1 per ppm NO2, depending on the sensor bandwidth.
A 300 ppm NO2 concentration in a modern enginenot an unrealistic assumption
would cause a 0.06 m-1 opacity reading, which is equivalent to 40% of the Euro III
EEV pass level, intended to be for soot emissions.
For engines fitted with catalytic particulate filters, nearly all opacity signals will be caused by
nitrogen dioxide.

Insensitivity to small particles: A substantial portion of diesel particles have diameters

below 200 nm. Particles of 200 nm diameter or greater block green light in proportion
to their cross-section surface area. Particles of 50 nm diameters, however, block only
about 15% of their surface area. This means that opacity readings depend on particle
sizes and will be underestimated if smaller particles are measured.

Reduction of particulate matter forms the basic platform of this project. The main idea
of project was to reduce pollution. For this purpose many factors were considered and
the work was done on reduction of particulate matter. Everything was planned
accordingly. The selection of filters, power of vehicles, type of vehicles etc were
selected keeping reduction of particulate matter in mind. As heavy duty vehicles emit
more particulate matter, they can be used to get more convincing results. Smoke meter
will have sufficient amount of matter to work on and thus results will be clearer.