Catalytic effect of diesel PM derived ash on PM oxidation activity

With diesel particulate filter and gasoline particulate filter periodical regeneration, more and more ash accumulates on the substrate of filter. Ash gathering on the substrate of filter leads to more contact area of particulate matter and ash. Specific ingredients in ash present catalytic effects on particulate matter oxidation. However, the catalytic effect of diesel particulate matter derived ash on its oxidation, mimicking the ash accumulating on filter substrate, is still uncovered using experiments. In this paper, diesel particulate matter derived ash was put at the bottom of particulate matter samples to imitating the soot loading on filter substrate which was covered by much ash. The results indicated that the burnout temperature of diesel particulate matter was in the range of 500–600 °C; while it was 600–700 °C for Printex (U). The burnout temperature drop by ash was lower than 10 °C for diesel particulate matter. The maximum mass loss rate corresponded to approximately 450 °C for diesel particulate matter, and it was changed minorly by ash and ramp rates. However, the temperature corresponding to the maximum mass loss rate was seriously retarded by high ramp rates for Printex (U), and ash presented limited effect on it. The maximum activation energy drop by ash was approximately 60 kJ/mol at the initial stage of oxidation for diesel particulate matter. The activation energy was approximately 132.19, 114.78, 157.26, and 144.67 kJ/mol for diesel PM, diesel PM-ash, Printex (U), and Printex (U)-ash, respectively. Organic compounds dropped gradually in the oxidation process of diesel particulate matter. Nanostructure evolutions of diesel particulate matter and Printex (U) were similar, experiencing smaller sizes and void cores at the end of oxidation process.