An electrostatic trap for control of ultrafine particle emissions from gasoline-engined vehicles

Health concerns over ultrafine (< 100 nm) particles in the urban atmosphere have focused attention on measurement and control of particle number as well as mass. Gasoline-engined as well as diesel-engined vehicles are likely to be within the scope of future particulate matter (PM) emission regulations. As a potential option for after-treatment of PM emissions from gasoline engines, the trapping performance of a catalysed wire-cylinder electrostatic trap has been investigated, first in a laboratory rig with simulated PM and then in the exhaust of a direct injection spark ignition engine. In the simulation experiments, the trap achieved capture efficiencies by total particle number exceeding 90 per cent at wire voltages of 7–10 kV, gas temperatures up to 400°C, and operating durations up to one hour, with no adverse effects from a catalyst coating on the collecting electrode. In the engine tests, at moderate speeds and loads, capture efficiency was 60–85 per cent in the homogeneous combustion mode and 50–60 per cent, of a much larger number of engine-out particles, in the stratified (overall-lean) mode. Gas residence time in the trap appeared to be a major factor in determining efficiency. The electrical power requirement and the effect on engine back-pressure were both minimal.