Emission Control Strategies for Diesel Engine Applications
Summary
Emission control in diesel engines encompasses a spectrum of in-cylinder modifications, exhaust gas recirculation and sophisticated after-treatment systems to curtail regulated pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. Advances in fuel injection timing, combustion chamber design and alternative-fuel strategies have yielded significant reductions in raw exhaust emissions while preserving thermal efficiency. Downstream technologies—diesel oxidation catalysts, particulate filters, particle oxidation catalysts and selective catalytic reduction units—form modular after-treatment trains that can be tailored to road-going, marine and stationary engines to satisfy progressively stringent Euro and IMO standards. Integration of real-time sensing, adaptive control and digital-twin modelling now underpins dynamic optimisation of emission-fuel trade-offs, fostering global improvements in air quality and supporting the transition towards carbon-neutral mobility.
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Emission Control Strategies for Diesel Engine Applications publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in emission control strategies for diesel engine applications across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC): A catalytic converter that oxidises carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons into less harmful compounds.
Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF): A wall-flow filter that traps and removes soot and solid particulates from exhaust gases.
Particle Oxidation Catalyst (POC): A catalyst designed to oxidise particulate matter, offering a lower-cost alternative to DPF.
Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR): A downstream system that reduces nitrogen oxides by injecting a reductant, typically ammonia or urea, over a catalyst.
Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR): A technique that reintroduces a portion of exhaust gas into the intake to lower combustion temperatures and reduce NOx formation.
Particulate Matter (PM): Solid and liquid particles suspended in exhaust, typically measured as PM10 or PM2.5 by aerodynamic diameter.
Nitrogen Oxides (NOx): Reactive gases produced at high combustion temperatures, contributing to smog and acid rain.
After-treatment System: A series of devices installed downstream of the engine to chemically or physically remove pollutants from exhaust gases.
References
- A comparative investigation between particle oxidation catalyst (POC) and diesel particulate filter (DPF) coupling aftertreatment system on emission reduction of a non-road diesel engine. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety (2022).
- Marine Exhaust Gas Treatment Systems for Compliance with the IMO 2020 Global Sulfur Cap and Tier III NOx Limits: A Review. Energies (2022).
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