Carbon oxidation generated in diesel engines using iron-doped fuel

Green Chem., 2012,14, 514-518, DOI: 10.1039/C2GC16147H
Carbon oxidation generated in diesel engines using iron-doped fuel
G. A. S. Schulz ,  S. Tamborim ,  G. Cardoso ,  T. Santos ,  E. Lissner and R. Cataluña
Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul,Porto Alegre, RS, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, , Brasil
Engenharia Mecânica, Universidade Federal do Pampa, Alegrete, RS, Av. Tiarajú, 810, , Brasil
Abstract
Reports a study of the soot oxidation activity of metallic iron nanoparticles under actual diesel engine conditions. Particulate matter (PM) was sampled at distinct temperatures, using fuels containing ferrocene. Results revealed an 80% reduction of accumulated PM using fuels doped with 50 ppm ferrocene at a temperature of 460 °C.
Temperature-programmed catalytic oxidation tests indicated that PM oxidation in ferrocene-doped fuels starts at an approximately 200 °C lower temperature. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis of the PM showed that soot agglomerates with and without the presence of Fe showed a similar morphology and that the average diameter of iron nanoparticles is 10 nm. The use of ferrocene-doped diesel fuels increases the speed of PM oxidation significantly, which allows the filter to self-regenerate at the average temperature of the exhaust gases.
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