Reduction in NOx and CO emissions in stoichiometric diesel combustion using a three-way catalyst

Experimental and numerical studies were performed to investigate the simultaneous reduction in NOx and CO for stoichiometric diesel combustion with a three-way catalyst. A single-cylinder engine was used for the experiments and KIVA simulations were used in order to characterize the combustion efficiency and emissions of throttled stoichiometric diesel combustion at 0.7 bar boost pressure and 90 MPa injection pressure. In addition, the efficiency of emission conversion with three-way catalysts in stoichiometric diesel combustion was investigated experimentally. The results showed CO and NOx emissions can be controlled with the three-way catalyst in spite of the fact that CO increases more at high equivalence ratios compared with conventional diesel combustion (i.e., lean combustion). At a stoichiometric operation, the three-way catalyst reduced CO and NOx emissions by up to 95%, which achieves lower emissions compared with conventional diesel combustion or low temperature diesel combustion, while keeping better fuel consumption than a comparable gasoline engine. Copyright © 2010 by ASME.