Physical properties of exhaust soot from dimethyl carbonate-diesel blends: Characterizations and impact on soot oxidation behavior

This study presents the physical properties and oxidation reactivity of exhaust soot from a modern direct injection diesel engine fueled with dimethyl carbonate (DMC)-diesel blends and discusses the relationship between physical properties and oxidation reactivity of soot. The soot morphology, size, fractal dimension and nanostructure were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy and Raman scattering spectrometry. The thermogravimetric analysis was carried out to characterize soot oxidation reactivity in the form of apparent activation energy. The results showed that soot aggregates from DMC/diesel blended fuels exhibited fewer and smaller primary particles as well as small-sized clusters than the diesel soot aggregates. Soot primary particles presented shorter fringe length, wider separation distance and greater tortuosity with increasing DMC blending amount, while the degree of graphitization for soot presented an increasing trend. It was also found that soot from DMC/diesel blends, or low loading operation had higher oxidation reactivity than those from pure diesel or heavy loading operation. Among the physical properties, fractal dimension and primary particle size appeared to be insignificant than the nanostructure for governing the soot oxidation reactivity. Further analysis showed the separation distance was more correlated with soot oxidation characteristics than fringe length and tortuosity. These results illustrated that the use of DMC blended diesel fuel affects the physical properties of soot, enhances soot particle oxidation reactivity, which will be significant for improving the regeneration efficiency of after-treatment device.