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Technology Levers for Meeting 2027 NOx and CO 2 Regulations
Abstract
div class="section abstract"> Commercial vehicles require fast aftertreatment heat-up to move the SCR catalyst into the most efficient temperature range to meet upcoming NOX regulations while minimizing CO2. The focus of this paper is to identify the technology levers when used independently and also together for the purpose of NOX and CO2 reduction toward achieving 2027 emissions levels while remaining CO2 neutral or better. A series of independent levers including cylinder deactivation, LO-SCR, electric aftertreatment heating and fuel burner technologies were explored. All fell short for meeting the 2027 CARB transient emission targets when used independently. However, the combinations of two of these levers were shown to approach the goal of transient emissions with one configuration meeting the requirement. Finally, the combination of three independent levers were shown to achieve 40% margin for meeting 2027 transient NOx emissions while remaining CO2 neutral. These independent levers and combinations were also quantified for meeting the new Low Load Cycle. This paper shows which combinations of technologies meets both the transient emission cycles and low load cycles for NOx with adequate margin while also saving CO2.
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... LNT is known to negatively impact fuel consumption and N2O production. This system is based on conventional, heavy-duty diesel and includes the common arrangement of GOC-GPF-SCR [14]. The GOC is formulated to produce NO2, and the system offers passive regeneration capability (potentially 100%), however, NO2 production, GPF temperatures, and NOx/PM ratio must be sufficient. ...
... The GOC washcoat included a zeolite for trapping and releasing HC during the cold start. As tested on a HD diesel in reference [14], an electric heater disk (EHD) was added upstream of the SCR for rapid light-off and an 86% reduction of NOx emissions. System #2 This system is derived from the typical Euro6b lightduty diesel ATS system with catalyst arrangement: DOC-SCRF-SCR [15]. ...
div class="section abstract"> Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs) have been used extensively worldwide as a Particle Mass (PM) / Particle Number (PN) reduction technology for various diesel applications. Based on CARB’s latest Tier 5 regulation workshop, PM emission targets are expected to become a lot more stringent; from 0.02 g/kWh to 0.005 g/kWh (75% reduction compared to Tier 4 Final (Tier 4f)). Also, CO2 emission targets are expected to be introduced for Tier 5. In parallel, EU Stage VI emission regulation standards and implementation timing could be announced sometime in late 2024. It is expected that PN emission standards will be tightened such as extending measurement range of PN from 23 nm to 10 nm. With Tier 5 and EU Stage VI regulations approaching, several OEMs are considering implementing a common aftertreatment system that can meet emission targets for both regions. High filtration efficiency and low backpressure DPFs will be required to meet PM/PN and CO2 emission standards.
NGK has developed several DPF materials with various cell structures within the past couple of years to meet future stringent regulations worldwide. To understand the severity of future regulations, engine testing was conducted to compare PM / PN filtration performance of several different filters. Both Cordierite (Cd) and Silicon Carbide (SiC) materials were evaluated since different materials are being considered depending on soot regeneration strategies. DPF properties ranging from medium to low mean pore size (MPS) were studied and compared with Tier 5 PM / Stage VI PN targets as a reference point. In this paper, the suitable DPF for future regulation based on these results will be shown.
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Commercial vehicles require fast aftertreatment heat-up to move the SCR catalyst into the most efficient temperature range to meet upcoming NOX regulations while minimizing CO2. One solution to this challenge is to add a fuel burner upstream of the con`ventional heavy-duty diesel aftertreatment system. The focus of this paper is to optimize a burner based thermal management approach. The objective included complying with CARB’s 2027 low NOX emissions standards for on-road heavy duty diesel engines. This was accomplished by pairing the burner system with cylinder de-activation on the engine and/or a light-off SCR sub-system. A system solution is demonstrated using a heavy-duty diesel engine with an aged aftertreatment system targeted for 2027 emission levels using various levels of controls. The baseline layer of controls includes cylinder deactivation to raise the exhaust temperature more than 100°C in combination with elevated idle speed to increase the mass flowrate through the aftertreatment system. The combination of operating the fuel burner, cylinder deactivation and elevated idle speed (during cold start) allows the aftertreatment system to heat up in a small fraction of the time demonstrated by today’s systems. Performance was quantified over the cold FTP, hot FTP, low load cycle (LLC) and the U.S. beverage cycle. The improvement in NOX reduction and the CO2 savings over these cycles are highlighted.
New regulations by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) demand a stringent 0.02 g/hp-hr tailpipe NO x limit by the year 2027, requiring Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) catalysts to provide high NO x conversions even at low (below 200°C) exhaust temperatures. This work describes utilizing an Electrically Heated Mixer System (EHM system) upstream of a Light-Off Selective Catalytic Reduction (LO-SCR) catalyst followed by a conventional aftertreatment (AT) system containing DOC, DPF, and SCR, enabling high NO x conversions meeting CARB’s NO x emission target. The AT catalysts were hydrothermally aged to Full Useful Life. Conventional unheated Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) was injected upstream of both the LO-SCR and primary downstream SCR. The EHM system allowed for DEF to be injected as low as 130°C upstream of the LO-SCR, whereas, in previous studies, unheated DEF was injected at 180°C or dosed at 130°C with heated DEF. The combination of unheated DEF, EHM system, LO-SCR, and downstream SCR enabled the needed increase in NO x efficiency in low exhaust temperatures, which was observed in drive cycles such as in cold-FTP, LLC, and World Harmonized Transient Cycle (WHTC). There were several-fold reductions in tailpipe NO x using this configuration compared to its baseline: 3.3-fold reduction in FTP, 22-fold in Low Load Cycle (LLC), 38-fold in Beverage Cycle, 8-fold in “Stay Hot” Cycle, and 10-fold in WHTC. Finally, it is shown that the EHM system can heat the exhaust gas, such as during a cold start, without needing additional heating hardware integrated into the system. These results were observed without performing changes in the engine base calibration.
Engine and aftertreatment solutions are being identified to meet the upcoming ultra-low NO x regulations on heavy duty vehicles as published by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and proposed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) for the year 2027 and beyond. These standards will require changes to current conventional aftertreatment systems for dealing with low exhaust temperature scenarios. One approach to meeting this challenge is to supply additional heat from the engine; however, this comes with a fuel penalty which is not attractive and encourages other options. Another method is to supply external generated heat directly to the aftertreatment system. The following work focuses on the later approach by maintaining the production engine calibration and coupling this with an Electric Heater (EH) upstream of a Light-Off Selective Catalytic Reduction (LO-SCR) followed by a primary aftertreatment system containing a downstream Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR). External heat is supplied to the aftertreatment system using an EH to reduce the Tailpipe (TP) NO x emissions with minimal fuel penalty. Two configurations have been implemented, the first is a Close Coupled (CC) LO-SCR configuration and the second is an Underfloor (UF) LO-SCR configuration. The CC LO-SCR configuration shows the best outcome as it is closer to the engine, helping it achieve the required temperature with lower EH power while the UF LO-SCR configurations addresses the real-world packaging options for the LO-SCR. This work shows that a 7 kW EH upstream of a LO-SCR, in the absence of heated Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF), followed by a primary aftertreatment system met the 2027 NO x regulatory limit. It also shows that the sub-6-inch diameter EH with negligible pressure drop can be easily packaged into the future aftertreatment system.
Commercial vehicles require fast aftertreatment heat-up in order to move the selective catalytic reduction catalyst into the most efficient temperature range to meet upcoming NOX regulations while minimizing CO2. This study is a follow-up study using an electric heater upstream of a LO-SCR followed by a primary aftertreatment system having an engine equipped with cylinder deactivation. The focus of this study is to minimize the maximum power input to the e-heater without compromising tailpipe NOX and CO2. A system solution is demonstrated using a heavy-duty diesel engine with an end-of-life aged aftertreatment system targeted for 2027 emission levels using various levels of controls. The baseline layer of controls includes cylinder deactivation to raise the exhaust temperature more than 100°C in combination with elevated idle speed to increase the exhaust mass flow rate through the aftertreatment system. The engine load is adjusted to compensate for generating electrical power on the engine. The combination of electrical heat, added load, cylinder deactivation, and elevated idle speed allows the aftertreatment system to heat up in a small fraction of the time required by today’s systems. This work was quantified over the cold federal test procedure, hot FTP, low load cycle (LLC), and the U.S. beverage cycle showing improved NOX and CO2 emissions. The improvement in NOX reduction and the CO2 savings over these cycles are highlighted.
Modern on-road diesel engine systems incorporate flexible fuel injection, variable geometry turbocharging, high pressure exhaust gas recirculation, oxidation catalysts, particulate filters, and selective catalytic reduction systems in order to comply with strict tailpipe-out NOx and soot limits. Fuel consuming strategies, including late injections and turbine-based engine exhaust throttling, are typically used to increase turbine-outlet temperature and flow rate in order to reach the aftertreatment component temperatures required for efficient reduction of NOx and soot. The same strategies are used at low load operating conditions to maintain aftertreatment temperatures. This paper demonstrates that cylinder deactivation (CDA) can be used to maintain aftertreatment temperatures in a more fuel-efficient manner through reductions in airflow and pumping work. The incorporation of CDA to maintain desired aftertreatment temperatures during idle conditions is experimentally demonstrated to result in fuel savings of 3.0% over the HD-FTP drive cycle. Implementation of CDA at non-idle portions of the HD-FTP where BMEP is below 3 bar is demonstrated to reduce fuel consumption further by an additional 0.4%, thereby resulting in 3.4% fuel savings over the drive cycle.
div class="section abstract"> The commercial vehicle industry continues to move in the direction of improving brake thermal efficiency while meeting more stringent diesel engine emission requirements. This study focused on demonstrating future emissions by using an exhaust burner upstream of a conventional aftertreatment system. This work highlights system results over the low load cycle (LLC) and many other pertinent cycles (Beverage Cycle, and Stay Hot Cycle, New York Bus Cycle). These efforts complement previous works showing system performance over the Heavy-Duty FTP and World Harmonized Transient Cycle (WHTC). The exhaust burner is used to raise and maintain the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) catalyst at its optimal temperature over these cycles for efficient NOX reduction. This work showed that tailpipe NOX is significantly improved over these cycles with the exhaust burner. In certain cases, the improvements resulted in tailpipe NOX values well below the adopted 2027 LLC NOX standard of 0.05 g/hp-hr, providing significant margin. In fact, near zero NOX was measured on some of these cycles, which goes beyond future regulation requirements. However, burner operation on the tested cycles also resulted in a CO2 increase, indicating that a different burner calibration strategy, or possibly an additional technology, will be needed to achieve lower CO2 emissions.
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div class="section abstract"> Despite considerable progress over the last several decades, California continues to face some of the most significant air quality problems in the United States. These continued issues highlight the need for further mobile source NOX reductions to help California and other areas meet ambient air quality targets mandated by the U.S. EPA. Beginning in 2014, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) launched a program aimed at demonstrating technologies that could enable heavy-duty on-highway engines to reach tailpipe NOX levels up to 90% below the current standards, which were implemented in 2010. At the same time, mandated improvements to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) require that these NOX reductions be achieved without sacrificing fuel consumption and increasing GHG emissions. The CARB demonstration program has progressed through several stages since it was initiated, and the Stage 3 Low NOX program completed in 2020 represents the culmination of these technology demonstration efforts. This effort, using a 2017 production diesel engine as a baseline, demonstrated a combination of technologies that enabled Low NOX emission levels near the 90% reduction target, while at the same time maintaining GHG emission rates at the same levels as the base engine.
Previous publications have gone into detail regarding individual elements of the Stage 3 technology package. This paper will present a summary of the final configuration and final results of the Stage 3 program, including results for the fully aged aftertreatment system after the equivalent of 435,000 miles of operation. The performance of the final test article will be shown over a variety of both regulatory duty cycles and other off-cycle operations. The final fuel consumption and GHG performance of the system will also be described based on the benchmarking methods specified by EPA in the Phase 2 GHG standards.
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Commercial vehicles require continual improvements for meeting fuel emission standards, improving diesel aftertreatment systems and optimizing vehicle fuel economy. Aftertreatment systems are temperature sensitive for removing engine out NOx. Most diesel aftertreatment systems show a marked efficiency improvement above 250°C while efficiency generally improves above 300°C. This poses an efficiency issue for vehicles operated at low load. All commercial vehicles operate in low load operation for a portion of the vehicle duty cycle. Idle temperatures reside in the 100°C to 150°C range while engine torque ratings below 200 Nm (150 ft-lbs) have temperatures below 250°C where the aftertreatment system is below its peak efficiency. Vehicles that spend more time in low load operation need a means to increase the exhaust temperature to enable efficient NOx reduction in the aftertreatment system. Cylinder deactivation (CDA) has been shown to increase diesel engine exhaust temperature by approximately 100°C when operating in half engine mode and more than 100°C with less cylinders. The higher temperature improves aftertreatment NOx reduction performance which offers the potential to save vehicle fuel by increasing engine out NOx levels where the engine operates more fuel efficiently. Additionally, there are inherent fuel economy benefits up to 140 to 180 Nm (100 to 130 ft-lbs) of torque which is independent of the aftertreatment benefits. These benefits can range between 25% and 40% at near idle conditions while slightly higher speeds showed benefits up to 49%. The benefits converge to nominal fuel economy values for normal engine conditions (all cylinders firing) at or around 180 Nm (130 ft-lbs) of torque. Implementing technologies such as CDA for diesel can be used to improve exhaust thermal management during low load operation, World Harmonized Transient Cycle and US Heavy Duty transient emission cycles. This paper will show the benefits of cylinder deactivation for meeting future emission regulations and improving vehicle fuel economy.
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