Woodward and Tenneco to develop DPF burners

8 December 2006

Woodward Governor Company and Tenneco Inc. entered into a joint development agreement to develop a range of burner systems with Woodward “SmartFire” combustion control technology for regeneration of diesel particulate filters (DPF).

The technology will be initially developed for on-highway medium-duty diesel vehicles, Class 3 and above, in OEM applications. The global market for active DPF regeneration systems is expected to grow significantly by 2012 as new emissions regulations become effective, first in Japan, followed by North America and Europe, said Woodward.

The system will be designed to raise exhaust gas temperatures to the levels required for the DPF to regenerate using a diesel fuel burner. The system will monitor the DPF condition and start the regeneration process by igniting built-up particulates under any engine condition. The regeneration temperature profile will be controlled until the DPF has fully regenerated.

Filters regenerated using fuel burners have been used for many years, but on a limited scale, in retrofit applications. The first OEM DPF system using a fuel burner will be launched by Caterpillar in the 2007 ACERT engines. Most 2007 engines from other manufacturers will use catalytic combustion of fuel for filter regeneration. The burner system, while more complex and more difficult to develop, can offer greater flexibility in conducting DPF regeneration as its operation is independent from the engine operating conditions. Catalysts, on the other hand, require a certain minimum exhaust temperature which makes it more challenging to regenerate filters in vehicles operated with low exhaust gas temperatures.

Source: Woodward