DPF regeneration alternatives
 

EDIT (Piwoslaw): Split from this thread.

Have you put any thought into developing a DPF that regenerates with power from a wall-socket?

(Who knows, maybe i could be as simple as a hole in the tube where a hot air gun fits.)

It takes an enormous amout of heat to get the reaction started--like a sustained 500+ deg F for several minutes. You basically have to ignite carbon. You're not gonna get that from a wall outlet.

What about replacing the DPF, as you replace a dirty air/fuel filter?
Remove clogged DPF, place in special machine which burns it out efficiently with gas or some other fuel. If this appliance wasn't too expensive, then the filter could be cleaned out every day or week, depending on driving style, etc.

I mean, in most circumstances using an ICE isn't the most efficient way of cleaning out a DPF.

During normal regenerations carbon is being removed from the DPF (as per it's design). Typically, when a DPF is "clogged", the solution is to either let the vehicle do it's normal regen or go out and run the engine hard to generate enough heat to clean it out. It that fails to "unclog" it, you can take the vehicle into the dealer who can run a program on the ECM to let it run extremely hot to try to clean everything out. If that fails, then the problem is not that the DPF is packed full of carbon, but rather ash. The ash doesn't burn off like the carbon, but rather just melts on in solid form. There's no way to remove it, hence the DPF needs replaced.

Every 400-500 miles when you're lucky - or every 100-130 miles when you're not ?
Hardly practical.

Car manufacturers don't even want their customers to know when the DPF is being regenerated. They'd rather leave them in the dark as to what's happening, and wether it's happening.

Which would need to be done centrally, as that machine is going to cost a bit, would be more or less brand-specific, and like the DPF itself generates the tiniest, most poisonous soot particles.

So you'd need to send the DPF somewhere, and you'd need another one - or a number of them - in the meantime depending on turnaround and your mileage.

It'd never work.

The most simple solution : don't buy new diesels.

You might be surprised what you can do with a couple of kilo-watts.

Dont buy a new diesel and plan on keeping and maintaining the rube goldberg machine based feel good emissions purification system unless you feel like losing a small fortune on a regular basis to keep it "clean".

All this clean diesel stuff is a not benifeting the consumer at all.
Inital cost is a lot higher, fuel consumption is higher, DPM is smaller and worse for you to breath, replacement costs for single pieces of this equipment is in the small used car range.

Want your regens to not burn any diesel fuel?
Buy a delete kit.

Dave's estimate of 500F is way too low. The exhaust temperature is not enough, the manufacturers dump raw diesel into the exhaust stream for additional heat, the clean out temperatures are going to be near cylinder combustion chambers give or take.

As to cleaning the DPFs, the HD truck ones are designed to be cleaned around 500,000 km or so.

I think that it would be possible to regen it without the use of diesel. I see two general ways to do this.

Alternative fuel
1. Inject Propane and have a spark plug light it to burn out the DFP.
2. Inject Ethanol and have a spark plug light it to burn out the DFP.
3. Inject Ethanol lightly as a detergent to break it up some and if needed occasionally have a spark plug light it to burn out the DFP. Not sure if that would work though.

Electric
If the temp that is needed is only 500F that would be easy as standard ovens reach 450F. With the use of insulation and induction plates from a stove heat could be directly applied to the DFP.