Euro VI trucks are fitted with diesel particulate filters (DPFs) as part of the exhaust after treatment system (EATS). This prevents noxious particulate matter, including soot and ash, from entering the atmosphere, by capturing harmful material in the DPF. To ensure the filter functions properly, a regeneration process occurs at specific intervals, where the engine adds extra heat into the exhaust system to burn off the soot deposits.
Whilst the soot can be burnt, the ash deposits, which build up in the DPF over time, cannot be burnt off through regeneration. Instead, when a filter becomes saturated at intervals of around 150,000km, the ash must be removed off-vehicle by a specialist cleaning process, to prevent the DPF becoming blocked. If left uncleaned, a saturated DPF quickly loses its effectiveness and immediately results in reduced engine performance. Research by Ceramex, the leading provider of DPF cleaning and remanufacturing services for trucks and off-highway vehicles, found that a saturated filter is likely to cause a minimum 2% increase in fuel consumption in comparison to a clean filter.
Ceramex’s patented Xpurge® aqueous cleaning process uses purge technology to provide the most effective method of removing ash from the DPF. Xpurge® utilises a combination of purified water and pulses of high pressure air to eject the soot and hardened ash from the ceramic substrate inside the DPF. This fully automated process removes 350g to 400g of soot and ash from each filter, delivering the most effective cleaning process in the market.
By removing 95% of soot, ash and other deposits, Ceramex’s Xpurge® process returns the DPF to over 95% of its original brand new performance, enabling the service life of the filter to be extended. This is because each unit can undergo this cleaning process up to five times before a new replacement DPF is required. In comparison, less effective commercial cleaning systems, utilising a more aggressive chemical or compressed air approach, typically only allow up to three repeat cleans prior to component replacement.
With replacement truck DPFs costing around £4,000, the patented Xpurge® cleaning process, innovated by Ceramex, provides a major cost advantage for logistics fleets, in managing HGV operating costs.
After cleaning, each DPF is quality checked with Ceramex’s patented Veritex® automated inspection technology. Veritex® uses light and infrared transmission to verify a DPF’s internal condition, by providing an image of the internal structure of the filter. This non-invasive technique will identify any blockages, exothermic damage or cracks in the filter substrate. Veritex® also delivers a visual record of the DPF, confirming a successful clean, which provides an audit trail for every filter throughout its service life.
In its market-leading position for scalable DPF cleaning, Ceramex provides HGV fleets with an exchange-based service, where batches of saturated DPFs are collected from a customer and replaced with clean units, on a scheduled basis. This contract-based approach minimises vehicle downtime and enables commercial customers to benefit from high volume cleaning that’s planned into maintenance cycles. As well as HGVs, Ceramex provides DPF cleaning for off-highway vehicles, powered industrial equipment and marine applications.
