How DPF cleaning helps to reduce fuel and maintenance costs

With rising operating costs posing a significant challenge to HGV fleets this year, the spotlight is focused on the importance of mitigating vehicle running costs, particularly in terms of fuel consumption and repairs.

Fitted to all diesel trucks to ensure compliance with Euro VI emissions regulations, diesel particulate filters (DPFs) trap noxious particulate matter, such as soot and ash, in the exhaust system to prevent them from entering the atmosphere.  Although soot deposits are largely removed automatically by a high-temperature forced regeneration process, non-combustible ash also accumulates in the DPF over time.  This matter needs to be removed at regular intervals by a specialist cleaning process, in order to avoid the unit becoming blocked.  A saturated DPF quickly loses its effectiveness and immediately causes a reduction in engine performance.  According to Ceramex, the UK’s leading provider of patented DPF cleaning, remanufacturing and inspection services for trucks and off-highway vehicles, a saturated filter is likely to result in a minimum 2% increase in fuel consumption,  compared to a clean filter.

When the volume of soot and ash inside a DPF increases, the back pressure rises, which produces a higher load on the engine to force the exhaust gases through the DPF. This uses more fuel and causes the vehicle to require more frequent regenerations, each of which consumes fuel.  In addition, forced regenerations can also cause excessive stress to the engine and emissions system, increasing the potential for truck breakdown, subsequent downtime and the need for expensive component replacement.

In the event that 20% of a DPF becomes blocked by soot and ash, the remaining 80% of a filter’s capacity works harder to remove these noxious exhaust contaminants.  This causes the DPF to be placed under greater pressure with the increased possibility of the unit failing.  A brand new DPF has a back pressure of 80mb, which increases to 130mb when it becomes loaded with ash. Eventually, this pressure climbs to 300mb when the unit becomes saturated with soot.  Active DPF regenerations need a temperature of at least 600°C in order to burn off soot deposits but over time, continual cycles at this high temperature can cause thermal shock damage within the DPF, causing the ceramic substrate to melt.

Processing 2,000 DPF units per week from its 67,000 square-foot Reading facility, Ceramex provides HGV fleets with an exchange-based service, where batches of dirty DPFs are collected from customers in the UK and the EU and replaced with remanufactured ‘truck ready’ units on a scheduled basis.  This fast turnaround, contract-based approach, is designed to minimise downtime and provide value to transport operators, through economies of scale and a planned approach to DPF cleaning.

Ceramex’s patented Xpurge^® cleaning process, which uses an innovative combination of de-ionised water and compressed air, removes accumulated soot and ash deposits within the DPF.  This is a fully automated process that provides rapid processing and excellent first pass cleaning results.  The contaminant deposits are suspended in water during cleaning to ensure there is no risk of them entering the atmosphere.  Xpurge^® removes between 350-450g of soot and ash from each filter, which is around 30% more effective than other cleaning systems in the market, that use compressed air or other water-based methods.

The cleaning process returns the DPF to at least 95% of its original functionality, avoiding the need for customers to source a costly replacement unit.  Soot and ash deposits are collected by Ceramex to form a ‘filter cake’ of particulate matter, equivalent to 30 tonnes per year.  This is transported to a waste management partner for further treatment before its disposal as non-hazardous waste at a licensed landfill site.

Ceramex DPF cleaning provides HGV operators with a cost-effective and more sustainable solution to keeping their vehicles environmentally compliant and operating efficiently.  To find out more, please get in touch.