Title of Programme

Environmental technologies

Cost-sharing contracts

Financing Code for Project

EUROPEAN COMMISSION RESEARCH

DIRECTORATE-GENERAL

 

 

 

KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN

Svenska Emissionsteknik AB

Centro Ricerche FIAT S.C.P.A. (CRF)

Passenger cars with direct injecting diesel engines offer the greatest potential at present of complying with the stricter emission limits which will be incorporated in future legislation. Such engines have an extraordinarily low fuel consumption, but present problems in future in respect of the limits proposed in the EU Exhaust Regulation Stage III for all diesel engines with effect from October 1999. 
The manufacturers of such engines urgently need reliable exhaust aftertreatment methods to enable the limits for oxides of nitrogen (HC + NOx 0.5 g/km) and the particulates (0.04 g/km) to be assured. 
The integrated systems which it is intended to develop in this project, consist of: 

• a selectively acting NOx catalyst in oxygen-rich exhaust - a reductant dosage system including a sensor-aided control strategy for dynamic vehicle operation 
• a catalytically coated soot filter 
• a control strategy which matches exhaust temperature to the requirements of exhaust aftertreatment through engine and heat management. 

Taking four different vehicles with DI diesel engines of different manufacturers, the aim is to demonstrate the extent to which the idea of an environmentally friendly vehicle can be accomplished. Engine performance and fuel consumption should not be adversely affected as a result. 
The consortium consists of three reputed vehicle engine manufacturers (VW, MB, Fiat) who are the principal users of the developed systems, an industrial catalyst manufacturer (JM) and an exhaust system manufacturer (ZS), both of whom will make use of the results for enlarging their range of products for environmental protection. 
Specialized institutes of advance technology are active throughout Europe in the field of NOx catalyst (K. U. Leuven), in soot filter regeneration (University of Thessaloniki) fE and in charging processes for diesel engines (University of Genoa).