Diesel particulate
filter is an effective
device to reduce diesel particulate emission. The particles in diesel
particulate filter are usually affected by the aging of high-temperature
exhaust gas before the regeneration process. In order to investigate
the effect of aging conditions on the soot oxidation process, the
effect of aging temperature and aging time on the oxidation process
of carbon black (Printex-U, PU) and the PU/catalyst/ash mixture are
studied by thermogravimetric analysis. The aging PU particles have
lower starting temperature, peaking temperature, ending temperature,
and activation energy. Compared with the particles without aging,
the PU particles with a 400 °C aging temperature and 20 h aging
time are able to reduce the activation energy from 191.2 to 158 kJ/mol.
Low aging temperatures (200–300 °C) and the catalyst have
a certain synergistic effect on the improvement of PU oxidation activity.
The PU/CeO2 mixture with a 300 °C aging temperature
and 20 h aging time decreases the activation energy from 178.4 to
the lowest 113.6 kJ/mol. The addition of CaSO4 in PU particles
cannot stop the improvement of its oxidation activity by aging, but
it reduces the effect of aging. This work is helpful to reveal the
mechanism of aging on PU and the PU/catalyst/ash mixture in air environment.