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Plasma burner for the regeneration of active DPF system is proposed. Plasma used in this work is rotating arc that is optimized for burner application. Electric power required to operate plasma burner is less than 200W and is not dependent on the engine size. In this plasma burner, plasma plays multiple roles including heater for fuel vaporization, mixer, partial reformer, igniter and flame holder. These special functions enable the burner to sustain stable flame even in ultra rich condition where a flame is never possible to be sustained in conventional burner. Air flow rate required to operate the burner is 50~100 liter/min regardless of the amount of fuel where the amount of fuel usage depends on the target temperature. Road test showed successful operation over 20,000km run with 2.5, 5 and 8.5 ton truck satisfying mode condition for certification of Korea governmental retrofit program.

A lab-scale test has been performed to develop a technique for reducing HC emissions from cold-starting engines using nonthermal plasma-assisted catalytic process. An ac power supply and a barrier discharge reactor packed with several types of catalysts have been used in the present study. The test results showed that simultaneous use of catalysts with nonthermal plasma process allows the process to be used even under room temperature conditions that is apparently too low to activate conventional catalytic process for treating HC emissions. Parametric tests with various temperature conditions, different types of HC (C2H4, C3H6, and toluene), and several types of catalysts and adsorption materials have been performed to provide basic design criteria of aftertreatment system used for automotive engines.