Comparison study on the emission characteristics of diesel- and dimethyl ether-originated particulate matters

Smoke-free property of dimethyl ether (DME) was utilized to eliminate the influence of fuel on PM formation. The particulate matter (PM) emission characteristics, including mass emission, number concentration distribution, morphology and the percentage composition of soluble organic fraction, were experimentally studied on a compression ignition engine when it ran on diesel and DME, respectively. The emission characteristics were compared and analyzed to better understand the commons and differences of between fuel and lubricant oil originated PM emissions.