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This study seeks to investigate the removal efficiency of particulate matter (PM) from the actual diesel exhaust at various reaction temperatures by using non-thermal plasma (NTP). The effect of the reaction temperature on removal efficiency was reflected by the change in the concentration of particles in different modes and the weight fraction of volatile organics in PM. The Arrhenius equation was used to determine the apparent activation energies Ea of the soot in PM. In addition, the difference in the oxidation reaction at various reaction temperatures and the effect of NTP on the properties of PM were discussed. After considering the decreasing ranges of the total concentration and the weight of the PM, it was determined that 120 °C is the optimal temperature choice for PM removal. The decreasing range of the total concentration reached 57.13% and 66.79% of PM was removed when the PM is measured by weight. NTP has better effect on the removal of smaller particles. The weight fraction of the volatile fraction markedly decreases after the reaction and the apparent activation energy of soot noticeably decreased. The oxidizability of the excited species in NTP was enhanced with the increase of the reaction temperature. However, the excited species concentration declined concurrently, resulting in the occurrence of the optimized range of reaction temperature. The particles were removed by the oxidation that occurred on the surface of the primary particle and the disintegration of the structure of the particles.

In order to investigate the effects of non-thermal plasma (NTP) on diesel particulate matter (PM), an engine test bench was built up. An engine exhaust particle sizer (EEPS) was introduced to analyze the emission concentration and size distribution of PM and a thermo-gravimetric analyzer was used to analyze the effects of NTP on the composition of the particulate matter in the exhaust gas. The results show that the size distribution interval of the particle mass concentration falls behind that of the quantity concentration under various loads. When the diesel engine operating speed is 2400 rpm and the load is 25%, after NTP, the proportions of the nucleation mode particles and the accumulative mode particles exhibit a small fluctuation while the proportion of ultrafine particles decreases by 10% due to their large quantity concentration. Under the dual effect of DPF and NTP, the particle quantity concentration decreases by 98%. In order to investigate the effect of NTP on the composition of the PM, a thermo-gravimetric analysis of the particles obtained before and after NTP was carried out. The results show that the proportion of volatile matter falls by 16.05% and solid carbon accounts for an increase of 7.29%. NTP has the ability to improve reduction activity of particles and make particles easier to be oxidized at a lower temperature.