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WE CLEAN:

Diesel engines convert chemical energy contained in fuel to mechanical power. Diesel fuel is injected under pressure into the engine cylinder where it mixes with air just prior to when combustion occurs. The resulting exhaust gases discharged from the engine after the combustion process contain several constituents that are harmful to human health and to the environment.

Today’s complex emissions components work together to reduce amount of harmful contaminants discharged by diesel engines. However, despite improvements in clean diesel technology, the diesel combustion process still produces a great deal of contamination that over-time can negatively impact the performance of your vehicle. We offer a means of cleaning these items to prevent the buildup of diesel exhaust byproducts that can rob your engine of performance due to dirty or ill-performing diesel components.

1. “Diesel Particulate Filters” (DPF)

We clean DPF’s for longer emissions system life!

Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM) is a complex aggregate of solid and liquid material. Its origin is carbonaceous particles generated in the engine cylinder during combustion. The primary carbon particles form larger agglomerates and combine with several other components of diesel exhaust, both organic and inorganic, to form particulate matter. Generally, DPM is divided into three basic fractions:

1. Solids - dry carbon particles, commonly known as soot

2. SOF - heavy hydrocarbons adsorbed and condensed on the carbon particles, called Soluble Organic Fraction

3. SO4 - sulfate fraction: hydrated sulfuric acid

The actual composition of DPM will depend on the particular engine and its load and speed conditions. “Wet” particulates can contain up to 60% of the hydrocarbon fraction (SOF), while “dry” particulates are comprised mostly of dry carbon. The amount of sulfates is directly related to the sulfur contents of the diesel fuel.

If you own a diesel vehicle manufactured after 2007, it will feature a device called a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF). Diesel particulate filters are large blocks of porous ceramic that serve as the principal mechanism for trapping diesel exhaust contaminants (ash and soot) from exiting the vehicle exhaust system. DPFs serve as the foundation of modern diesel emissions systems.

Dictated by the EPA to help reduce exhaust emissions, DPFs unfortunately have an obvious flaw in they're essentially a 'reservoir' used to trap soot and ash particles generated by the diesel combustion process. As soot and ash accumulate within the DPF, its ability to allow exhaust gases to flow through it is reduced, and if left unattended long enough, it can become blocked, risking a breakdown and potentially costly repair bills.

Every modern diesel vehicle has a process of dealing with soot in its DPF: "REGENERATION". DPF regeneration converts accumulated soot particles into ash using high temperature exhaust gases to perform the conversion. This usually happens automatically when the engine reaches a certain operating temperature at normal motorway speeds or during a prolonged drive. This is called “passive” DPF regeneration and requires no input from the driver.

However, If your vehicle spends most of its time being driven around town on short start/stop journeys, the exhaust may never reach temperatures necessary to convert the soot to ash, and therefore may never fully ‘regenerate’ on its own. Thankfully, the vehicle computer monitors the DPF, and when it detects a reduction in exhaust flow, it alerts the driver via a dashboard warning light.

If the DPF warning light comes on it’s because the engine management system has measured the exhaust flow through the filter and found it to be inadequate, and therefore calls for an “active” DPF regeneration. This is typically done by depressing a button on the dash while the vehicle is parked, leaving it to complete the regeneration cycle unattended. During the "active" regeneration cycle, the engine will often race at high RPM’s in order to generate sufficiently-high exhaust gas temperatures needed to convert the accumulated soot to ash. Once completed, the vehicle computer will confirm that the exhaust flow through the DPF falls within acceptable parameters and turn-off the regeneration light on the dash. At this point, the vehicle should operate normally for some time to come.

However, if the vehicle has completed several regeneration cycles on the same filter, it’s possible that the ash inside the DPF has accumulated to the point where a “passive" or “active” regeneration will no longer restore the exhaust flow through the DPF to acceptable parameters for any length of time –thus triggering the dash light to come on more frequently. This is a key indicator that the DPF filter itself needs to be removed and either replaced, or cleaned of the ash that has accumulated within it. But beware, simple ‘blow-out’ cleaning (sometimes referred to as “shake-and-bake” cleaning) often fails to remove compacted ash deep inside the filter that may have hardened over several “passive” and “active” regeneration cycles. It is for this reason that the predominate DPF cleaning method found in regions that have used DPFs for many decades (like Europe and Asia) is ultrasonic immersion cleaning.

Ultrasonic immersion cleaning is the industry-standard throughout the world and is the only method found to consistently recover DPFs to their full manufacturer specification -even if the filter has many cleaning cycles on it already.

For that reason, this is why we recommend ULTRASONIC IMMERSION CLEANING for all DPFs.

2. “Diesel Oxidation Catalyst” (DOC) Devices

We clean DOC’s for optimum performance!

For ‘compression-ignition’ engines (ie: diesels) the most commonly used catalytic converter is the “diesel oxidation catalyst” or DOC. DOC’s are designed to oxidize carbon monoxide (CO), gas phase hydrocarbons (HC), and the SOF fraction of diesel particulate matter (heavy hydrocarbons adsorbed and condensed on the carbon particles) into CO2 and H2O. Diesel exhaust contains sufficient quantities of oxygen to precipitate these reactions.

DOC’s contain palladium, platinum and aluminum oxide, all of which serve as catalysts to oxidize these hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide and water.

3. “Selective Catalytic Reduction” (SCR) Devices

We clean SCR’s for improved emissions output!

“Selective Catalytic Reduction” (SCR) devices are “aftertreatment systems” that utilize basic chemistry to reduce NOx to near-zero levels by injecting a non-toxic liquid-reductant agent into the vehicle's downstream exhaust stream as it passes through the SCR catalyst aftertreatment chamber. The reductant source is usually automotive-grade urea, otherwise known as Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF).

The DEF fluid is made up of water and urea. The urea turns to ammonia when heated and reacts with the exhaust stream when passed over the catalyst inside the SCR catalyst aftertreatment chamber, ultimately forming nitrogen and water vapor in the process, both of which are harmless.

By selectively eliminating downstream NOx, the NOx produced by the engine can be much higher, thus allowing engine makers to produce engines with higher horsepower without increasing NOx emissions.

4. “Exhaust Gas Recirculation” (EGR) Coolers

We clean EGR’s to like-new condition to restore full engine performance in the field!

EGR coolers are used to help reduce the release of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and unburned hydrocarbon emissions into the atmosphere. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) and unburned hydrocarbons are created when the combustion chamber temperatures exceed 2,370° F. By redirecting cooled exhaust gases back into the engine intake, the result is a reduced amount of oxygen entering the combustion chamber, thus reducing combustion chamber temperatures and reducing the production of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and hydrocarbon emissions. The EGR cooler is the sole mechanism used to reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx) and hydrocarbon releases.

The flip-side of this is the buildup of soot and ash on the inside of the EGR cooler as exhaust gases carry them out of the combustion chamber along with oil vapor from the crankcase ventilation system. This causes the formation of carbon buildup inside the EGR cooler, thus restricting it’s flow, and potentially triggering a service indicator.

Should this crucial emissions item go for any length of time without service, the EGR cooler could become plugged –thus causing extremely hot exhaust gages to buildup inside the plugged cooler, risking a rupture of the cooler due to rising cooler temperatures. An EGR rupture can lead to coolant flowing into the intake or exhaust systems of the engine, or allow exhaust pressure into the cooling system, which can eventually lead to a blown head gasket.

Routine EGR cleaning is vital to the ongoing efficient performance of your diesel engine.