Diesel particulate filter problems: How to solve them

A diesel particulate filter (DPF) is an effective means of minimising emissions of dangerous fine particles in exhaust gases. But in reality, a DPF only traps the soot after it’s formed — and it brings with it a whole new range of expensive, annoying and inconvenient problems.

Short answer: most DPF problems come from soot building up faster than the filter can burn it off. FTC Decarbonizer fixes the root cause — it produces less soot and burns it off at much lower temperatures, so the DPF regenerates naturally during normal driving.

The good news is that there’s already a simple, low-cost alternative. The trick is to clean up the fuel burn itself, rather than “after-treating” the exhaust with a diesel particulate filter:

Improve the combustion process.
Burn away excess soot and carbon.
Remove potential DPF blockages.
Enable the DPF system to operate correctly.

Achieving this means less soot is produced in the first place. FTC Decarbonizer — already proven in underground mining applications — acts as a true combustion catalyst to reduce the rate of soot production, and burns off existing soot at much cooler temperatures.

Once introduced into the diesel, less soot (and ash) accumulates in the DPF, as regeneration occurs naturally during normal engine operation.

“Site trucks at one large West Australian LNG plant are speed-limited to 40kph, causing severe issues with frequent diesel particulate filter clogging. By simply dosing the diesel with FTC Decarbonizer, DPF problems in the Isuzu and Cummins engine fleet ceased.”

FTC Decarbonizer safely removes soot and carbon from exhaust areas, fixing DPF regeneration problems. Satisfaction guaranteed.

Simply add FTC Decarbonizer to the fuel and DPF problems will be solved.

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Diesel Particulate Filter Problems

DPFs particularly cause issues for non-highway applications, where they tend to set off a predictable chain of escalating problems:

The number of “forced regenerations” increases, requiring the truck to be parked up for 20 minutes at a time to burn off the soot under higher fuel-usage conditions.
Where such regeneration cycles have become ineffective, DPF cleaning or replacement of damaged units is required — both of which are expensive.

How DPF Problems Damage Your Engine Oil

The most serious consequence is what happens to your oil:

Some of the excess fuel required for DPF regenerations can pass the rings into the engine oil. This causes excessive fuel dilution of the oil, which in turn increases the frequency of oil changes.
Crankcase oil should be free of fuel, and levels above as little as 5% are unacceptable. In practice, fuel dilution of up to 50% can occur — and this will destroy an engine in a very short time.

To counter this series of diesel particulate filter problems, FTC-treated diesel reduces both the total number of soot particles and the total soot mass produced. Secondly, it forces all carbon in combustion and exhaust spaces — including any soot trapped in the DPF — to combust at temperatures as low as 350–400°C. Normally, soot only combusts in the 500–600°C range and above.

The FTC-catalysed fuel burn permits this cooler soot burn. As soot is the initial binder for ash forming in DPFs, the amount of ash accumulating is also reduced. FTC Decarbonizer is a very low-cost way to tackle DPF problems at their source. In doing so, it minimises the need for DPF regeneration cycles — because less soot is formed, and any accumulated soot is readily combusted even under light-duty cycles.

For more on looking after your DPF, see our guides on DPF regen problems and how to fix them, how DPF costs can be avoided, and how FTC Decarbonizer works.