ULTRAFINE PARTICLE FILTER DESIGN FOR MOTORCYCLE EMISSION EXHAUST SYSTEM: A HIGH VOLTAGE ELECTROSTATIC-BASED SYSTEM

Abstract

A large number of motor vehicles in the world have been linked to the increase of the
emissions, such as particulate matters and gases. These pollutants, especially for the particulate matters with
the diameter less than 0.1 micrometer or ultrafine particles, become detrimental thing to the natural
environment and human health. There is a need to develop a better method to decrease the particles. Thus,
one step ahead of the technological improvement in the transportation sector is the development of an
emission filter applied in a motor vehicle exhaust system. According to this background, we developed an
ultrafine particle filtering system based on an electrostatic principle using a direct current - high voltage. The
filter is based on a electrostatic principle by using uses aluminum as the anode and cathode. This filter was
tested under the different DC voltage of 100, 200, 300, and 400 Volt. The efficiency of the filter was tested
by measuring the motor cycle ultrafine particles before and after applying the electrostatic filter. The particle
concentrations were measured by using a TSI P-Trak Ultrafine Particle Counter model 8525. The result
shows that the designed filter works well in reducing the ultrafine particles., with the efficiency of 7% to
46%. The filter efficiency depends on the applied voltage.