NOx emissions prediction in diesel engines: a deep neural network approach

Abstract

The reduction of various nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from diesel engines is an important environmental issue due to their negative impact on air quality and public health. Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) has emerged as an effective technology to mitigate NOx emissions, but predicting the performance of SCR systems remains a challenge due to the complex chemistry involved. In this study, we propose using DNN models to predict NOx emission reductions in SCR systems. Four types of datasets were created; each consisted of five variables as inputs. We evaluated the models using experimental data collected from a diesel engine equipped with an SCR system. Our results indicated that the deep neural network (DNN) model produces precise estimates for exhaust gas temperature, NOx concentration, and De-NOx efficiency. Moreover, inclusion of additional input features, such as engine speed and temperature, improved the prediction accuracy of the DNN model. The mean absolute error (MAE) values for these parameters were 3.1 °C, 3.04 ppm, and 3.65%, respectively. Furthermore, the R-squared coefficient of determination values for the estimates were 0.912, 0.983, and 0.905, respectively. Overall, this study demonstrates the potential of using DNNs to accurately predict NOx emissions from diesel engines and provides insights into the impact of input features on the performance of the model.

Keywords: Deep neural network; Diesel engine; NOx emissions; Selective catalytic reduction.