A diesel particulate filter is a ceramic honeycomb with thousands of blind channels — soot burns off in regeneration, but the ash never leaves. This study documents the two-bath ultrasonic process developed from a filter specialist’s enquiry: carbon stage, ash stage, flow-tested result.
The contamination
Soot and unburnt carbon
The combustion load — heavy in filters off failed-regen vehicles, oil-soaked where a turbo or injector let go. Alkaline carbon chemistry territory.
Lubricant ash
The one regeneration cannot touch: mineral ash from burned oil packs the channel ends and blinds the substrate permanently. This is what the second bath exists for.
The blind-channel geometry
Alternately plugged channels mean every flow path is a blind hole. Only a process that works inside blind geometry — cavitation — cleans it without cutting the can open.
The process
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Stage 1 chemistry | Alkaline carbon formulation |
| Stage 2 chemistry | RegeniK — the ash-stage product |
| Temperature / cycle | Established per application |
| Verification | Flow test against clean-filter baseline; result recorded per filter serial |
| Substrate care | Power and exposure limited for ceramic substrate; no caustic attack on washcoat |
The results
Hardware and chemistry
Two-bath DPF cell
Paired industrial tanks — carbon stage and ash stage — with flush and drying, sized to the largest truck filter in the program.
Ask about DPF cell sizing →
RegeniK
The ash-stage product: formulated for the mineral residue regeneration leaves behind, safe on ceramic substrates.
View the product, SDS and TDS →Two tanks, two chemistries and a flow bench
Questions about this process
Why do single-bath cleaned DPFs still gauge down?
What does the second bath do?
Why ultrasonics for a DPF?
To run this process in your own workshop, see DPF cleaning machines for workshops.
Related: MSX floor-standing tanks · Engine and vehicle parts cleaning · All case studies
What are you cleaning?
Tell us what the part is, what comes off it, and what it has to pass. Technical sales will tell you whether ultrasonics is the right answer for that part and what it takes to run it on your own floor.