Apparatus for removing soot from the exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine, in particular a diesel engine

In an apparatus for removing soot from the exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine, especially a Diesel engine, said apparatus including a metallic housing having inlet and outlet means for the exhaust gas stream, and a filter insert that is disposed in said housing and contains a non-metallic, high-temperature-resistant filter means in the form of a granulate fill that is disposed in a fixing element, with said filter insert, in said filter housing, separating an untreated-gas chamber, which communicates with said inlet means, from a purified-gas chamber, which communicates with said outlet means, and with an electrical current source being used to burn off, in a controlled manner, the soot deposited on said filter means, the improvement wherein:

• said fixing element of said filter insert comprises two vertically and coaxially disposed perforated tube members that form between them a first annular chamber for accommodating said granulate fill and receiving untreated gas from said untreated-gas chamber, said first annular chamber also communicating with said purified-gas chamber, with said perforated tube members having surfaces that face said first annular chamber, said surfaces being provided with a respective fine-mesh screen, and inwardly thereof and adjacent thereto, a respective coarse-mesh screen, said exhaust gas being adapted to flow through said filter insert transverse to the gravitational effect of the particles of said granulate fill;
• an upper region of said filter housing is provided with a second annular chamber that communicates with said first annular chamber, with means being provided for supplying compressed air to said second annular chamber for being able to compact said granulate fill of said first annular chamber.