On-road ammonia emissions characterized by mobile, open-path measurements

Environ Sci Technol. 2014 Apr 1;48(7):3943-50. doi: 10.1021/es4047704. Epub 2014 Mar 10.

Abstract

Ammonia (NH3) is a key precursor species to atmospheric fine particulate matter with strong implications for regional air quality and global climate change. NH3 from vehicles accounts for a significant fraction of total emissions of NH3 in urban areas. A mobile platform is developed to measure NH3, CO, and CO2 from the top of a passenger car. The mobile platform conducted 87 h of on-road measurements, covering 4500 km in New Jersey and California. The average on-road emission factor (EF) in CA is 0.49 ± 0.06 g NH3 per kg fuel and agrees with previous studies in CA (0.3-0.8 g/kg). The mean on-road NH3:CO emission ratio is 0.029 ± 0.005, and there is no systematic difference between NJ and CA. On-road NH3 EFs increase with road gradient by an enhancement of 53 mg/kg fuel per percentage of gradient. On-road NH3 EFs show higher values in both stop-and-go driving conditions and freeway speeds with a minimum near 70 km/h. Consistent with prior studies, the on-road emission ratios suggest a highly skewed distribution of NH3 emitters. Comparisons with existing NJ and CA on-road emission inventories indicate that there may be an underestimation of on-road NH3 emissions in both NJ and CA. We demonstrate that mobile, open-path measurements provide a unique tool to help quantitatively understand the on-road NH3 emissions in urban and suburban settings.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Air Pollutants / analysis*
  • Ammonia / analysis*
  • Carbon Dioxide / analysis
  • Carbon Monoxide / analysis
  • Los Angeles
  • New Jersey
  • Time Factors
  • Vehicle Emissions / analysis*

Substances

  • Air Pollutants
  • Vehicle Emissions
  • Carbon Dioxide
  • Ammonia
  • Carbon Monoxide