On-road heavy-duty vehicle emissions monitoring system

Environ Sci Technol. 2015 Feb 3;49(3):1639-45. doi: 10.1021/es505534e. Epub 2015 Jan 21.

Abstract

The introduction of particulate and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) after-treatment controls on heavy-duty vehicles has spurred the need for fleet emissions data to monitor their reliability and effectiveness. The University of Denver has developed a new method for rapidly measuring heavy-duty vehicles for gaseous and particulate fuel specific emissions. The method was recently used to collect 3088 measurements at a Port of Los Angeles location and a weigh station on I-5 in northern California. The weigh station NOx emissions for 2014 models are 73% lower than 2010 models (3.8 vs 13.9 gNOx/kg of fuel) and look to continue to decrease with newer models. The Port site has a heavy-duty fleet that has been entirely equipped with diesel particulate filters since 2010. Total particulate mass and black carbon measurements showed that only 3% of the Port vehicles measured exceed expected emission limits with mean gPM/kg of fuel emissions of 0.031 ± 0.007 and mean gBC/kg of fuel emissions of 0.020 ± 0.003. Mean particulate emissions were higher for the older weigh station fleet but 2011 and newer trucks gPM/kg of fuel emissions were nevertheless more than a factor of 30 lower than the means for pre-DPF (2007 and older) model years.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Air Pollutants / analysis*
  • California
  • Environmental Monitoring / methods*
  • Los Angeles
  • Models, Theoretical
  • Motor Vehicles
  • Nitrogen Oxides / analysis
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Soot
  • Vehicle Emissions / analysis*

Substances

  • Air Pollutants
  • Nitrogen Oxides
  • Soot
  • Vehicle Emissions