Vehicle exhaust is an important anthropogenic source of atmospheric carbonaceous aerosols; of which, the emission factors and stable carbon isotope composition are important basic data. In-use motor vehicles of different types were selected to conduct dynamometer tests using different test cycles and under cold/hot start conditions. The exhaust of each test stage was collected to analyze the carbonaceous components and stable carbon isotopes and to discuss the influencing factors. The total carbon emission factors follow the order:heavy-duty diesel vehicles>light-duty diesel vehicles>light-duty gasoline vehicles. Although the emission factors of light-duty natural gas vehicles were very low at the low- and medium-speed stages, they were similar to those of heavy-duty diesel vehicles at the high-speed stage. The emission factors of cold start were higher than those of hot start, and the emission factors of the NEDC test cycle were lower than those of WLTC (which should be related to the driving speed). The emission factors of organic carbon (OC) of gasoline and natural gas vehicles were much higher than those of elemental carbon (EC) in every test stage. The emission factors of OC and EC of diesel vehicles were similar. The OC/EC of all types of vehicles increased with the increase in driving speed. Stable carbon isotopes in EC were higher than those in OC. The stable carbon isotope in different vehicles follow the order:light-duty gasoline vehicles<light-duty natural gas vehicles<light-duty diesel vehicles<heavy-duty diesel vehicles. The results revealed that the source signatures of stable carbon isotope in vehicles used in current source apportionment could not well represent gasoline vehicles and natural gas vehicles. In future emission control and source apportionment, attention should be paid to the changes in emission factors and isotope signatures caused by the use of natural gas and the aging of motor vehicles.
Keywords: chassis dynamometer; elemental carbon(EC); emission factor; motor vehicle exhaust; organic carbon(OC); stable carbon isotope.