| Abstract |
Driven by concerns regarding global warming, air quality and human health, there is a clear trend toward increased sales of light-duty diesel vehicles in many parts of the world. This trend can result in many positive environmental benefits including low fuel consumption, and therefore low levels of CO2, CO, HC and volatile hydrocarbons. However, increased diesel sales have a downside, relatively high NOx and particulate emissions. As a result, countries around the world are increasingly tightening diesel regulations with the result that engine and reducing emissions technologies continues to advance, and reformulated diesel fuels continue to appear. In this context, the overall objective of this research project is to characterise physically and chemically particulate matter (PM) emissions from light-duty diesel vehicles and engines. The research pretends to assist in the setting of future regulation limits on PM emissions for this type of vehicles, addressing last generation diesel engines (direct injection), advanced particle emission reduction technologies (diesel particle filters) and novel diesel fuels (biodiesel). For that purpose, a new system for PM sampling and measurement will be developed and assessed in order to allow for accurate, repeatable and reproducible measurements of particles in the exhaust of diesel vehicles, mostly in the ultrafine and nanometer range, at the low emission levels from the technologies anticipated for the future market and at the stringency levels expected in future legislations. The project will be carried out in the vehicle and engine emissions laboratory (VELA) at the Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES) of the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the EU in Ispra (Italy). VELA has facilities to test emissions from engines and vehicles of all sizes, including a double dilution tunnel for measuring particles and gaseous ultra-low emissions (ULEV).
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