DETAILED MEASUREMENT OF EMISSIONS FROM ON-ROAD VEHICLES

Abstract

The rapid rate of increasing industrialization and globalization have led to a massive increase in the number of vehicles plying on the road worldwide. The increasing number of vehicles have provided efficient mobility on the one hand while increasing the concentration of gases harmful to human health on the other. So there is an urgent need to monitor control and reduce the harmful emissions. In the current work efforts have been made to get an idea about the actual emissions from the on-road vehicles. Currently, only primary emissions like Carbon monoxide, Nitrous oxides, Unburnt hydrocarbons, Particulate matter are regulated and there is no focus on the secondary emissions like benzene and its allied compounds, formic acid, acetaldehyde, styrene, HCN etc.. The reason for the measurement and monitoring of these secondary emissions lies in the fact that even a small concentration level can lead to harmful effects on human health and life. So the present work focuses on the measurement of the regulated (primary) and unregulated (secondary) emissions to get the actual scenario of emissions in India from on road vehicles. This dissertation aims to achieve detailed measurements of various constituents present in the engine exhaust using FTIR spectroscopy and fine particle flue gas analyser on a wide range of on-road vehicles. The vehicles are chosen so as to cover the typical vehicles usually present on the road. From the obtained data, it can be concluded that emission is a complex phenomenon depending on the set norms, age of the vehicle, displacement of the engine, driving cycle followed and other intricate engine features like type of cooling and lubricant used. This dissertation has brought the essentials related to actual emissions by the various vehicle groups present on road and elaborated on the margin by which the concentrations of harmful components are higher than the safe limits.