Particle emissions measurements on CNG vehicles focusing on Sub-23nm

The current study investigates the nonvolatile particle number emissions of three bi-fuel passenger cars (Euro 6(b), 6(d-temp)), which operate on compressed natural gas (CNG), as a primary fuel, and gasoline as a secondary one. The CNG fuel was injected into the engine using port fuel injection (PFI) while the gasoline fuel was either by PFI or by direct injection (GDI). A novel exhaust gas sampling and dilution system was employed for the determination of solid particle number (SPN) emissions at 10 nm (SPN10nm) and 2.5 nm (SPN2.5 nm). The vehicles were tested in the laboratory over different test cycles where the CNG solid particle number emissions greater than 23 nm (SPN23nm) were an order of magnitude lower than GDI and PFI gasoline emissions. However, when the size threshold was lowered to 10 nm or 2.5 nm, emissions were similar for both fuels. Particularly, SPN2.5 nm emissions of the Euro 6 b vehicle exceeded the Euro 6 emission standard for both fuels while the SPN23nm emissions were between 40 and 2.8 times lower than the limit for CNG and gasoline, respectively. Particle size distributions show a significant number of particles reside below the regulated limit of 23 nm, even lower than 10 nm. The results have significant implications in setting a particle number limit for alternative fuel vehicles while indicating that the current size threshold (23 nm) is insufficient for particle emission testing. Copyright (c) 2020 American Association for Aerosol Research

Automated summary

The study found that passenger cars operating on compressed natural gas (CNG) had lower solid particle number emissions compared to gasoline vehicles when the particle size threshold was 23 nm, but similar emissions when the threshold was lowered to 10 nm or 2.5 nm. Specifically, the Euro 6 b vehicle exceeded the Euro 6 emission standard for 2.5 nm particles, while emissions for 23 nm particles were significantly lower than the limits for CNG and gasoline. Particle size distributions revealed particles below the regulated 23 nm limit, indicating the current threshold may be insufficient for particle emission testing.