Overview of Vehicle Exhaust Particle Number Regulations

Vehicle emissions are a significant source of air pollution in cities. Particulate matter (PM) is a pollutant with important adverse health effects. Regulations worldwide determine the PM exhaust emissions of vehicles by gravimetric quantification of the mass deposited on a filter over a test cycle. The introduction of particulate filters as vehicle exhaust gas aftertreatment devices led to low PM emissions. A particle number methodology (counting solid particles >23 nm), complementary to the PM mass measurement, was developed by the PMP (Particle Measurement Programme) group of the GRPE (Working Party on Pollution and Energy) of the UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) during the first decade of the 21st Century. The methodology was then introduced in the EU (European Union) regulations for light-duty, heavy-duty and non-road mobile machinery. Approximately at the same time UN (United Nations) Regulations and GTRs (Global Technical Regulations) including this methodology were also developed. To address the on-road emissions, the EU introduced RDE (Real-Driving Emissions) testing with PEMS (Portable Emissions Measurement System). The PMP group recently improved the current laboratory and on-board methodologies and also extended them to a lower particle size (counting solid particles >10 nm). This paper gives an overview of current and near future regulations. Emphasis is given on the technical specifications and the changes that have taken place over the years.

GIECHASKIEL Barouch;  MELAS Anastasios;  MARTINI Giorgio;  DILARA Panagiota; 

2021-12-16

MDPI

JRC127221

2227-9717 (online),   

https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9717/9/12/2216,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC127221,   

10.3390/pr9122216 (online),