Review of the European Test Procedure for Evaporative Emissions: Main Issues and Proposed Solutions

Abstract

The current European legislation on evaporative emissions dates back to the Directive 98/69/EC (Euro 3-4 standards). Since then neither the emission limits nor the test procedure have changed. As stated in several legislative documents the European Commission has now the obligation to review the evaporative emissions test procedure in order to improve control of evaporative emissions. In this report the main issues related to real world evaporative emissions and to the impact of ethanol used as transport fuel on the same emissions are addressed. In addition, modifications to the current European legislation to improve the control of real world evaporative emissions and to minimize the impact of ethanol are proposed. Moreover, this report provides an overview on evaporative emissions from passenger cars and on the effect of ethanol on them. A comparison between the European and US legislation is also provided.