Research Projects

Gaseous and particulate emissions from light-duty gasoline (LDV) and heavy-duty diesel (HDV) vehicles were collected using a denuder-filter-polyurethane foam sampling train. The particulate emissions were analyzed for carbonyls, organic acids and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using gas chromatography-ion trap mass spectrometry in conjunction with multiple derivatization techniques. Over eighty compounds were observed with emission rate ranges for carbonyls (0.005 to 490 µg km -1 , 0.04 to 2100 µg L -1 ), organic acids (0.02 to 580 µg km -1 , 0.7 to 19000 µg L -1 ) and PAHs (0.008 to 150 µg km -1 , 0.028 to 73 µg L -1 ) determined in this study. The total emissions of oxygenated organics accounted for 5-25% of the particulate organic carbon and 2-12% of the total PM mass emissions for the vehicles investigated. Emission rates for benzoquinone from both low-emission (190 ng km -1 , 1.7 µg L -1 ) and three-way catalyst (1500 ng km -1 , 16 µg L -1 ) LDV were determined. Coronene, a proposed LDV source apportionment tracer, was measured in the HDV Idle/creep emissions at nearly twice the emission rate per liter of fuel consumed versus the LDVs. This study succeeded in measuring new particulate oxygenated organic and relevant polycyclic aromatic compound emission rates from both LDVs and HDVs.