Lubricating Oil and Fuel Contributions To Particulate Matter Emissions from Light-Duty Gasoline and Heavy-Duty Diesel Vehicles

Abstract

Size-resolved particulate matter emissions from heavy-duty diesel vehicles (HDDVs) and light-duty gasoline vehicles (LDGVs) operated under realistic driving cycles were analyzed for elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), hopanes, steranes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Measured hopane and sterane size distributions did not match the total carbon size distribution in most cases, suggesting that lubricating oil was not the dominant source of particulate carbon in the vehicle exhaust. A regression analysis using 17alpha(H)-21beta(H)-29-norhopane as a tracer for lubricating oil and benzo[ghi/perylene as a tracer for gasoline showed that gasoline fuel and lubricating oil both make significant contributions to particulate EC and OC emissions from LDGVs. A similar regression analysis performed using 17alpha(H)-21beta(H)-29-norhopane as a tracer for lubricating oil and flouranthene as a tracerfor diesel fuel was able to explain the size distribution of particulate EC and OC emissions from HDDVs. The analysis showed that EC emitted from all HDDVs operated under relatively high load conditions was dominated by diesel fuel contributions with little EC attributed to lubricating oil. Particulate OC emitted from HDDVs was more evenly apportioned between fuel and oil contributions. EC emitted from LDGVs operated underfuel-rich conditions was dominated by gasoline fuel contributions. OC emitted from visibly smoking LDGVs was mostly associated with lubricating oil, but OC emitted from all other categories of LDGVs was dominated by gasoline fuel. The current study clearly illustrates that fuel and lubricating oil make separate and distinct contributions to particulate matter emissions from motor vehicles. These particles should be tracked separately during ambient source apportionment studies since the atmospheric evolution and ultimate health effects of these particles may be different. The source profiles for fuel and lubricating oil contributions to EC and OC emissions derived in this study provide a foundation for future source apportionment calculations.

Intra-community spatial variation of size-fractionated organic compounds in Long Beach, California

“…Analyses of specific PAHs can provide additional information on the types of vehicular emissions affecting the sampling sites. For example, high correlations between coronene and benzo[ghi]perylene (r=0.96 and 0.94 for UF and Acc fractions, respectively) have previously been attributed to emissions from poor spark-ignition combustion in gasoline-powered vehicles (Fine et al 2004a) and incomplete combustion of gasoline deriving from light-duty gasoline vehicles (Kleeman et al 2008). Steranes have recently been identified as a reliable marker for motor oil combustion (Kleeman et al 2008).…”

Gasoline emissions dominate over diesel in formation of secondary organic aerosol mass

“…[3] Emissions from gasoline and diesel vehicles differ in their chemical characteristics [Kleeman et al, 2008;Presto et al, 2009] and their weekly pattern [Harley et al, 2005;Marr and Harley, 2002a]. In the United States, emissions from gasoline vehicles dominate vehicular hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions [Harley et al, 2001;Marr and Harley, 2002b].…”

Chemical Composition of Atmospheric Precipitation at Monitoring Sites in Pribaikalye (East Siberia, Russia)

“…According to this and other investigations, almost all industrial productions, combustion of fossil fuel, transport and other human activities cause anthropogenic dispersion of elements in the environment [3] [4] [5] [6]. Fuel combustion pollutes atmosphere with As, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Sb, Se, V, and Zn; nonferrous metallurgy causes pollution of atmosphere with Ag, As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sb, and Zn, and ferrous metallurgy with Cd, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and V [7] [8].…”