Vehicular emission inventory of criteria pollutants in Delhi

Abstract

The rapid urbanization in Delhi has resulted in a tremendous increase in the number of motor vehicles with the increase in population and urban mobilization. The vehicular traffic is now recognized as one of the main sources of air pollution in Delhi and has noticeable impact on air quality. The emission of criteria pollutants namely Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) and Particulate Matter (PM) due to vehicles is estimated through the International Vehicle Emission (IVE) model, which includes the different driving modes of vehicles and meteorological parameters. The estimated emissions of Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) and Particulate Matter (PM) due to different types of vehicles in the year 2008–09 are found to be 509, 194 and 15 tons/day respectively. The diurnal variation of emissions of air pollutants shows two peaks, which are fortunately matching with the morning and evening office hours. The emissions of CO and NOx due to personal cars (PCs) are found to be about 34% and 50% respectively, and the emission of CO due to 2 W (2- Wheeler) is about 61%. Similarly, the Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCVs) are contributing PM about 92%. The analysis of fuel-wise emission of pollutants reveals that CO is mainly contributed by petrol, and NOx and PM are contributed by diesel. It is also noticeable that CO, NOx and PM emissions at ITO, one of the busiest traffic intersections of Delhi, are approximately 15, 6 and 0.5 tons/day respectively, which are found to be the maximum followed by Kashmiri Gate (ISBT), Nizamuddin etc. The present vehicular emissions inventory has been compared quantitatively with previous studies of Delhi. The present vehicular emission inventory has also validated using US environmental protection agency’s (USEPA’s) AERMOD model with observed concentration at different locations in Delhi. However, the present study shows that the air quality of Delhi has been degraded due to high level emissions of criteria pollutants.

Anthropogenic Emission Inventory of Criteria Air Pollutants of an Urban Agglomeration - National Capital Region (NCR), Delhi

“…Vehicular pollution, contributed ~72% towards total air pollution load in (Goyal et al, 2006, which was only 23% in 1970-1971(Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), 2008a over an area of 1483 km 2 of Delhi. The estimated emission of pollutants from automobiles in Delhi exceeds 1.3 kt every year (Goyal and Siddhartha, 2003) and contributed almost 64% to the total pollution in Delhi over an area 780 km 2 (Goyal et al, 2013). The growing number of diesel vehicles in the region has further worsened the air quality scenario.…”

“…The vehicle population growth has sharply increased at an average annual rate 7.40% for private vehicles and 9.15% for commercial vehicles (SOE, 2010). The number of vehicles per kilometer of road in Delhi has gone up from 128 to 191 between 2003 and 2009 (Goyal et al, 2013).…”

“…The same method has been used for developing emission inventories in different scales such as urban (Gurjar et al, 2004;Goyal et al, 2013), regional scale (Sahu et al, 2011;Guttikunda and Calori, 2013), national (Reddy and Venkataraman, 2002;Ramachandra et al, 2009). The various emission-producing sources have been discussed briefly below.…”

“…The numbers of vehicles monitored on different types of roads in the year 2008-2009 has been used from Goyal et al (2013). According to Integrated Mobility Plan for GurgaonManesar Urban Complex, on an average about 0.3 million vehicles are entering and exiting Gurgaon, including NH-8 expressway each day.…”

Emission Inventory-A Preliminary Approach to Primary Pollutants

“…Goyal et al 36 This emission inventory study will promote better understanding of the current emission levels in an urban city like Madurai. Most often, the emission sources are from on-road transport sector.…”