2.4. Emission Levels of Solid and Volatile Particles
The introduction of a solid particle number (SPN) limit clearly resulted to a significant decrease of vehicle emissions. For example, DPF vehicles have by a factor of >10,000 lower SPN emissions than vehicles without DPFs (from >10
14 #/km to <10
10 #/km)
[7]. Similarly, SPN emission levels of gasoline direct injection vehicles dropped from >10
12 to <10
11 #/km
[134] with the use of a gasoline particle filter (GPF). In contrast, no SPN emission reductions were observed for vehicle technologies that were not covered by relevant regulations. For example, the SPN emissions of port fuel injection vehicles have remained at the same level (mostly between 10
11 and 10
12 #/km) for the last 30 years
[134]. Mopeds and motorcycles also exhibit high SPN emissions which, depending on engine tuning, can often reach more than 10
11 #/km
[135]. Any decreases in emission levels of this category were attributed to technology improvements (two-stroke vs. four-stoke, carburetor vs. electronic injection) which were forced by stricter limits in gaseous pollutants
[136]. This is an example that demonstrates that satisfactory control of SPN can be achieved by regulating co-pollutants.
One question is how different formation mechanisms of solid and total particle emissions are; this would have an impact on the emission control technologies in each case. In general, SPN control does not necessarily result in a decrease of total particle number (TPN), because the semi-volatile part is formed by ions and organics while the solid part is mostly elemental carbon and ash. In an exaggerated example of the past, a DPF equipped engine was shown to result to higher particle number emissions than the non-DPF one
[137]. Later it was shown that due to the low soot concentration post DPF available volatile species preferentially nucleated and formed new particles in the absence of solid cores on where they could condense
[138]. Similar findings have been observed in the atmosphere where high particle number levels can be seen when PM is low
[139]. A recent study with 130,000 plume measurements found that the number of semi-volatile particles comprised 85% to 94% of total particles
[8]. Even though semi-volatile particles can be dominant in terms of number, their contribution to mass depends on the existence or not of a particulate filter. Detailed studies with heavy-duty engines equipped with aftertreatment devices to fulfil the 2007 and 2010 standards (i.e., oxidation catalyst, DPF and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) for NO
x) had elemental carbon <20% of total mass
[87][88]. The organic carbon on the other hand was 30–65% and the rest were sulfates and nitrates. A constant nucleation mode over a test cycle (10
13 #/km, e.g., 10
7 #/cm
3 with mean size 20 nm) would correspond to only 0.1 mg/km (<10 μg on the filter at the end of the cycle). To put these numbers into context, the current SPN limit is 6 × 10
11 #/km, with the mass limit at 4.5 mg/km. For heavy-duty vehicles, the same number concentration (10
7 #/cm
3) would translate to >5 times higher emissions due to the higher exhaust flow rate.
There is a significant body of studies that have measured both solid and total number concentrations. For example, large projects funded by the industry
[140], and the European Commission, such as the Particulates project which ended in 2004
[141], showed small differences between TPN and SPN at low speeds, but high at high speeds. Other smaller scale studies reported differences of 50–100% between TPN and SPN for Euro1–4 vehicles
[74] or recent Euro 5 and Euro 6
[142] or 2009–2012 model years
[143] for typical cycles. A review showed that for type approval cycles the trends for solid particles were followed also for total particles (i.e., decreasing for GDIs, no decrease for PFIs)
[134]. This decrease is not always so evident in real life
[59]. For example, during cold start of gasoline and gas engines nucleation mode particles can be formed
[144][145], but not always
[146]. Relatively high differences have been reported when fuel specifications change
[133][147], and at high speed cycles
[143][148][149]. Even for the same vehicle and fuel, different operating points can result to varying TPN/SPN ratios
[150][151]. Recent research projects, such as the DownToTen (DTT), which ended in 2020, presented results from many vehicles where the TPN emissions were more than one order of magnitude higher than the SPN
[152]. Of particular interest were cases such as gasoline vehicles with GPF, compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles with and without particulate filter and plug-in hybrids that all under certain conditions exhibited a large range of TPN/SPN values. Another study found more than one order of magnitude higher TPN than SPN for hybrid vehicles even at city driving
[153]. All studies mentioned conducted measurements directly from the tailpipe so any volatile particles cannot be attributed to desorption artifacts from the sampling lines.
Similar conclusions have been also drawn for heavy duty engines
[154]. A study showed that the total particle number emissions increased from 10
11 #/km to 10
13 #/km when the exhaust gas temperature was >310 °C
[155]. In general, due to the high exhaust gas temperatures and consequently high release of desorbed species from the aftertreatment devices and exhaust line, and high SO
2 to SO
3 conversion, high TPN concentrations are reported
[36][49][156]. Tests with L-category vehicles (e.g., mopeds and motorcycles) also resulted in high TPN, especially at high speeds
[135][157]. Different combustion technologies (e.g., temperature reactivity controlled compression ignition (RCCI), hot or low exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) combustion etc.) can also have various TPN to SPN ratios
[158].
Specific events, such as DPF regeneration can also produce high concentrations of both solid and semi-volatile particles
[155][159][160][161][162][163]. SPN emissions can reach or even exceed the limit of 6 × 10
11 #/km
[160][163], while total particle emissions can be one to three orders of magnitude higher (up to 2 × 10
14 #/km)
[73][160][163]. Studies with light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles have also shown that even when the emissions during regeneration events are considered, the weighted (over regeneration distance) solid particle number emissions remain below the current SPN limit
[36][164][165]. The regeneration frequency is on average around 400–500 km, with a tendency of shorter distance for newer vehicles
[166]. Regarding semi-volatiles, many studies have shown that the concentration of sulfates and organics in the exhaust increases during regenerations and this is often linked to the formation of a distinct nucleation mode
[73][163][167]. However, one study found that increased particle number emissions during DPF regeneration were still by 83–99% lower than those without DPF
[90]. Furthermore, considering the regeneration frequency, the apparent total particulate matter filtration efficiency was reduced by less than 2% over the average driving conditions for medium- and heavy-duty diesel vehicles
[125]. Still, the weighted (total) particle number concentrations over the regeneration distance can be up to one order of magnitude higher than the current limit for solid particles.
The collected evidence suggests that there can be technologies, fuels, and operation conditions that lead to SPN and TPN levels and trends exhibiting significant deviations. The same evidence also suggests that the metric chosen for regulatory control may influence which technologies are promoted for future vehicles and what specifications for fuels and lubricants are decided. All of these factors will have an impact, not only on the specific metric, but on other co-pollutants as well. Therefore, deciding on the proper metric for particle number control will be decisive for the wider environmental impacts of road transport.