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In the United States, most school buses are powered by diesel engines. Some have advocated replacing diesel school buses with natural gas school buses, but little research has been conducted to understand the emissions from school bus engines. This work provides a detailed characterization of exhaust emissions from school buses using a diesel engine meeting 1998 emission standards, a low emitting diesel engine with an advanced engine calibration and a catalyzed particulate filter, and a natural gas engine without catalyst. All three bus configurations were tested over the same cycle, test weight, and road load settings. Twenty-one of the 41 “toxic air contaminants” (TACs) listed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as being present in diesel exhaust were not found in the exhaust of any of the three bus configurations, even though special sampling provisions were utilized to detect low levels of TACs.

The emission performance of a 1997 Mercedes OM 366 LA medium heavy-duty diesel engine and a 1998 Detroit Diesel Corporation (DDC) Series 60 heavy heavy-duty diesel engine was investigated using the US EPA hot-start transient cycle using different candidate diesel fuels developed by the Empresa Nacional Del Petroleo (ENAP), the state-owned oil production and refining company of Chile. The aim of the work was to identify a clean diesel fuel that can be readily produced and reduces emissions from diesel engines in Chile, particularly in Santiago Metropolitan Area where air pollution is a serious problem. Using a Mercedes engine of the type found in Chile, several candidate fuel formulations were tested in both the Mercedes and DDC engines to identify leading candidate formulations that would effectively reduce emission in both traditional and modern technology engines.

The use of a partial flow sampling system (PFSS) to measure nonroad steady-state diesel engine particulate matter (PM) emissions is a technique for certification approved by a number of regulatory agencies around the world including the US EPA. Recently, there have been proposals to change future nonroad tests to include testing over a nonroad transient cycle. PFSS units that can quantify PM over the transient cycle have also been discussed. The full flow constant volume sampling (CVS) technique has been the standard method for collecting PM under transient engine operation. It is expensive and requires large facilities as compared to a typical PFSS. Despite the need for a cheaper alternative to the CVS, there has been a concern regarding how well the PM measured using a PFSS compared to that measured by the CVS. In this study, three PFSS units, including AVL SPC, Horiba MDLT, and Sierra BG-2 were investigated in parallel with a full flow CVS.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has initiated Phase I of a regulatory program to control exhaust emissions of nonroad diesel engines over 37 kW. Central to any emissions regulation is the test procedure, which must include an appropriate test cycle. Based on actual in-use speed and estimated torque data collected from an agricultural tractor, a backhoe-loader, and a crawler tractor, three duty cycles were developed. Using an iterative process, comparison of chi-square statistical data was used to identify representative microtrips, segments of engine operation gathered during performance of selected activities. Representative microtrips for specific activities for a particular nonroad application were “strung” together to make up a test cycle. Before accepting the test cycle, data for the cycle was compared to statistical data used to characterize the raw data in an effort to validate that the cycle was representative of the raw data.

Over twenty prototype hybrid buses and other commercial vehicles are currently being completed and deployed. These vehicles are primarily “series” hybrid vehicles which use electric motors for primary traction while internal combustion engines, or high-speed turbine engines connected to generators, supply some portion of the electric propulsion and battery recharge energy. Hybrid-electric vehicles have an electric energy storage system on board that influences the operation of the heat engine. The storage system design and level affect the vehicle emissions, electricity consumption, and fuel economy. Existing heavy-duty emissions test procedures require that the engine be tested over a transient cycle before it can be used in vehicles (over 26,000 lbs GVW). This paper describes current test procedures for assessing engine and vehicle emissions, and proposes techniques for evaluating engines used with hybrid-electric vehicle propulsion systems.

A Coordinating Research Council sponsored test program was conducted to determine the effects of diesel fuel properties on emissions from two heavy-duty diesel engines designed to meet EPA emission requirements for 1994. Results for a prototype 1994 DDC Series 60 were reported in SAE Paper 941020. This paper reports the results from a prototype 1994 Navistar DTA-466 engine equipped with an exhaust catalyst. A set of ten fuels having specific variations in cetane number, aromatics, and oxygen were used to study effects of these fuel properties on emissions. Using glycol diether compounds as an oxygenated additive, selected diesel fuels were treated to obtain 2 and 4 mass percent oxygen. Cetane number was increased for selected fuels using a cetane improver. Emissions were measured during transient FTP operation of the Navistar engine tuned for a nominal 5 g/hp-hr NOx, then repeated using a 4 g/hp-hr NOx calibration.

As stringent emission regulations further constrain engine manufacturers by tightening both NOx and particulate emission limits, a knowledge of fuel effects becomes more important than ever. Among the fuel properties that affect heavy-duty diesel engine emissions, cetane number can be very important. Part of the CRC-APRAC VE-10 Project was developed to quantify the effects of cetane number on NOx and other emissions from a prototype 1998 Detroit Diesel Series 60. Three fuels with different natural cetane number (41, 45, 52) were treated with several levels and types of cetane improvers to study a range of cetane number from 40 to 60. Statistical analysis was used to define how regulated emissions from this prototype 1998 engine decreased with chemically-induced cetane number increase. Variation of HC, CO, NOx, and PM were modeled using a combination of a fuel's naturally-occurring cetane number and its total cetane number obtained with cetane improver.

Concern over emissions from heavy-duty diesel engines at high altitudes prompted an investigation into the effects of increasing altitude on gaseous and particulate emissions. On behalf of the Engine Manufacturers Association, emissions from a Detroit Diesel Corporation Series 60 at local test conditions (barometer 98.9 kPa), and two simulated altitudes, Denver (82.6 kPa) and Mexico City (77.9 kPa) were examined using a special altitude simulation CVS. Transient torque output and full load steady-state torque, for this turbocharged aftercooled engine, decreased slightly with increasing altitude. Although, the DDC Series 60 compensates for variation in barometer, transient composite emissions of HC, CO, CO2, smoke, and particulate matter generally increased with increasing altitude for both transient and steady-state operation.

Several studies have investigated the effects of diesel fuel properties on heavy-duty engine emissions. The objective of this CRC-sponsored test program was to determine the effects of oxygenated diesel fuel, and to further investigate the effects of cetane number and aromatic content on emissions from a heavy-duty engine set to obtain transient NOx emissions below 5 and then 4 g/hp-hr. A fuel set was developed with controlled variations in cetane number, aromatics, and oxygen to superette their effects on emissions. Ignition improver was used to increase cetane number of several fuels. Oxygenated diesel fuel was achieved by adding a “glyme” compound to selected fuels to obtain 2 and 4 mass percent oxygen concentrations. With these fuels, emissions were measured over the EPA transient FTP using a prototype 1994 DDC Series 60 tuned for 5 and then 4 g/hp-hr NOx. No exhaust aftertreatment device was used on this engine.

The use of compressed natural gas as an alternative to conventional fuels has received a great deal of attention as a strategy for reducing air pollution from motor vehicles. In many cases, regulatory action has been taken to displace diesel fuel with natural gas in truck and bus applications. Emissions results of heavy-duty transient FTP testing of two Cummins L10-240G natural gas engines are presented. Regulated emissions of non-methane hydrocarbons, total hydrocarbons, CO, NOx, and particulate were characterized, along with emissions of formaldehyde. The effects of air/fuel ratio adjustments on these emissions were explored, as well as the effectiveness of catalytic aftertreatment in reducing exhaust emissions. Compared to typical heavy-duty diesel engine emissions, CNG-fueled engines using exhaust aftertreatment have great potential for meeting future exhaust emission standards, although in-use durability is unproven.

Emissions from existing diesel-powered urban buses are increasingly scrutinized as local, state, and federal governments require enforcement of more stringent emission regulations and expectations. Currently, visual observation of high smoke levels from diesel-powered equipment is a popular indicator of potential emission problems requiring tune-up or engine maintenance. It is important that bus inspection and maintenance (I/M) operations have a quality control “test” to check engine emissions or diagnose the engine state-of-tune before or after maintenance. Ideally, the “emission test” would be correlated to EPA transient emissions standards, be of short duration, and be compatible with garage procedures and equipment. In support of developing a useful “short-test,” equipment was designed to collect samples of raw exhaust over a short time period for gaseous and particulate emissions.

Substantial efforts have been made to reduce emissions from future heavy-duty diesel engines by control of selected fuel properties. U.S. diesel fuel for transportation use is scheduled by EPA to have low sulfur (≤ 0.05 wt. %) and a minimum cetane index of 40 by 1994 to reduce emissions. In addition, California has mandated that low sulfur diesel fuels contain less than 10 volume percent aromatics by 1994. Relative to emissions impact, diesel engine design and state-of-tune are perhaps even more important than proposed changes to diesel fuel. The work reported here examined emissions from a 1986 DDC 6V92-TA bus engine using fuels with variation in cetane number, aromatic level, 90 percent boiling point, and sulfur content. The engine was run on these fuels with selected maladjustments to examine their interactive effects on bus engine emissions. Except for HC emissions, regulated emissions were affected more by state-of-tune than by variation in test fuel properties.

The Detroit Diesel 6V-92TA engine has been redesigned to run on alcohol fuels to meet 1991 urban bus emission standards. A prototype engine was tested over the EPA transient procedure, using mixtures of methanol, ethanol (with and without water), gasoline, and ignition enhancer. Regulated and selected unregulated emissions were measured. Organic material hydrocarbon equivalent (OMHCE) emissions were significantly above the hydrocarbon emission standard; however, emissions of CO and NO, were below the 1991 emission standards for the fuel combinations used. Particulate emissions were close to the 1991 urban bus emission standard for some configurations. The method used for calculating OMHCE emissions when ethanol was used is also given.

Several diesel fuel properties have been identified as having significant effects on diesel engine emissions. For heavy-duty diesel engines, fuel properties of aromatics, back end volatility (represented by the 90 percent boiling point), and sulfur were examined in a previous CRC VE-1 study in which reductions in all three properties decreased regulated emissions to varying degrees. Aromatic levels and cetane numbers were generally correlated in the previous study, so variation in emissions due to “aromatics” could not clearly be assigned to variation in aromatic levels alone. To separate the effects of aromatics and cetane number, a fuel set with controlled variation in aromatics and cetane number was developed, including the use of ignition improver to increase the cetane number of selected fuels. The fuel set was used in a 1991 Prototype DDC Series 60 heavy-duty diesel engine to examine regulated emissions over EPA transient cycle operation.

Exhaust emissions from heavy-duty diesel engines operating at high altitude are of concern. EPA and Colorado Department of Health sponsored this project to characterize regulated and selected unregulated emissions from a naturally-aspirated Caterpillar 3208 and a turbocharged Cummins NTCC-350 diesel engine at both low altitude and simulated high attitude conditions (≈ 6000 ft). Emissions testing was performed over cold- and hot-start transient Heavy-Duty-Federal Test Procedure (HD-FTP) cycles as well as selected steady-state modes. In addition, the turbocharged engine was operated with mechanically variable and (fixed) retarded fuel injection timing to represent “normal” and “malfunction” conditions, respectively. High altitude operation generally reduced NOx emissions about 10 percent for both engines.

Increasingly stringent emission requirements for heavy-duty diesel engines stresses the importance of both engine design and diesel fuel quality. The Coordinating Research Council sponsored this test work to yield quantitative emission data and emission models to relate diesel fuel properties to emissions from modern heavy-duty diesel engines. Regulated and selected unregulated emissions from three engines were measured over the EPA transient test procedure using several fuels having controlled variation in three primary fuel properties: aromatics, volatility (as the 90 percent boiling point temperature), and sulfur. Models for transient composite emissions were obtained using multiple linear regression techniques, and changes to regulated emissions for selected changes in fuel properties were estimated from the models. Of the three primary fuel variables, aromatic content and volatility were significant for emissions of HC, CO, and NOx.

Regulated and some unregulated emissions from a Detroit Diesel Allison Division 8V-71TAC California bus engine were characterized over transient engine operation with and without catalyzed wire mesh particulate traps fitted in place of the standard exhaust manifold assemblies. Moderate reductions in particulate emissions were obtained, but initial trap design adversely affected performance of the 2-stroke, turbocharged, blower-scavenged bus engine. Most of the baseline engine performance was recovered with a second trap design. After catalyst aging, the second set of traps reduced baseline particulate emissions on both standard and low sulfur fuels by 60 and 70 percent, respectively.

Emissions Iron the two methanol-powered buses used in the California Methanol Bus Demonstration have been characterized. The M.A.N. SU 240 bus is powered by M.A.N.'s D2566 FMUH. methanol engine, and utilises catalytic exhaust af tertreatment. The GMC RTS II 04 bus is powered by a first-generation DDAD 6V-92TA methanol engine without exhaust aftertreatment. Emissions of HC, CO, NOx, unburned methanol, aldehydes, total particulates, and the soluble fraction of particulate were determined for both buses over steady-state and transient chassis dynamometer test cycles. Emission levels from the M.A.N. bus were considerably lower than those from the GMC bus, with the exception of NOx, Comparison of emission levels fro n methanol-and diesel-powered buses indicates that substantial reductions in emissions are possible with careful implementation of methanol fueling.

Three crude shale oils were chosen from six candidates to investigate their possible use as substitutes for No. 2 diesel fuel. Satisfactory hot engine operation was achieved on the crudes using a fuel heating system, allowing emissions characterization during transient and steady-state operation. Regulated gaseous emissions changed little with the crudes compared to diesel fuel; but total particulate and soluble organics increased, and larger injector tip deposits and piston crown erosion were observed. After engine rebuild, two minimally-processed shale oils were run without the fuel heating system, causing no engine problems. Most emissions were higher than for No. 2 fuel using an SO percent distillate of crude shale oil, but lower using a hydrotreated form of the distillate.

Diesel soot or smoke has been regarded as a nuisance pollutant and potential health hazard, especially in congested urban areas where diesel buses operate. Exhaust emissions from a DDAD 6V-71 coach engine and a similarly-powered 1980 GMC RTS-II coach, fitted with a non-catalyzed particulate trap, were characterized over various Federal Test Procedures for heavy-duty engines, including an experimental test cycle for buses. Regeneration was accomplished using an in-line burner in the exhaust to raise the engines' idle exhaust gas temperature from 120 to 700°C. Trap testing included approximately 15 hours of engine operation and 100 miles of bus operation. Particulate emissions were reduced by an average of 79 percent and smoke emissions were nil using the trap. The effect of the trap on regulated and other unregulated emissions was generally minimal.