Examining the temperature dependence of ethanol (E85) versus gasoline emissions on air pollution with a largely-explicit chemical mechanism

Ginnebaugh, Diana L.; Liang, Jinyou; Jacobson, Mark Z.

doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2009.12.024

Cited by 57 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…62 This study is supported by a recent detailed atmospheric chemistry modeling study, 60 which concludes that powering vehicles with ethanol E85 versus gasoline would increase ozone concentrations from 7 to 40 ppb for the conditions studied, and also increase ambient levels of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and peroxyacetyl nitrate. Such modeling studies 60,61 seem to be contradicted by other experimental observations that show decreases in ozone levels and the number of smog days when ethanol was added to fuels. 63 Specifically, a modeling study by Martins and Andrade for the São Paulo metropolitan area suggests that running the entire light-duty vehicle fleet on pure ethanol would reduce exceedance frequencies of ozone.…”

Section: S11supporting

confidence: 50%

“…[55][56][57][58] However, compared to the number of tailpipe emissions studies, there exist unfortunately far fewer experimental studies examining the influence of vehicle transportation fuels on atmospheric chemical composition. 33,[59][60][61] One such study, which adopts a smog chamber approach, finds that ethanol resulted in around 30% more ozone than gasoline E22-E24. 62 This study is supported by a recent detailed atmospheric chemistry modeling study, 60 which concludes that powering vehicles with ethanol E85 versus gasoline would increase ozone concentrations from 7 to 40 ppb for the conditions studied, and also increase ambient levels of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and peroxyacetyl nitrate.…”

Section: S11mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…33,[59][60][61] One such study, which adopts a smog chamber approach, finds that ethanol resulted in around 30% more ozone than gasoline E22-E24. 62 This study is supported by a recent detailed atmospheric chemistry modeling study, 60 which concludes that powering vehicles with ethanol E85 versus gasoline would increase ozone concentrations from 7 to 40 ppb for the conditions studied, and also increase ambient levels of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and peroxyacetyl nitrate. Such modeling studies 60,61 seem to be contradicted by other experimental observations that show decreases in ozone levels and the number of smog days when ethanol was added to fuels.…”

Section: S11mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reduction in local ozone levels in urban São Paulo due to a shift from ethanol to gasoline use

Salvo

Geiger

2014

Nature Geosci

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It has been proposed that lower NOX emission fuels such as ethanol can mitigate air pollution from vehicles burning oil-based hydrocarbons. Yet, existing modeling and laboratory studies, even those seeking to simulate the same environment, vary in their predictions of how gasoline/ethanol blends affect atmospheric pollutant concentrations, including ozone. Importantly, ambient concentrations have not been evaluated during an actual -as opposed to hypothetical -shift in fuel mix in a real-world environment. Here, we report the first such study, for the subtropical megacity of São Paulo, Brazil. We combine detailed street-hour level data on regulated pollutant concentrations, meteorology, and traffic with fuel shares from a consumer demand model to compare concentrations across subsamples that differ only in the fuel mix but are otherwise similar in meteorology, anthropogenic activity, and biogenic emissions. As the gasoline share of the bi-fuel light-duty vehicle fleet rose by 62 percentage points, we estimate a robust and statistically significant reduction of about 20% in ozone concentrations, and less precise increases in NO and CO concentrations. We propose that our "model-free" analysis potentially accounts for the interaction between anthropogenic and biogenic emissions and caution that successful strategies against ozone pollution require knowledge of the PRE-PRINT DATE: 18 February, 2014 Ozone levels are relatively high in São Paulo, with hourly concentrations above 75 and 125 g/m 3 , respectively, 2.7 and 5.3 times more likely than for PM10 in our sample. Light transportation is a key contributor to air pollution in this gridlocked metropolis [1][2][3] , with large public health implications [4][5][6][7] . In 2011, 40% of the city's 6 million active light-duty vehicles -likely accounting for over one-half of all light vehicle distance traveled -possessed bi-fuel capability. This capability allowed consumers to choose between gasoline (an E25 or E20 blend) and ethanol E100 at the pump 8 , as both fuels were ubiquitous among São Paulo's retailers 9,10 . In recent years, governmentcontrolled gasoline prices held steady whereas market-set sugarcane ethanol prices tracked the significant swings in the world price of sugar 8,10 . This empirical setting provides a rarely observed opportunity to examine whether urban air pollution was impacted by emissions that transitioned between gasoline and ethanol -both combustion and evaporation. São Paulo city currently features clogged hypothetical large-scale switch from a fossil fuel over to a biofuel in a large urban center. Analysis of Concentrations, Traffic, and Meteorology at Street-Hour LevelOur study cross-examines a large amount of measured data, detailed at the streethour level (Fig. 2), from several sources: (i) concentrations of regulated "priority" . We combine the extensive pollutantmeteorology-traffic data with: (iv) weekly gasoline and ethanol prices at the pump, obtained from the National Agency for Oil, Biofuels and Natural Gas (ANP) 10 , which in tu...

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Section: S11supporting

confidence: 50%

Section: S11mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: S11mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reduction in local ozone levels in urban São Paulo due to a shift from ethanol to gasoline use

Salvo

Geiger

2014

Nature Geosci

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“…For example, further studies of ozone emissions from burning E85 (85% ethanol, 15% petrol) fuel have refined earlier findings [43] -18 -and suggest that the health effects of emissions are greatest at colder temperatures [58].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Biofuels: from a win–win solution to a wicked problem?

Fast

McCormick

2012

Biofuels

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“…Prior studies mention a direct relation between oxygen content in fuel and quality of combustion, resulting in decreases in most air pollutants linked to incomplete combustion, including particle emissions (Niven, 2005;Canakci et al, 2013;Costagliola et al, 2013), but there were no results indicating a correlation between oxygen content in fuel and ultrafine particle emissions. The results of this study suggest that there is not a linear relation between ethanol content in fuel and ultrafine particle emissions, and that further research must be conducted with controlled fuel formulation, engine type, driving cycle, ambient temperature and dilution conditions, complemented by a broad knowledge of cylinder combustion dynamics, chemical mechanisms and complex computational modelling (Bayraktar, 2005;Ginnebaugh et al, 2010) in order to understand this phenomena.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Ambient Temperature and Fuel on Particle Number Emissions on Light-Duty Spark-Ignition Vehicles

Magara-Gomez

Olson

McGinnis

et al. 2014

Aerosol Air Qual. Res.

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To better understand the impact of ambient temperature and fuel on the emissions of ultrafine particles from spark ignition light-duty vehicles, experiments were conducted to examine the impact of ethanol-gasoline mixtures, compressed natural gas (CNG), and ambient temperature, on the size distribution and number emissions of particles. Vehicles were tested on a chassis dynamometer under controlled conditions of ambient temperature spanning from 60 to 85°F. A dual fuel vehicle operating with CNG and 6% ethanol-gasoline blends (E6); and a flex fuel vehicle operating with four different ethanol-gasoline blends E6, 35% ethanol (E35), 65% ethanol (E65) and 85% ethanol (E85) was evaluated to understand fuel effects. Changes in vehicle operating temperature, which included the combustion air temperature, over the ranges of 60 to 85°F showed no clear impact on fine particle emissions. Likewise, no significant changes in particle number or particle size distributions were observed between CNG and E6 fuels. However, tests with the flex fuel vehicle, which were able to examine higher ethanol concentrations in the fuel showed large decreases in particle number emissions as ethanol levels increased to E65 and E85.

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Examining the temperature dependence of ethanol (E85) versus gasoline emissions on air pollution with a largely-explicit chemical mechanism

Cited by 57 publications

References 38 publications

Reduction in local ozone levels in urban São Paulo due to a shift from ethanol to gasoline use

Reduction in local ozone levels in urban São Paulo due to a shift from ethanol to gasoline use

Biofuels: from a win–win solution to a wicked problem?

Effect of Ambient Temperature and Fuel on Particle Number Emissions on Light-Duty Spark-Ignition Vehicles

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