Emissions from heavy-duty vehicles under actual on-road driving conditions

Emission measurements of five 1996-2005 heavy-duty diesel vehicles (HDDVs), representing three engine certification levels, were made using a Mobile Emissions Laboratory under actual on-road driving conditions on surface streets and highways. The results show that emissions depend on the emission component, the age/certification of vehicle/engine, as well as driving condition. For NOx emissions, there was a trend of decreasing emissions in going from older to newer model years and certification standards. Some vehicles showed a tendency toward higher NOx emissions per mile for the higher speed events (⩾55 mph) as compared to the 40 mph cruise and the other surface street driving, while others did not show large differences between different types of driving. For particulate matter (PM), the three oldest trucks had the highest emissions for surface street driving, while the two newest trucks had the highest PM emissions for highway driving. For total hydrocarbons (THC) emissions, some vehicles showed a tendency for higher emissions for the surface street segments compared to the steady-state segments, while others showed a tendency for higher emissions for the 40 mph cruise segments compared to the highway cruise segments. CO emissions under steady-state driving conditions were relatively low (1-3 g mile−1).