Particulate mass and number emission factors for road vehicles based on literature data and relevant gap filling methods

•Road vehicle particulate mass, total and solid number emission factors were developed.•Emission factors were assigned to vehicle category, technology and fuel used.•Size distributions to match particulate number and mass concentrations were synthesized.•Consistent information that can be used for inventorying and policy assessment.

This work presents a new set of exhaust particulate emission factors for light and heavy duty vehicles and different driving conditions (urban, rural and highway). The emission factors, building upon COPERT methodology, are expressed in terms of particulate mass (PM), particle number (PN) and as particle size distributions, addressing current and future vehicle technologies, as well as conventional and alternative fuels. All emission factors correspond to fine particles (PM2.5), as the coarse fraction (PM2.5-10) is negligible in primary vehicle emissions. PN emission factors refer to both total and solid particles to cover typical engine exhaust. The set of emission factors is a consistent set of information and can be useful to inventory compilers, air quality researchers and as input to impact assessment studies for policy options.