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Vehicle emissions and performance
Research Guide
What is Vehicle emissions and performance?
Vehicle emissions and performance refers to the pollutants and greenhouse gases released from vehicles during operation alongside their operational efficiency, power output, and fuel consumption characteristics.
The field encompasses over 108,289 works analyzing exhaust components like CO2, NOx, particulate matter, and black carbon from internal combustion engines and emerging vehicle technologies. Studies quantify emissions through models such as PyEmission and MOVESTAR, which process second-by-second driving data for light-duty vehicles including passenger cars and SUVs. Recent preprints document reductions in black carbon and NOx in Euro 6c and 6d diesel cars via on-road measurements.
Research Sub-Topics
Internal Combustion Engine Emissions
This sub-topic examines the formation mechanisms, measurement techniques, and control strategies for pollutant emissions from spark-ignition and compression-ignition engines. Researchers investigate catalytic converters, exhaust gas recirculation, and fuel injection optimization to minimize NOx, CO, and particulate matter.
Particulate Matter from Vehicles
This area focuses on the physical and chemical properties of fine particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) emitted by diesel and gasoline vehicles, including size distribution, composition, and atmospheric behavior. Studies explore diesel particulate filters and their efficiency in capturing ultrafine particles.
Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Optimization
Researchers study thermodynamic cycles, turbocharging, variable valve timing, and hybrid powertrain integration to enhance fuel economy in internal combustion engines. This includes modeling combustion efficiency and real-world driving cycle performance.
Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds Modeling
This sub-topic develops and refines models like MEGAN for simulating biogenic VOC emissions influenced by vehicle-induced land use changes and atmospheric interactions. It addresses model validation, parameterization, and integration with regional air quality simulations.
Black Carbon Emissions Inventory
Focuses on compiling global inventories of black and organic carbon emissions from on-road and off-road vehicles, including source apportionment and emission factors. Researchers analyze trends, mitigation technologies, and climate forcing effects.
Why It Matters
Vehicle emissions contribute to air pollution and health risks, with fine particulate matter linked to mortality and morbidity increases as shown in "Health Effects of Fine Particulate Air Pollution: Lines that Connect" by Pope and Dockery (2006), which reviews six research lines since 1997 demonstrating PM effects on human health. Real-world applications include policy-driven reductions in China, where anthropogenic emissions dropped due to clean air actions, quantified in "Trends in China's anthropogenic emissions since 2010 as the consequence of clean air actions" by Zheng et al. (2018) reporting decreases in major pollutants. Recent advancements feature Euro 6c/6d diesel cars showing significant black carbon and NOx reductions per on-road measurements, while EU on-board data from 7.7 million cars in "Towards zero CO2 emissions: Insights from EU vehicle on-board data" (2025) reveal plug-in vehicles' high CO2 reduction potential influenced by mass, engine power, and electric share. Funding programs like New York's $80 million ZETT for battery-electric buses and FTA's Low or No Emission Grant underscore transit sector shifts.
Reading Guide
Where to Start
"Internal combustion engine fundamentals" (1988) provides foundational knowledge on engine operations, cycles, combustion, and gas exchange essential for understanding emissions sources before advancing to measurement and modeling papers.
Key Papers Explained
"Internal combustion engine fundamentals" (1988) establishes core engine processes cited in emissions inventories like "A technology‐based global inventory of black and organic carbon emissions from combustion" by Bond et al. (2004), which builds global tabulations from combustion sources. "Health Effects of Fine Particulate Air Pollution: Lines that Connect" by Pope and Dockery (2006) connects these emissions to health impacts, informing policy analyses such as "Trends in China's anthropogenic emissions since 2010 as the consequence of clean air actions" by Zheng et al. (2018), which quantifies post-policy reductions.
Paper Timeline
Most-cited paper highlighted in red. Papers ordered chronologically.
Advanced Directions
Recent preprints emphasize real-world testing: "On-road vehicle emissions measurements show a significant reduction in black carbon and nitrogen oxide emissions in Euro 6c and 6d diesel-powered cars" (2025) and chassis dynamometer work in "Emission Characterization of In-Use Diesel and Gasoline Euro 4 to Euro 6 Passenger Cars Tested on Chassis Dynamometer Bench and Emission Model Assessment" (2025). EU fleet data in "Towards zero CO2 emissions: Insights from EU vehicle on-board data" (2025) drives zero-emission policy. News highlights funding for zero-emission buses via FTA's Low or No Emission Grant and New York's $80M ZETT program.
Papers at a Glance
| # | Paper | Year | Venue | Citations | Open Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Internal combustion engine fundamentals | 1988 | Choice Reviews Online | 16.8K | ✕ |
| 2 | Health Effects of Fine Particulate Air Pollution: Lines that C... | 2006 | Journal of the Air & W... | 6.5K | ✓ |
| 3 | Spurious regressions in econometrics | 1974 | Journal of Econometrics | 6.1K | ✕ |
| 4 | The Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature versi... | 2012 | Geoscientific model de... | 4.1K | ✓ |
| 5 | Aerosol Technology Properties, Behavior, and Measurement of Ai... | 2000 | Journal of Aerosol Sci... | 3.4K | ✕ |
| 6 | Special report on emissions scenarios | 2000 | eScholarship (Californ... | 3.4K | ✓ |
| 7 | Atmospheric Degradation of Volatile Organic Compounds | 2003 | Chemical Reviews | 3.1K | ✕ |
| 8 | A review on the human health impact of airborne particulate ma... | 2014 | Environment International | 2.9K | ✕ |
| 9 | Trends in China's anthropogenic emissions since 2010 as the co... | 2018 | Atmospheric chemistry ... | 2.8K | ✓ |
| 10 | A technology‐based global inventory of black and organic carbo... | 2004 | Journal of Geophysical... | 2.6K | ✓ |
In the News
Low or No Emission Grant Program - 5339(c) | FTA
The Low or No Emission competitive program provides funding to state and local governmental authorities for the purchase or lease of zero-emission and low-emission transit buses as well as acquisit...
New York invests nearly $80 million to accelerate zero ...
Administered by the New York State Department of Transportation, the ZETT Program provides **financial support for the purchase of battery-electric and hydrogen-electric buses**, the construction a...
DRIVE35 Funding Programme: Innovation
UK registered businesses can apply for grant funding for collaborative and individual businessR&Dprojects, that design, develop and manufacture strategically important zero emission vehicle technol...
DRIVE35 Funding Programme: Scale-Up
UK registered businesses can apply for grant funding to support detailed feasibility studies into the deployment of UK based manufacturing facilities for zero emission vehicle technologies, such as...
Low And Zero Emission Vehicles (LEV/ZEV) - NYSDEC
Search Site Submit # Low And Zero Emission Vehicles (LEV/ZEV) On this page On this page ### Light-Duty ZEVs
Code & Tools
PyEmission is a Python library for estimation of vehicular emissions and fuel consumption. This tool covers a wide range of light duty motor vehicl...
In this project, we introduce an open-source model "MOVESTAR" to calculate the fuel consumption and pollutant emissions of motor vehicles. This mod...
Python-based framework to calculate road traffic emissions in urban areas. The method is based on a multi-modal macroscopic traffic model (static t...
The Emissions Modeling Framework (EMF) is a client-server system designed to store information related to emissions modeling, with integrated quali...
EPA's MOtor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES) is a state-of-the-science emission modeling system that estimates emissions for mobile sources at th...
Recent Preprints
Air pollution emissions from vehicles as a function of their ...
This study explores the relationship between diesel and petrol car retail prices and real-world emissions, using data from over 50,000 measurements, collected during a remote sensing campaign in Bi...
On-road vehicle emissions measurements show a significant ...
Research article \| \| 21 Aug 2025 # On-road vehicle emissions measurements show a significant reduction in black carbon and nitrogen oxide emissions in Euro 6c and 6d diesel-powered cars
Experimental Investigation of Performance and Emissions ...
Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) frequently cycle their internal combustion engines (ICE), potentially cooling the three-way catalyst (TWC). This challenges the use of compressed natural gas (CNG), ...
Towards zero CO2 emissions: Insights from EU vehicle on-board data
* •Fuel consumption data from 7.7M EU cars enable fleet-level real-world CO2 analysis * •Real-world emissions variability depends on vehicle technology and driving factors * •Plug-in vehicles show ...
Emission Characterization of In-Use Diesel and Gasoline Euro 4 to Euro 6 Passenger Cars Tested on Chassis Dynamometer Bench and Emission Model Assessment
This paper focuses on CO2 and regulated pollutants (NOx, HC, CO, PM) emitted by eight Euro 4–6 gasoline and diesel vehicles with six different technologies. The emission factors were repeatedly me...
Latest Developments
Recent developments in vehicle emissions and performance research include the EPA's finalization of new standards aiming for a 55 MPG average for 2026 models, which are expected to significantly reduce greenhouse gases and fuel costs (environment.transportation.org, cen.acs.org). Additionally, the EPA's 2024 automotive trends report highlights ongoing improvements in fuel economy and emissions standards, with projected reductions of approximately 7.2 billion metric tons of CO2 over the lifespan of 2027-2032 vehicle standards (epa.gov, epa.gov). Advances are also being made in engine technology, such as high-efficiency, ultra-low emissions natural gas engines for heavy-duty vehicles, which aim to enhance fuel efficiency while reducing emissions (energy.ca.gov). Furthermore, the EU is analyzing real-world CO2 emissions using vehicle onboard data to support efforts toward zero CO2 emissions (sciencedirect.com).
Sources
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the main pollutants from vehicle emissions?
Key pollutants include CO2, CO, NOx, HC, particulate matter, black carbon, and organic carbon. "A technology‐based global inventory of black and organic carbon emissions from combustion" by Bond et al. (2004) tabulates emissions from fossil fuels, biofuels, biomass burning, and waste. Tools like PyEmission estimate CO2, CO, NOx, and HC from driving cycles.
How do Euro 6 standards affect diesel vehicle emissions?
Euro 6c and 6d diesel cars exhibit significant reductions in black carbon and nitrogen oxide emissions based on on-road measurements. The preprint "On-road vehicle emissions measurements show a significant reduction in black carbon and nitrogen oxide emissions in Euro 6c and 6d diesel-powered cars" (2025) confirms these improvements. Chassis dynamometer tests in "Emission Characterization of In-Use Diesel and Gasoline Euro 4 to Euro 6 Passenger Cars" (2025) measure CO2, NOx, HC, CO, and PM across cycles like WLTC and NEDC.
What tools model vehicle emissions and fuel consumption?
PyEmission processes second-by-second driving data for light-duty vehicles to output CO2, CO, NOx, HC, and fuel use. MOVESTAR, an open-source model based on USEPA MOVES, calculates fuel consumption and pollutants. EPA's MOVES estimates emissions for mobile sources at national, county, and project levels.
How do internal combustion engines produce emissions?
"Internal combustion engine fundamentals" (1988) covers engine types, thermochemistry, combustion, and gas exchange processes generating emissions. Factors include fuel-air mixtures, charge motion, and manifold phenomena. These fundamentals inform performance-emissions tradeoffs in SI engines.
What real-world factors influence vehicle CO2 emissions?
"Towards zero CO2 emissions: Insights from EU vehicle on-board data" (2025) analyzes 7.7 million EU cars, showing emissions vary by vehicle technology, driving factors, mass, engine power, and electric share. Plug-in vehicles display highest CO2 reduction potential with large variability. Retail price inversely correlates with emissions in over 50,000 UK measurements.
What health impacts arise from vehicle-related particulate matter?
"A review on the human health impact of airborne particulate matter" by Kim et al. (2014) summarizes effects of PM on respiratory and cardiovascular systems. "Health Effects of Fine Particulate Air Pollution: Lines that Connect" by Pope and Dockery (2006) elucidates PM links to health outcomes via six research lines since 1997.
Open Research Questions
- ? How do frequent engine cycling in hybrid electric vehicles affect three-way catalyst temperatures and methane oxidation efficiency?
- ? What is the precise relationship between vehicle retail price, age, and real-world emissions across large-scale remote sensing datasets?
- ? To what extent do driving conditions like cold/hot starts and cycles (WLTC, NEDC, Artemis) alter emission factors in Euro 4-6 vehicles?
- ? How can fleet-level CO2 emissions be minimized given variabilities in powertrain, fuel, mass, and electric share from on-board data?
- ? What methodologies best integrate multi-modal traffic models with counting station data for accurate urban road transport emission inventories?
Recent Trends
On-road measurements confirm Euro 6c/6d diesel cars reduce black carbon and NOx significantly per the 2025 preprint.
EU data from 7.7M vehicles in "Towards zero CO2 emissions: Insights from EU vehicle on-board data" quantify plug-in CO2 potentials.
2025UK remote sensing of 50,000+ vehicles links lower retail prices to higher emissions.
Funding surges with New York's $80M for electric buses and FTA's 5339(c) grants.
2025Open-source tools like PyEmission and MOVESTAR advance second-by-second modeling.
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