Traffic Produces Much More Nitrogen Dioxide than Was Estimated - Science

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Traffic contributes more to nitrogen oxide emissions in Europe than previously thought. This is the result of a current study carried out by scientists from the University of Innsbruck. The research team headed by Thomas Karl shows that even newer air quality models underestimate traffic related nitrogen oxide pollution by up to a factor of 4. The results of the study are published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports.

Phys.org: Traffic dramatically underestimated as major nitrogen oxide polluter


Moreover

In metropolitan areas throughout Europe maximum permissible values of nitrogen oxide are consistently breached. It has been a challenge to determine how much each polluter contributes to the emission output. Until now emission levels were mainly calculated by collecting emission data at laboratory testing facilities and subsequently extrapolating them in models. However, the amount of pollutant emissions that vehicles emit on a daily basis depends on numerous factors, for example on individual driving behavior. The recent Diesel scandal showed, for example, that measurements at engine test stands based on the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) or similar emission testing procedures can be highly uncertain for predicting actual environmental impacts. A large number of new studies have recently been published suggesting that emission levels from test stands have to be adjusted upwards.

- PO

NOx pollution is exceptionally insidious since that plus water gives you nitric acid.  Typically, acid rain has been a result of sulfur dioxide combining with water for a result in sulfuric acid so there's some additional rolling death to brighten the day.



However, there's some potential to mitigate at least part of it.

An industry-first technology developed by Loughborough University has the potential to significantly cut nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in diesel engines.

In 2015 the Government estimated that exposure to NOx and particulate matter emissions from diesel engines lead to around 52,000 additional deaths in the UK. NOx emissions are also the primary cause of smog in major cities around the world and a growing public health concern.

  Phys.org:  World-first technology reduces harmful diesel emissions


The news is they have a possible solution for it.

The Energy Technology Institute's (ETI) Chief Technology Officer for Heavy Duty Vehicles, Chris Thorne said: "Based upon a brief review, the ACCT technology recently developed by Loughborough has the potential to viably produce gaseous ammonia at temperatures significantly below 190°C, thus enabling increased conversion efficiency and lower NOx emissions.

"It is likely that emissions legislation will become even tighter and vehicle manufacturers will need to develop technologies to address this, and it is our belief that the ACCT technology should be further developed as it could help address this challenge in the real world."

- SD

In both cases, the interested student is invited to pursue the matter further in the source articles.


If you have been reading in my article that trucks are the problem then you need to check the material again since there are many diesels on the road and trucks only represent some of them.

The chances of such legislation in America in the immediate future are not high but the way it will likely progress in Europe is the autonomous big rig trucks will be fitted with some kind of catalytic converter and protests from individual truckers won't make any difference because such trucks don't require them.

The situation then becomes a matter of the corporate judgment of cost-effectiveness which will always come back with a negative response since it costs more so they won't do it.  Enactment of legislation to force them to do it is likely since it won't happen any other way and didn't originally in America with the first generation of catalytic converters.

Note:  we're aware Richard Nixon signed to authorize the EPA and we're also aware Donald Trump is trying to discredit and destroy it.  They're not cut from the same cloth when one was the real thing and the other is only a tacky imitation.  Therefore, legislation for cleaner NOx emissions from diesels won't be expected soon but it's inevitable nevertheless.