Dynamic quantification of on-road emissions in Hong Kong: Impact from traffic congestion and fleet composition variation

Abstract

Policymakers need a good understanding of on-road air pollutant emission patterns to manage air quality effectively, but it can be challenging to dynamically capture emission patterns with high spatial and temporal resolutions in cities. In this study, we used traffic congestion index extracted from Google Map, traffic density model and local emission factors to develop a dynamic on-road emission inventory for Hong Kong. The pollutants include NOx, CO, NMVOC, CO2, PM2.5, PM10, and CH4. On weekdays, exhaust emissions increased by up to 50.0% compared with those on Sunday due to higher traffic congestion index. High emission rates were observed on highways during weekday evening peak hours and shifted to regional centers on Sunday evenings. Public light buses, goods vehicles, and taxis were the most significant contributors of NMVOC, NOx, and CO emissions, respectively. Control policy testing showed that replacing diesel-fueled buses with electric buses could significantly reduce NOx and PM exhaust emissions, whereas replacing liquefied petroleum gas fueled public light buses with electric buses could efficiently control NMVOC emissions. Eliminating private cars older than 15 years could effectively reduce CO emissions. This study provides a dynamic on-road emission inventory for Hong Kong with high temporal and spatial resolutions. The results can be extended to real-time air quality simulations and human exposure research in the future.