Measurement Models for Carbon Dioxide Emission Factors of Passenger Cars Considering Characteristics of Roads and Traffic.

Guoqiang Zhang,Jun Chen,Lianghui Wu

doi:10.3390/ijerph18041594

Abstract

In order to effectively control carbon dioxide emissions of motorized vehicles, it is very important to measure their carbon dioxide emission factors. The objective of this paper was to develop measurement models for the carbon dioxide emission factors of passenger cars. Road systems of downtown areas of four typical Chinese counties were explored and 12 types of basic road networks were recognized and defined. With PTV Vissim, microscopic traffic simulation models were set up for every type of basic road network, average speeds of the simulated cars were collected, and carbon dioxide emissions were calculated using MOVES (Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator) software. For model development, the paper put forth two compound explanatory variables: the weighted average of segment lengths and the sum of critical ratios of volume to saturation flow rate. Six functional relationships for the variables were tested and the double exponential function was proven to be the most appropriate. Finally, for each of the 12 types of basic road networks, a measurement model for carbon dioxide emission factors was calibrated using the double exponential function for the variables. The measurement models can be used to estimate the carbon dioxide emissions of passenger cars concerning potential improvement schemes impacting traffic demand and/or traffic supply.

Highlights

Carbon dioxide has no direct impact on human health, it is, a major greenhouse gas emission that would trap heat in the atmosphere and cause great climate changes around the world, which would enormously threaten the existence of human lives [1]
It was assumed that a road network could be divided into basic elements such as those basic road networks that have a signalized intersection and several adjacent road segments that send vehicles to the intersection
Basic road networks were classified into 12 types by the analysis of the characteristics of roads in the downtown areas of four

Summary

Introduction

Carbon dioxide has no direct impact on human health, it is, a major greenhouse gas emission that would trap heat in the atmosphere and cause great climate changes around the world, which would enormously threaten the existence of human lives [1]. It can be expected that carbon dioxide emissions in downtown areas of the counties will continue to increase substantially and there is an urgent need for the study of their measurement in order to better guide the sustainable development of Chinese counties, which has become one of the major aims of the local governments. Compared with rural highway systems, the roadway systems of downtown areas are very complex. They are composed of numerous elements such as road segments and signalized intersections, which interact with each other and make it rather difficult to estimate the carbon dioxide emissions of motorized vehicles.

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Conclusion