On-board measurement of emissions from liquefied petroleum gas, gasoline and diesel powered passenger cars in Algeria

Abstract

On-board measurements of unit emissions of CO, HC, NOx and CO2 were conducted on 17 private cars powered by different types of fuels including gasoline, dual gasoline–liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), gasoline, and diesel. The tests performed revealed the effect of LPG injection technology on unit emissions and made it possible to compare the measured emissions to the European Artemis emission model. A sequential multipoint injection LPG kit with no catalyst installed was found to be the most efficient pollutant reduction device for all of the pollutants, with the exception of the NOx. Specific test results for a sub-group of LPG vehicles revealed that LPG-fueled engines with no catalyst cannot compete with catalyzed gasoline and diesel engines. Vehicle age does not appear to be a determining parameter with regard to vehicle pollutant emissions. A fuel switch to LPG offers many advantages as far as pollutant emissions are concerned, due to LPG's intrinsic characteristics. However, these advantages are being rapidly offset by the strong development of both gasoline and diesel engine technologies and catalyst converters. The LPG's performance on a chassis dynamometer under real driving conditions was better than expected. The enforcement of pollutant emission standards in developing countries is an important step towards introducing clean technology and reducing vehicle emissions.