Diesel Counterparts Research Articles

Effects of surface functional groups on the wettability of biodiesel combustion particulate matter

This paper investigates the impact of particle surface functional groups on the wettability of particulate matter (PM) emitted from biodiesel engines. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometry (XPS), and Contact Angle Measurement techniques were employed to detect and analyze PM generated from combustion of diesel, soybean oil methyl ester (SME), palm oil methyl ester (PME), and waste edible oil methyl ester (WME) biodiesels. The results showed that PM derived from biodiesel exhibited a higher content of aromatic nuclei compared to that from diesel. The surface of the PM displayed significantly elevated levels of C–OH functional groups in comparison to CO functional groups, and the relative proportion of C–OH and CO functional groups on the biodiesel-derived PM surface decreased with an increase in biodiesel iodine value. The contact angles of the PM to the diesel droplets were less than 20°, and the PM is highly lipophilic. The wettability of the PM with both water and diesel droplets increased as the relative content of C–OH and CO functional groups rose. Moreover, it was observed that biodiesel-derived PM exhibited superior wettability towards water and diesel droplets when compared to its diesel counterpart, thereby enhancing its susceptibility to wetting by diesel droplets.

Assessing the Dynamics of the Financial Viability of Eleven-Seater Public Battery Electric Vehicles in Nepal

Public electric vehicles have been identified to make notable contributions to sustainable development and climate change mitigation among other goals. In Nepal, public battery electric vehicles (BEV) are becoming mainstream in certain segments of the market. With that, there are also several systemic challenges that could halt this momentum. This calls for understanding their viability and how they are impacted by interactions and interdependencies between various components of the public BEV ecosystem and the environment around it. The purpose of this study is to conduct a total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis of public BEVs in Nepal and assess sensitivities resulting from the interlinkages and changes in key factors. The study prepared a financial model for a TCO estimation of an intercity public electric microbus (EMB) model in Nepal and compared it with a diesel microbus (DMB). Guided by a system thinking framework, sensitivity analyses were done to provide broad insights into financial viability. The TCO of the EMB was found to be lower than that of its diesel counterparts. That said, the sensitivity analyses show that there are several factors that could affect the financial viability of public EMBs. Overall, it was seen that the EMBs are more resilient to change than the diesel variants. Financial viability is one of the key factors for vehicle adoption by businesses. Policymakers and practitioners can use systemic perspectives to have a well-rounded approach to supporting BEVs’ growth. The proposed framework aims to help gather such perspectives.

Impact of powertrain electrification on the overall CO2 emissions of intercity public bus transport: Tenerife Island test case

The adoption of plug-in electric buses are seen as a promising alternative to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the public transport system. Although from an operational point of view this type of vehicles are zero-emissions, the upstream phase contribution can be considerably high in regions with high carbon grid intensities.This paper presents a simulation study to evaluate the energy consumption and the corresponding well-to-wheels (WTW) CO2 emissions of conventional diesel, parallel hybrid and battery electric buses. The test case is the island of Tenerife, an isolated power system highly dependent on fossil-fuels for power generation. Validated models of the aforementioned propulsion architectures were simulated over five representative cycles, covering city and intercity lines with noticeable differences in terms of driving behaviour, distance and gradient. Although battery electric buses present energy consumption reductions of 70% compared to conventional powertrains, the large carbon grid intensity of the island has a negative effect on their potential to reduce WTW CO2 emissions. The results evince that parallel hybrids provide the largest benefit to abate WTW CO2 emissions, reaching a reduction figure of 38% compared to its conventional diesel counterpart.

Absolute environmental sustainability assessment of renewable dimethyl ether fuelled heavy-duty trucks.

In recent years, liquid fuels from renewable carbon that can replace fossil ones with minimal infrastructure changes have attracted increasing interest in decarbonising the heavy-duty long-haul sector. Here we focus on dimethyl ether (DME), a promising alternative to diesel due to its high cetane number, oxygen content, and more efficient and cleaner propulsion that results in low particulate matter and sulphur oxide emissions. Going well beyond previous studies that quantified the environmental impact of DME, often in terms of global warming, here we evaluate DME use in heavy-duty trucks in the context of seven planetary boundaries, all essential for maintaining the Earth's stability. Focusing on several scenarios differing in the feedstock origin, we find that routes based on fossil carbon, either in the form of coal, natural gas, or captured CO2 from fossil plants, would increase the greenhouse gas emissions relative to the business-as-usual. Only scenarios based on renewable carbon could reduce the impacts on climate change, while hydrogen from biomass gasification coupled with carbon capture and storage (CCS) and DME from biomass gasification with CCS could enable an environmentally sustainable operation within all the planetary boundaries. Overall, our work opens up new avenues for the environmental assessment of fuels considering the finite capacity of the Earth system to guide research and policy-making more sensibly.

Study on using graphene and graphite nanoparticles as fuel additives in waste cooking oil biodiesel

• Graphene and graphite nanoparticle additives showed lower NO emissions and higher thermal efficiency. • Graphene and graphite nanoparticle additives showed lower BSFC than neat biodiesel fuel. • At full load, both nanoparticles showed similar heat release as compared to neat diesel operation. • The combustion characteristics of fuel blends with graphite additives outperformed that of those with graphene additives. Utilising waste cooking oil biodiesel in internal combustion engines for power generation and transport is of increasing importance, as it is the least pollutant disposal method for waste cooking oil. Besides, researchers have recently shown an increasing interest in utilising graphene and its derivatives in different applications due to its unique thermal and physical characteristics, including enhancing the combustion characteristics of biofuels. Therefore, this article studies the characteristics of waste cooking oil biodiesel blended with few-layered graphene and graphite nanoparticles additives and their influence on combustion and engine emissions and benchmark them against neat biodiesel and diesel fuels. The biodiesel was synthesised through a transesterification method from waste cooking oil and blended with diesel or butanol after adding few-layered graphene and graphite nanoparticles. Few-layered graphene and graphite nanoparticle additives led to greater peak in-cylinder pressure by 0.5–2.5% increment and 1–4% lower heat released rate at full load. As such, employing few-layered graphene and graphite in a fuel mix reduced NOx emission by 0.7–5 % compared to 100% diesel counterpart. Besides, at full engine load, waste cooking biodiesel blended with 100 ppm few-layered graphene and graphite nanoparticles showed an increment in brake thermal efficiency by 8–10% compared to pure fossil diesel and waste cooking biodiesel. The results show the feasibility of using graphene-based nanoparticle additives in biodiesel to enhance biodiesel fuel combustion characteristics, hence lowering NOx emissions.

Energy efficiency and CO2 emission comparison of alternative powertrain solutions for mining haul truck using integrated design and control optimization

The heavy-duty mining haul truck (MHT) with hundreds tonnage could emit hundreds of times emissions over a passenger vehicle. The heavy burden of emissions and continuous global warming force the mining industry seeking clean powertrain solutions for MHT. This research optimizes several emerging clean powertrain solutions for a typical 240 tonnage MHT using integrated design and control optimization method, and compares the energy efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission to the benchmark MHT with a diesel engine and diesel-electric drive. The well-established components model and optimal control theory support the integrated optimization under given operation profile. Currently, the battery electric solution could cut 63 percent usage cost incorporated with the lithium-ion battery degradation cost and reduce 21 percent well-to-wheel CO2 emission, making the battery electric solution a competitive candidate. Though the hydrogen fuel cell emits 26 percent less CO2 emission than the diesel counterpart, the high investment cost and degradation cost hinder its wide application. Further improvement of hydrogen production, capital cost and durability of fuel cell, and fast-charging of lithium-ion battery could release huge potential in cleaner MHT. The study provides an approach to quantitatively compare clean powertrain solutions and identify the optimal powertrain parameters for cleaner MHT.

Feasibility study of novel DME fuel injection equipment: Part 2- performance, combustion, regulated and unregulated emissions

Dimethyl Ether (DME) has emerged as a suitable alternative fuel for compression ignition (CI) engines. It is expected to be substitute fossil diesel on a large scale due to its favourable combustion characteristics and sustainable production. This study evaluates the combustion and emission characteristics of a 3-cylinder, water-cooled CI engine fuelled by DME for off-road vehicles, typically used in the agriculture sector. A detailed-chemistry based 3D CFD software is used for simulations in this study. The findings indicate that the baseline diesel fuel injection equipment (FIE), when used for DME injection, is inadequate to match the reference diesel engine performance. Therefore several modified configurations are evaluated in this study using a simulation approach. Modified fuel injection equipment (FIE) significantly reduced the emissions of NOx, soot, UHC, CO and VOC without compromising the base engine power generation. Due to the lower ignition delay of DME, the observed start of ignition advanced. It led to a lower peak firing temperature than its diesel counterpart. The lower cooling loss ratio of the DME engine established its potential as a low-heat-rejection engine. The lower calorific value of DME leads to a 50% increase in the specific fuel consumption than diesel. However, these two fuels seem to be similar on a specific energy consumption basis. A comprehensive study of the un-regulated emission species such as formaldehyde (CH2O), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), methane (CH4), ethylene (C2H4), and acetylene (C2H2) indicate that DME combustion results in lower unregulated emissions than baseline diesel. A higher number of nozzle holes and an increased mean effective injection pressure (MEIP) of the FIE generate a conducive environment exhibiting superior engine performance and reduced emissions. However, the study identifies a few aberrations in the operating conditions, which show deteriorated emission trends, which should be avoided during the physical engine testing on DME. This study showcases the tremendous potential of an oxygenated fuel such as DME to facilitate the emergence of thermally efficient and cleaner engines, with very low regulated and unregulated emissions, indicating their future for off-highway vehicles.

Performance and Activity Characteristics of Zero Emission Battery-Electric Cargo Handling Equipment at a Port Terminal

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">Goods movement and port related activities are a significant source of emissions in many large urban areas. Electrification of diesel cargo handling equipment is one method of reducing community exposure to these emissions, that also provides the potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This study evaluated the performance of several pieces of zero emission cargo transfer equipment for a demonstration conducted at two terminal locations at the Port of Long Beach (POLB). This included the data logging of three battery-electric top handlers and one battery-electric yard tractor, as well as two baseline diesel top handlers and one diesel yard tractor. The battery-electric equipment typically operated about 5 hours per day, while using between 34 to 50% of the battery pack state of charge (SOC). In general, the battery-electric equipment was able to provide comparable hours of operation to the diesel equipment over a typical 8-hour shift. The electrical top handlers and the electric yard tractor were equipped with 931 and 220 kWh batteries, respectively. Over the same period of operation, the battery-electric equipment provided considerable benefits in total energy consumption, using on average 66.9 and 56.9 kWh/hr for the top handlers at the main terminal location for their use. The diesel top handlers at terminal 1 averaged 204.8 and 139.1 kWh/hr. The electric yard tractor at terminal 2 on average used 15.2 kWh/hr while the diesel counterpart used 65.9 kWh/hr. The results suggest that the deployment of battery-electric equipment in port cargo handling operations could provide considerable benefits in terms of emissions reductions and energy consumption. The results also indicate that performance monitoring of the equipment as it is deployed will provide important feedback about the effectiveness of battery-electric equipment in different applications, which can be used to improve the designs of future generations of battery-electric equipment.</div></div>

Comparative Life-Cycle Assessment of Liquefied Natural Gas and Diesel Tractor-Trailer in China

Many countries, especially China, have extensively promoted liquefied natural gas (LNG) to replace diesel in heavy-duty vehicles for to achieve sustainable transport aims, including carbon peaks and neutrality. We developed a life-cycle calculation model for environmental load differences covering vehicle and fuel cycles to comprehensively compare the LNG tractor-trailer and its diesel counterpart in China on a full suite of environmental impacts. We found that the LNG tractor-trailer consumes less aluminum but more iron and energy; emits less nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxide, nonmethane volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter but more greenhouse gases (GHG) and carbon monoxide (CO); and causes less abiotic depletion potential, acidification potential, and human toxicity potential impacts but more global warming potential (GWP) and photooxidant creation potential (POCP) impacts. Poor fuel economy was found to largely drive the higher life-cycle GHG and CO emissions and GWP and POCP impacts of the LNG tractor-trailer. Switching to the LNG tractor-trailer could reduce carbon dioxide by 52.73%, GWP impact by 44.60% and POCP impact by 49.23% if it attains parity fuel economy with its diesel counterpart. Policymakers should modify the regulations on fuel tax and vehicle access, which discourage improvement in LNG engine efficiency and adopt incentive polices to develop the technologies.

Evaluation of the impact of ambient temperature on fuel consumption by diesel and CNG buses

The paper is devoted to the problem of bus operation in various climatic, road and transport conditions. The reasons for replacing diesel buses with more environmentally friendly ones using natural gas are described. Experimental studies on the operation of large-class buses –LiAZ-529265 diesel bus and LiAZ-529267 CNG bus in an urban environment are given. The dependences of the influence of various ambient temperatures on fuel consumption are obtained, and mathematical models that describe these dependences are proposed. The range of studied temperatures is from minus 31°C to +37°C. As a result of drivingexperiments, it was found that the natural gas consumption of the LiAZ-529267 bus is 23-24% higher than that of the diesel counterpart under similar road and transport operating conditions. The deviation between the minimum and maximum values of diesel fuel consumption is 37-45%. For compressed natural gas, the deviations were 36-43%. However, the equivalent cost of purchasing natural gas is 52% lower than that of diesel fuel.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of compressed natural gas implementation in the public bus transit fleet in Delhi, India

Buses in Delhi have been fueled by compressed natural gas (CNG) since 2000, at significant expense, to improve air quality. We evaluate the emissions impacts and cost-effectiveness of CNG buses relative to diesel, in the early 2000s, and more recently – given stricter vehicle emission standards – in Delhi, and the Indian context. We also analyze the hypothetical use of cleaner diesel buses, instead of CNG, in the early 2000s. We consider health critical and greenhouse gas emissions, and capital, operating and maintenance costs, over the service life of buses. A scenario analysis is conducted to assess bus fleet emissions due to the higher costs of CNG buses resulting in some trips being shifted to diesel buses, or other modes.CNG buses in the early 2000s significantly reduced particulate and greenhouse gas emissions, relative to the diesel buses they replaced, and also cleaner diesel buses complying with more stringent BS-III/IV standards. However, cleaner diesel buses would likely have produced emission reductions with similar or better cost-effectiveness ratios relative to CNG. The emission reductions due to low-floor BS-III/IV compliant CNG buses relative to their diesel counterparts, during 2010–2015, were lower, with worse or similar cost-effectiveness ratios, compared with CNG buses relative to diesel in the early 2000s.The scenario analysis revealed that, under a budget constraint, it is preferable to remove diesel buses, and allow other motor vehicles to meet any shortfall in CNG bus supply, strictly from a particulate and nitrogen oxide emissions perspective. So, allowing only CNG buses to operate in Delhi was an effective policy choice in the early 2000s for mitigating local air pollution.We finally explore the implications of our results for mitigating emissions from bus fleets in Delhi and other Indian cities going forward.

Comparison of NOx and PN emissions between Euro 6 petrol and diesel passenger cars under real-world driving conditions

With emission standards becoming stricter, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particle number (PN) emissions are the main concerns of modern passenger cars, especially for the real-world driving. In this paper, two direct injection (DI) petrol passenger cars and a diesel passenger car are tested on the same routes, driven by the same driver. Instantaneous NOx and PN emissions are monitored by a portable emission measurement system (PEMS) in the tests. During the real-world driving, the exhaust temperatures of the two petrol cars are sufficiently high to ensure high efficiency of three-way catalysts (TWCs). On the other hand, the exhaust temperatures of the diesel car in some sections of the route are lower than the crucial light-off temperature of the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) below which its effectiveness in NOx reduction would be much affected. NOx and PN concentrations are low during motorway driving for the petrol passenger car equipped with a gasoline particulate filter (GPF); however, they are high and change frequently in the whole journey for the petrol passenger car without a GPF. NOx emission factors are quite low over most of the driving sections for the diesel car, but some significant high peaks are observed in the acceleration process. NOx emission distributions over speed and acceleration are similar for both petrol cars; and they differ significantly from the diesel counterpart. Particle size from the diesel car is the largest, followed by the petrol car with a GPF.

Farm‐to‐fire analysis of karanja biodiesel

AbstractThis paper analyzes the energy and environmental impact of karanja biodiesel fuel from its production to its utilization (farm to fire), using a life‐cycle assessment method, and comparing it with its fossil diesel counterpart. For this purpose, the net energy ratio, the net energy gain, and the equivalent carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reduction are estimated considering the equivalent energy impacts and CO2 emissions of important input and output quantities. The expressions for estimating equivalent CO2 reduction in production to utilization process are obtained by considering the CO2 absorption capacity of the biodiesel plant. The effects of the eutrophication and acidification potential during the life cycle of the crop are also considered. A sensitivity analysis of the most influential parameters on net energy ratio and CO2 emission reduction is conducted. The analysis shows that the biodiesel yield from seeds and the yield of co‐products are the two critical parameters affecting the net energy ratio. Similarly, the equivalent CO2 emission reduction potential of the karanja biodiesel depends primarily on the brake thermal efficiency and energy equivalent CO2 emission of biodiesel fueled engine combustion. A techno‐economic evaluation of the production of karanja biodiesel for different plant sizes and cost‐recovery periods is also made. The economics of the production of karanja biodiesel, considering different plant sizes and cost recovery periods, suggests that the price of biodiesel decreased for a higher capacity biodiesel plant and a longer cost‐recovery period. Beside these factors, the price of feedstock remains a most significant component of cost estimates. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emission Benefits of Natural Gas Vehicles

Abundant supply, low prices, and low carbon content may result in an increased use of natural gas (NG) as an alternative transportation fuel. Assessments of the associated climate benefits are sensitive to the climate metric and time horizon selected to equate methane to equivalent CO2 emissions and to the assumptions of methane emissions during NG production, distribution, and use. We report life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from cars, light-duty trucks (LDTs), and heavy-duty trucks (HDTs) that are powered directly or indirectly using NG as a function of methane emission rates. We show that whether internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) powered by fossil compressed natural gas (CNG) have GHG benefits over their gasoline and diesel counterparts depends on a value judgment of using either an integrated or end-point climate metric (e.g., global warming potential [GWP] or global temperature change potential [GTP]) and a short or long time horizon (e.g., 20 or 100 years). Conversion of NG into electricity or hydrogen for use in battery electric vehicles (BEVs) or fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs) has clear GHG benefits for cars and LDTs. Benefits are less clear for HDTs where heavy batteries and CNG tanks lead to a relatively poor GHG performance of BEVs and CNG_ICEVs compared to the incumbent diesel technology.

Performance and pollutant emission of the reforming-controlled compression ignition engine – Experimental study

The reforming-controlled compression ignition (RefCCI) is an innovative concept integrating the benefits of the low-temperature combustion engine and the High-Pressure Thermochemical Recuperation. This combination enables achieving high thermal efficiency in a wide operating range while mitigating pollutant emissions. This work reports for the first time on results of the RefCCI concept experimental prove and investigation. The experiment findings confirm the results of the previous numerical studies. In addition, new important knowledge was gained on engine performance and emissions dependence on the injection timing of the primary and reformate fuels, as well as on the fuel mixture reactivity. The results show the thermal efficiency improvement by 4–9% (relative) compared to the same engine operation in diesel mode. In the RefCCI mode, the CO emission is lowered with the increase of load, contrary to the trend in the diesel mode. As expected, NOx and total particle number emissions are significantly lower than with the diesel counterpart. The emission of nucleation mode particles is fairly similar to diesel, but the number of accumulation mode particles is reduced by the order of magnitude.

Parametric sensitivity analysis of split injection coupled varying methanol induced reactivity strategies on the exergy efficiency enhancement and emission reductions objectives in a biodiesel fuelled CI engine

The present study endeavours to exploit the benefits of reactivity controlled operation by leveraging significantly higher methanol participation through a decoupled methanol utilization strategy with Madhuca Longifolia biodiesel and conventional diesel as the pilot fuel under varying split injection profiles. The investigation was carried out at 10%, 25% and 50% pilot mass percentage, while the injection timings of pilot and main injection were varied in between −35 and −55 and −5 to −15 aTDC respectively. The results showed that the higher methanol participations caused longer ignition delays which lead to the shifting of the CA50 rightwards beyond the top dead centre. Reduction in maximum pressure rise rate was also evident in the RCCI regime. Compared to the baseline operation of single injection, the methanol/biodiesel RCCI operation under split injection strategy observed a maximum of 86% enhancement in exergy efficiency along with the maximum reductions in NOx and Soot emissions as 86% and 96% respectively. Furthermore, the analysis of Pareto solutions revealed that the methanol/biodiesel RCCI operation yielded 2.8% higher exergy efficiency along with 94% lower emissions of soot compared to its diesel counterpart, while the methanol/diesel operations exhibited 35% lower NOx emissions compared to the equivalent biodiesel RCCI operation.

Electric light commercial vehicles for a cleaner urban goods distribution. Are they cost competitive?

The paper investigates the cost competitiveness of electric light commercial vehicles (eLCVs) with respect to their petrol and diesel counterparts. We develop a detailed total cost of ownership (TCO) model incorporating all relevant costs with special attention to account for variations in engine efficiency between urban and sub-urban trips and by seasons of the year. The model generates two metrics: the threshold purchase price and the threshold annual distance travelled, which are used to compare among propulsion systems and to perform policy scenarios. The model is applied to a large selection of LCVs models available in Europe as of June 2019. We find that eLCVs have on average a higher TCO/km than their conventional counterparts. Yet, the existing offer of eLCVs is differentiated and some eLCV models are cost competitive. We find that four eLCV models belonging to the city and panel segments are convenient relative to their diesel counterparts for daily distances travelled lower than 93 km. Nonetheless, with financial and regulatory incentives, 100% urban driving, and 100% home/depot charging, most of the existing city and panel eLCV models are cost competitive with respect to both their diesel and petrol counterparts.

Well-to-Wheels Analysis of Zero-Emission Plug-In Battery Electric Vehicle Technology for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Trucks.

Conventional diesel medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs) create large amount of air emissions. With the advancement in technology and reduction in the cost of batteries, plug-in battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are increasingly attractive options for improving energy efficiency and reducing air emissions of MHDVs. In this paper, we compared the well-to-wheels (WTW) greenhouse gases (GHGs) and criteria air pollutant emissions of MHD BEVs with their conventional diesel counterparts across weight classes and vocations. We expanded the Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies (GREET) model to conduct the WTW analysis of MHDVs. The fuel economy for a wide range of MHDV weight classes and vocations, over various driving cycles, was evaluated using a high-fidelity vehicle dynamic simulation software (Autonomie). The environmental impacts of MHD BEVs are sensitive to the source of electricity used to recharge their batteries. The WTW results show that MHD BEVs significantly improve environmental sustainability of MHDVs by providing deep reductions in WTW GHGs, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and carbon monoxide emissions, compared to conventional diesel counterparts. Increasing shares of renewable and natural gas technologies in future national and regional electricity generation are expected to reduce WTW particulate matters and sulfur oxide emissions for further improvement of the environmental performance of MHD BEVs.

Review and Meta-Analysis of EVs: Embodied Emissions and Environmental Breakeven

Electric vehicles (EVs) are often considered a potential solution to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions originating from personal transport vehicles, but this has also been questioned due to their high production emissions. In this study, we performed an extensive literature review of existing EV life-cycle assessments (LCAs) and a meta-analysis of the studies in the review, extracting life-cycle GHG emission data combined with a standardized methodology for estimating GHG electrical grid intensities across the European Economic Area (EEA), which were used to estimate a set of environmental breakeven points for each EEA country. A Monte Carlo simulation was performed to provide sensitivity analysis. The results of the review suggest a need for greater methodological and data transparency within EV LCA research. The meta-analysis found a subset of countries across the EEA where there is a potential that EVs could lead to greater life-cycle GHG emissions than a comparable diesel counterpart. A policy discussion highlights how EV policies in countries with contrasting GHG electric grid intensities may not reflect the current techno-environmental reality. This paper emphasizes the importance for researchers to accurately depict life-cycle vehicle emissions and the need for EEA countries to enact policies corresponding to their respective contextual conditions to avoid potentially enacting policies that could lead to greater GHG emissions.

Reducing atmospheric pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions of heavy duty trucks by substituting diesel with hydrogen in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei-Shandong region, China

The extensive use of diesel heavy duty trucks (diesel HDTs) has led to substantial atmospheric pollutant and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei-Shandong (BTHS) region, China. The substitution of hydrogen fuel cell heavy duty trucks (HFC-HDTs) for their diesel counterparts is effective to solve the problems above. Aiming at the BTHS region, a GPERF (GHG emission, Pollutant emission and Economic cost Reduction in Fuel cycle) assessment model was established combining with regional vehicle data to investigate the reductions of GHG emissions, pollutant emissions and economic expenditures by the substitution scheme. Data indicated that population of diesel HDTs and HFC-vehicles in BTHS region both accounted for reaching 25% of total in country. Results showed that the fuel substitution scheme could significantly reduce the GHG and pollutant emissions by vehicles in BTHS region, among which the GHG reduced by 1/3, while the NOx and PM remarkably reduced by around 50%.