Local Pollutant Emissions Research Articles

Environmental Impact of Electrification on Local Public Transport: Preliminary Study

The objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the environmental impact of diesel and electric buses, with a focus on pollutant emissions along a mixed urban–rural route in small urban settings. Utilizing a detailed simulation model, this research compares emissions from a diesel bus and an electric bus on a specific route in a small town in central Italy. Key findings reveal that electric buses significantly reduce local exhaust emissions but are not entirely emission-free, considering the full life cycle, including electricity generation. The Well-to-Wheel analysis shows lower CO2 emissions for the electric bus compared with the diesel bus, with a substantial part of the emissions occurring at power generation facilities. Non-exhaust emissions, especially Total Suspended Particles, are similar for both bus types. This study highlights the advantages of adopting electric buses in urban areas to decrease local air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. However, it also underscores the importance of cleaner electricity generation methods to fully leverage the environmental benefits of electric vehicles. The findings provide valuable insights for decision makers and urban planners in developing sustainable urban transportation systems.

Unveiling 3-D evolution and mechanisms of ozone pollution in Changzhou, China: Insights from lidar observations and modelling

Ground ozone (O3) pollution has emerged as a prominent environmental concern in eastern cities of China, particularly during the summer and autumn seasons. However, a comprehensive investigation into the three-dimensional (3-D) evolution characteristics of O3 within complicated urban environments, especially in lake-land environment, is notably scarce. To enhance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying elevated O3 concentrations within a 3-D scale, this study employed an ozone lidar to delineate vertical ozone profiles in Changzhou, a typical city in China with complicated anthropogenic and biogenic emissions and complex land cover. The process analysis tool integrated into the Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model was further utilized to analyze the formation processes of O3. The results unveil a persistent O3 pollution episode lasting over 15 days in Changzhou during the study period, with multiple peaks exceeding 200 μg m⁻³. Notably, O3 predominantly accumulated within the boundary layer, confined below 1.2 km. Both ground and vertical contributions to this pollution were mainly due to local chemical reactions, with a maximum near-surface contribution reaching 19 ppb h−1 and a vertical contribution of 10 ppb h−1 at the height of 900 ± 200 m. Furthermore, episodes of the enhanced O3 concentrations on August 9 and August 26, 2021, were influenced by external advection process. Our study also found that local circulation plays an important role in the accumulation of surface O3 during certain periods. There was a temperature difference between the surface of Lake Tai and the adjacent land, resulting in the formation of lake-land breezes that facilitate the transport of O3 from the lake surface to the terrestrial environment during pollution events. Our study emphasizes the necessity of reducing local pollutant emissions and implementing joint emission controls as the primary strategies for mitigating O3 pollution in Changzhou and the surrounding region.

What Drives Carbon Emissions in German Manufacturing: Scale, Technique or Composition?

Emissions of local pollutants from industry have declined across many developed countries over the last decades. For carbon emissions such reductions have yet to materialize. Using German administrative micro-data at the product level, we apply the workhorse model for decomposing emission changes into scale, composition (changes in the mix of goods produced) and technology (emission factors of production) effects. We find that the production composition in German manufacturing shifted towards less CO2 intensive goods, while emission intensities of production increased. We show that data aggregation matters. Both effects are substantially underestimated when using data at the sector level as compared to the product level. A complementary plant level decomposition reveals that emission intensities of production increased both within plant, and due to a reallocation of production to more emission intensive plants.

Projecting traffic flows for road-based passenger transport in Europe for the analysis of climate impact

Road-based transport is a significant contributor to global transport emissions of greenhouse gases and local pollutants, thus contributing to the environmental impact of the mobility of people and goods. In order to develop strategies to mitigate this impact, it is necessary to build reliable emission inventories that include sector-specific emissions. Furthermore, the methods for creating these inventories should be applicable for forecasts and scenario calculations to facilitate the evaluation of pathways towards a more sustainable transport system. The study at hand proposes a model-based framework to predict travel demand and its spatial distribution for a bottom-up calculation of road transport emissions in Europe. With this framework, it is possible to calculate emissions based on the road network structure, traffic flows and vehicle types. In order to demonstrate the applicability of the framework for scenario calculations, it is applied to three exemplary scenarios where population data is modified. With the developed methodology, a tool for the large-scale assessment of emissions from road transport is provided, which is able to simulate the impact of socio-economic and economic changes on these emissions.

Revealing neglected hotspots for China’s quality-induced water scarcity

A dependable assessment of quality-induced water scarcity (QualWS) is essential for tackling the issue and achieving sustainable development goals. The conventional Emission-based grey water footprint (GWF) may over- or under-estimate QualWS, as it solely focuses on local pollutant emissions while disregarding other influential factors, such as water body self-purification capacity, transboundary water flows and the potential under- or over-estimation of water pollution emissions. To address this limitation, we propose the State-based GWF to reflect the quality status of local water resources accurately. The indicator is applied in annual and monthly QualWS assessments at the provincial scale in China. In 2021, 19 provinces were identified as QualWS hotspots, comprising seven moderate and 12 slight hotspots for at least one pollutant. Notably, the State-based assessment revealed eight previously overlooked hotspots undetected by conventional methods. Furthermore, total phosphorus emerged as the most critical water pollutant, followed by total nitrogen and chemical oxygen demand. Our assessment presents an innovative perspective for understanding QualWS and establishes a scientific basis for effective aquatic environment management.

Pollutant reduction effects of vertical environmental reform in China.

The vertical environmental reform in China has led to the change of environmental management system from territorial management model to vertical management model. This study uses the data of 263 prefecture-level cities in China to examine the effects of China's vertical environmental reform on pollutant emissions, including industrial sulfur dioxide, wastewater emissions, and industrial fumes emissions. The findings demonstrate that vertical environmental reform resulted in a reduction in industrial sulfur dioxide, wastewater emissions, and industrial fumes emissions. And the governance effects is gradually enhanced with the passage of time, which are long-lasting effects. The above conclusions are still valid after a series of robust estimates including mitigating selection bias, placebo test, changing the dependent variables, and mitigating heterogeneous treatment effects. According to heterogeneity analysis, the vertical environmental reform has reduced the increase of pollutants caused by financial pressure and official associations, and treats border pollution problems more effectively. Under the decentralized governance system, the implementation of vertical environmental management helps to reduce local pollutant emissions. This conclusion provides the latest evidence from China for the academic debate on the advantages and disadvantages of territorial environmental management and vertical environmental management and also provides policy implications for the government's environmental governance.

Estimation of local pollutant and carbon dioxide emissions of road and rail transportation in the Philippines

The 2016 baseline road and rail transportation pollutant emissions in the Philippines using a bottom-up approach are estimated at 9.212 million tons and 377 tons, respectively, while CO2 emissions are estimated at 97.6 million tons and 62,248 tons, respectively. Road transportation activity is estimated to be 231.53 billion vehicle-kilometers, where 58% is from motorcycles. Top pollutants are CO and VOC from motorcycles, tricycles and cars. Motorcycles contribute the largest share of CO2 emissions. NOₓ and CO are major pollutants from rail transportation. Based on these results and the assessment of selected transport projects, the government may develop policies on major emitters of criteria pollutants and carbon dioxide, aside from improvement of public transportation. Furthermore, the study is limited in using average vehicle emission factors which need updating.

Wet deposition of sulfur and nitrogen in the Jiuzhaigou World Heritage Site, China: Spatial variations, 2010–2022 trends, and implications for karst ecosystem conservation

Excessive sulfur and nitrogen deposition is a threat to natural ecosystems. This study investigated the spatio-temporal changes of wet sulfur and nitrogen deposition in Jiuzhaigou to understand the responses of wet deposition chemistry to local and national air pollutant emission changes and to assess relevant ecological risks. The results show that local emission sources (e.g., tourism, post-earthquake reconstruction, and vegetation damages) largely elevated the concentrations of SO42−, NO3−, NH4+, and Ca2+ at the non-background sites during 2021–2022; However, the gaps of annual sulfur and nitrogen wet deposition fluxes among the background, semi-background, and non-background sites were reduced by annual precipitation. The pH was also higher at the non-background sites due to stronger acid neutralization capacities from crustal dust there, and acid precipitation (pH < 5.6) was not detected at all the sites. During the 2010 to 2022 period, the wet deposition of SO42− and TIN (i.e. total inorganic nitrogen) and the equivalent ratio of SO42−: NO3− generally presented a declining trend at the background and semi-background sites, as a result of regional and national emission reductions. The TIN reduction from 2015 to 2016 to 2021–2022 at the background site was more from wet NH4+ deposition and the site's NO3− concentrations and fluxes were relatively stable. Compared to the critical loads (CLs) of sulfur and nitrogen for acidification and eutrophication, the annual wet and wet+dry deposition fluxes of sulfur and nitrogen were lower in almost the entire watershed, except for the CLmin of nitrogen for acidification in considerable areas. However, all the wet deposition samples were calcite-unsaturated and had annual TIN concentrations higher than the national environmental standard of total nitrogen for surface water. More field investigations are needed to better assess the ecological risks.

The effects of cash for clunkers on local air quality

We study the effects of a large car scrappage scheme in Germany on new car purchases and local air quality by combining vehicle registration data with data on local air pollutant emissions. For identification we exploit cross-sectional variation across districts in the number of cars eligible for scrappage. The scheme had substantial effects on car purchases and did not simply reallocate demand across time in the short-term. Nevertheless, about half of all subsidized buyers benefited from windfall gains. The renewal of the car stock improved local air quality suggesting substantial mortality benefits that likely exceed the cost of the policy. While policy take-up is somewhat smaller in urban districts, improvements in air quality and health tend to be larger due to a higher car density.

PM2.5-Bound Organophosphate Flame Retardants in Hong Kong: Occurrence, Origins, and Source-Specific Health Risks.

Organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) are emerging organic pollutants in PM2.5, which have caused significant public health concerns in recent years, given their potential carcinogenic and neurotoxic effects. However, studies on the sources, occurrence, and health risk assessment of PM2.5-bound OPFRs in Hong Kong are lacking. To address this knowledge gap, we characterized 13 OPFRs in one-year PM2.5 samples using gas chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Our findings showed that OPFRs were present at a median concentration of 4978 pg m-3 (ranging from 1924 to 8481 pg m-3), with chlorinated OPFRs dominating and accounting for 82.7% of the total OPFRs. Using characteristic source markers and positive matrix factorization, we identified one secondary formation and five primary sources of OPFRs. Over 94.0% of PM2.5-bound OPFRs in Hong Kong were primarily emitted, with plastic processing and waste disposal being the leading source (61.0%), followed by marine vessels (14.1%). The contributions of these two sources to OPFRs were more pronounced on days influenced by local pollution emissions (91.9%) than on days affected by regional pollution (44.2%). Our assessment of health risks associated with human exposure to PM2.5-bound OPFRs indicated a low-risk level. However, further source-specific health risk assessment revealed relatively high noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks from chlorinated OPFRs emitted from plastic processing and waste disposal, suggesting a need for more stringent emission control of OPFRs from these sources in Hong Kong.

Regional classification of high PM10 concentrations in the Seoul metropolitan and Chungcheongnam-do areas, Republic of Korea

Since the Seoul metropolitan area is a highly developed megacity, many people are often exposed to high concentrations of particulate matter (PM), with mean aerodynamic diameters equal to or less than 10 μm (PM10), in cold seasons. PM10 concentrations can be influenced by a combination of various factors, including meteorological conditions, anthropogenic emissions, atmospheric chemical reactions, transboundary transport, and geographic characteristics. However, the establishment of an efficient air quality management plan remains challenging due to the limited understanding of the regional PM concentration characteristics. Here, the Seoul metropolitan (Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, and Incheon) and Chungcheongnam-do (Chungcheongnam-do, Daejeon, and Sejong) areas were regionally classified to identify the spatiotemporal air quality in areas where megacities and emission sources are mixed. The four representative regions were determined using the K-means clustering method based on the temporal variations in the observed PM10 concentrations. The first cluster consisted of small cities in the southern and eastern parts of Gyeonggi-do and Chungcheongnam-do, respectively, while the second cluster consisted of Incheon, West Gyeonggi-do, and Seoul. In addition, the third and fourth clusters included West Chungcheongnam-do and East Gyeonggi-do, which are adjacent to the Yellow Sea and downstream area of the westerly wind, respectively. The characteristics of each cluster during the high PM10 concentration events are explainable by wind patterns and the local air pollutant emissions, including nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides. The obtained regional classification was different from the provincial-level administrative division of South Korea. Therefore, the present study is expected to be a scientific basis for overcoming the limitations of air quality management in administrative districts.

Economic and environmental effects of financing subsidies for non-conventional renewable energies with a carbon tax – A comparison of intersectoral models

Non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE) subsidies have been introduced in various countries to help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, other social priorities limit the allocation of fiscal resources to this climate policy in Chile. This study analyzes the option of financing NCRE subsidies through carbon taxes in the thermoelectric sector. Specifically, two intersectoral models (the Leontief price model and the SAM price model) are used to simulate the impact of this mix of climate policies on prices, production, employment, and emissions of global and local air pollutants. The results of both models show that CO2 emissions would be reduced slightly in the short term, which is explained by the low current tax rate, the inelasticity of energy demand, and the indirect stimulus of subsidies on production in other sectors of the economy. In addition, it is concluded that the Leontief price model overestimates the impacts since it omits the falls in labor income and household consumption that the SAM price model captures. So, it is recommended to use models based on a social accounting matrix to evaluate energy policies when more sophisticated intersectoral models with endogenous prices and quantities (computable general equilibrium models) are unavailable.

Numerical study on pollutant emissions characteristics and chemical and physical exergy analysis in Mild combustion

This analytical study appraises the emission characteristics of different pollutants such as CO and NOX as well as conducting chemical and physical exergy analyses on conventional and Mild combustion regimes. The RANS turbulence approach and the k-ε RNG model were utilized in this study to simulate turbulence, whereas the eddy dissipation concept (EDC) model and the GRI–Mech 2.11 chemical mechanism were adopted to treat the turbulence-chemistry interaction. This study evaluated local and global pollutant emissions and exergy efficiency along the reacting jet and explored the effects of temperature and chemical species on the physical and chemical exergies in MILD combustion in comparison to conventional combustion. It is found that the overall exergy efficiency of MILD combustion rises by 1, 3, and 4% for oxygen mass fractions of 3, 6, and 9% in hot oxidizer coflow, with the NOx emissions are 81, 72, and 55% lower than conventional combustion, respectively. Chemical exergy is greater than physical exergy near the fuel nozzle due to high CH4 and H2 concentrations. Chemical exergy reduces along the burner due to chemical reactions, while physical exergy increases due to the increased temperature. However, owing to the trade-off between these two exergies along the flame jet, the total exergy approaches a constant value at large distances from the burner. The maximum total exergy occurs at a distance of 0.12 m from the fuel nozzle, with chemical exergy accounting for 83% of the total exergy. In the outlet (0.5 m from the fuel nozzle), chemical exergy accounts only for 30% of the total exergy. It can also be concluded that the exergy is stabilized at a distance of 0.3 m from the nozzle (60% of the domain length). Despite a higher local CO emission in conventional combustion than in MILD combustion, the CO emission substantially decreases at a smaller distance from the nozzle in conventional combustion due to the high O2 concentration.

Combustion, Chemistry, and Carbon Neutrality.

Combustion is a reactive oxidation process that releases energy bound in chemical compounds used as fuels─energy that is needed for power generation, transportation, heating, and industrial purposes. Because of greenhouse gas and local pollutant emissions associated with fossil fuels, combustion science and applications are challenged to abandon conventional pathways and to adapt toward the demand of future carbon neutrality. For the design of efficient, low-emission processes, understanding the details of the relevant chemical transformations is essential. Comprehensive knowledge gained from decades of fossil-fuel combustion research includes general principles for establishing and validating reaction mechanisms and process models, relying on both theory and experiments with a suite of analytic monitoring and sensing techniques. Such knowledge can be advantageously applied and extended to configure, analyze, and control new systems using different, nonfossil, potentially zero-carbon fuels. Understanding the impact of combustion and its links with chemistry needs some background. The introduction therefore combines information on exemplary cultural and technological achievements using combustion and on nature and effects of combustion emissions. Subsequently, the methodology of combustion chemistry research is described. A major part is devoted to fuels, followed by a discussion of selected combustion applications, illustrating the chemical information needed for the future.

Four decades of aviation visibility at Bhairahawa airport, gateway to Buddha's birthplace Lumbini, Nepal

Over four decades of visibility data at Bhairahawa airport (BWA), a recently upgraded international airport near Lumbini, a UNESCO heritage site in Nepal has been analyzed. In this study, we also investigated one of the important microclimatic behavior of fog i.e., onset and dispersal timings, and its implication on aviation. Temporal variations of poor visibility conditions at BWA are found to be primarily associated with variations in haze and fog. Haze at BWA accounts for the highest percentage (∼27%) of time and its annual occurrence is increasing (0.57% yr−1). There is a significant upward trend of hazy days in all seasons, the highest (1.46% day yr−1) being in post-monsoon. The overall seasonal poor visibility, too, has increased significantly in all seasons, with the highest trend in post-monsoon (1.57% yr−1). Similarly, fog frequency in the winter season has also increased noticeably for fog days (1.05% day yr−1), dense fog days (0.51% day yr−1), general fog hours (0.55% hour yr−1) and dense fog hours (0.20% hour yr−1). We found that fog at BWA is usually formed overnight and dissipates before noon. Daytime onset and late dispersion of fog are more common in the peak winter months of December and January. Further, we investigated the relationship between visibility and aerosol optical depth (AOD) and found a moderate negative correlation (r = − 0.66, p < 0.001) between them in the monsoon season. However, AOD is found to have a weaker correlation with visibility during winter (r = −0.36) and pre-monsoon (r = −0.23) seasons, when there is a more pronounced influence of meteorological conditions on the occurrence of visibility. We have observed a better correlation (r = −0.74) between fine particulate matter concentration (PM2.5) and visibility. Examining the effect of relative humidity (RH) on AOD (or, PM2.5) and visibility revealed that higher RH tends to lower visibility. Visibility at BWA airport is gradually worsening due to local and regional air pollution emissions and changing meteorological conditions. The degraded visibility at BWA airport will negatively impact flight safety and timeliness. Effective implementation of regionally coordinated air pollution mitigation measures can be a sustainable step towards the improvement of visibility in long run. However, the installation of ground equipment like CAT-II/III Instrument Landing System (ILS) for aircraft take-off and landings, and advanced surface movement guidance and control system (A-SMGCS) are highly advisable to lessen the damage potential to aviation.

Contribution of renewable energy sources to the environmental impacts and economic benefits for sustainable development

Renewable energy sources (RES) have significant potential to contribute to the economic, social and environmental energy sustainability. They improve access to energy for most of the population, they also reduce emissions of local and global pollutants and they may create local socioeconomic development opportunities. The inevitable increase in population and the economic development that must occur in many countries have implications for the environment. This is because energy generation processes are harmful and therefore pollutes the ecosystem. Energy is considered to be a key player in the generation of wealth and hence a significant component in economic development. It is central to sustainable development and poverty reduction efforts. It has positive effect on all aspects of development; social, economic, and environmental. This makes energy resources extremely significant for every country in the world. In this paper, renewable energy sources, their economic benefits for sustainable development, environmental impact including global warming, advantages and disadvantages and strategies for optimum exploitation for sustainable development are highlighted.

Study on the optimal policy options for improving energy efficiency and Co-controlling carbon emission and local air pollutants in China

China faces multiple pressures from both global climate change and local pollution. The computable general equilibrium model is used to examine and compare three policy instruments including environmental protection inspection, carbon tax, and non-fossil energy subsidy, in order to determine the optimal policy option to improve energy efficiency and co-control carbon as well as local pollutant emissions with cost-effectiveness. The results show that the ongoing environmental protection inspection can generate a considerable reduction effect on China's local air pollutants and CO2, and its effect on local air pollutants is more significant. In comparison, the carbon tax policy achieves more balanced co-control effects on local air pollutants and CO2 reductions. As a result of recycling carbon tax revenue to support non-fossil energy subsidies, the energy efficiency and co-control effectiveness are better than a carbon tax alone, through promoting a composition effect and a technology effect in the economy. Moreover, if the environmental protection inspection involves CO2 mitigation targets, the policy effects of the carbon tax and non-fossil energy subsidies can be strengthened via increasing costs for non-compliance and improving enforcement. For some developing countries like China, given the lack of enforcement, corruption, as well as a questionable deterrent effect of market-based instruments, policy mix designs involving comprehensive inspection, might be second-best options for future energy efficiency promotion and co-control of local air pollutants and CO2 to gain double dividend in both economic and environmental welfare.

Heterogeneous environmental regulation tools and green economy development: evidence from China

The implementation of environmental regulation policy by the government is usually an effective tool to reduce local pollution emissions. The super-efficient SBM model of unexpected output was used in this study to estimate green economy development levels in 30 Chinese provinces from 2010 to 2019 and constructed a panel econometric model. It empirically tested the theoretical hypothesis and mechanism of heterogeneous environmental regulation affecting green economy development by using the least squares estimation, the instrumental variable method, spatial panel regression, the mediating effect model, and further models. The relationship between command-controlled environmental regulation and green economy development was U-shaped, whereas green economy development was not significantly influenced by market-incentive environmental regulations. Command-controlled environmental regulation affected green economy development via the progress of pollution control technology and production technology. The strengthening of command-controlled environmental regulation progressed pollution control technology as regional enterprises continually improved, while production technology was initially suppressed, then promoted. Market-incentive environmental regulation mainly affected the green economy development level through pollution control technology progress, while the mediating effect of production technology progress was insignificant. This study provides some empirical support for the verification of Porter’s win-win hypothesis and the realization of green economic transformation in emerging countries such as China.

How does vehicle emission control policy affect air pollution emissions? Evidence from Hainan Province, China

Vehicular emissions have become important sources of air pollution in China. Regarding the environmental impacts of vehicle emission control policies (VECPs), changes in air pollutants and CO2 emissions have attracted more attention. Hainan is the first province in China declared to ban the sale of fuel-powered cars by 2030, aiming to accelerate cutting down the local air pollution emissions. However, there is no previous study examining how these VECPs would affect air pollutants in Hainan. Further, research on whether the controls would lead to a real carbon reduction is limited. Therefore, this paper quantitatively assesses the emission changes of primary air pollutants (including NOx, CO, VOCs, PM2.5, PM10, and PMTSP) and greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, and N2O) in the transportation sector with regard to different VECPs in Hainan. The results reveal that (1) VECPs would lead to significant increases in vehicular population by 21 %–65 % in 2025–2050. Specifically, light-duty cars and buses with 4-stroke engines (LD4Cs) is the largest contributor and banning sales of fuel-powered vehicles would lead to a larger increase of 1914.6 thousand (64 %) in 2030; (2) for air pollutant emissions, the policy scenario would bring notable reduction effects, decreasing by 1.0 %–16.0 % and 16.7 %–38.7 % in 2030 and 2050 (PM excluding), respectively, suggesting VECPs play important roles in alleviating environmental pollution; (3) conversely, for CO2 emissions, the policy scenario would cause increases of 0.8 Mt. (17.8 %) and 0.3 Mt. (6.1 %) in 2035 and 2050, respectively, indicating promoting new energy vehicles (NEVs) would increase carbon emissions. Meanwhile, it suggests that CO2 emission in the transportation sector of Hainan peaked in 2020. This research highlights that VECPs would be a double-edged sword, leading to air pollutants reductions but not necessarily decline CO2 emissions. This fact would further accelerate mechanism and technological innovation in transport to alleviate air pollution and carbon emissions simultaneously.

Performance and regulated emissions from a Euro VI-D hybrid bus tested with fossil and renewable (hydrotreated vegetable oil) diesel fuels under urban driving in Bilbao city, Spain.

Renewable liquid fuels are a promising alternative solution to decarbonize the transport sector. However, the analysis of emissions of local contaminants coming from the use of such fuels relevant to preserve air quality and related human health issues. Even though the advantages in reducing climate change using renewable fuels appear to be clear, there are still discrepancies on the effect of fuel composition on engine performance, power, and emissions of local pollutants. In the present work, the performance and regulated emissions from a Euro VI-D hybrid bus using conventional fossil diesel fuel and renewable fuel (hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO)) under urban driving conditions have been studied. The tests were carried out using an on-board modular measurement system that registers emissions, exhaust gas parameters and records data from the engine, as well as environmental conditions. The registered CO2 emissions and calculated mass, volumetric and energy fuel consumptions were lower when using the renewable fuel, despite the lower volumetric heating value compared to fossil diesel fuel, which is partly attributed to the lower EGR rate with renewable fuel that leads to a higher energy efficiency. Additionally, CO and THC emissions coming from the combustion process of renewable fuel are lower than those of the fossil fuel, given the paraffinic structure of renewable fuel that favors a cleaner combustion. During cold operating conditions lower NOx emissions were registered using the renewable fuel in comparison with the fossil diesel fuel, although slightly lower EGR rates were observed. Finally, the average particle number obtained in the tests is higher when using renewable fuel, but differences are not considered as statistically significant. The results obtained regarding performance and emissions suggest that the renewable fuel could be used as partial or total substitute of diesel fuel with a reduction of direct CO2 and gaseous pollutant emissions in most of the conditions. The developed methodology highlights the relevance of analyzing cumulative values, at least for CO2 and particle number concentrations, before analyzing all the results after testing a vehicle under driving conditions, allowing the detection of any anomaly in the measurements of the different parameters. Future work may be addressed for electrified powertrains combined with renewable fuels and ad-hoc optimization of ECU settings for renewable fuels to improve pollutant emissions performance.