Emission standards, automobile

C05-0080. California s automobile emission standards require that exhaust gases contain less than 220 parts per million hydrocarbons and less than 1.2% CO (both of these values are in moles per mole of air). At standard atmospheric pressure, what are the partial pressures, in torr and in atmospheres, that correspond to these values ... 

Promulgate automobile emission standards Established National Air Pollution Control Administration (NAPCA)... 

Postponed/modified federal automobile emission standards Prevention of significant deterioration... 

The trends in the automobile emission standards for the USA and Eitrope since 1966 are given in Table 11.7. Compliance with the standards set has been made possible by the use of automobile emission control catalysts. These were first used in the US during 1975 and in Europe from 1993. As a resirlt of continuous improvement to design and manufacture, the catalysts have been able to conform with the increasing severity of the regulations. 

In the United States, federal regulations require automobile manufacturers to certify that vehicles are ia compliance with exhaust emission standards when tested under specific test procedures. 

Beginning with the 1975 U.S. automobiles, catalytic converters were added to nearly all models to meet the more restrictive emission standards. Since the lead used in gasoline is a poison to the catalyst used in the converter, a scheduled introduction of unleaded gasoline was also required. The U.S. petroleum industry simultaneously introduced unleaded gasoline into the marketplace. 

Considering the wide range of sizes of automotive engines, do you feel that an emission standard in gm km" rather than g m" or ppm is equitable to all automobile manufacturers ... 

Serious research in catalytic reduction of automotive exhaust was begun in 1949 by Eugene Houdry, who developed mufflers for fork lift trucks used in confined spaces such as mines and warehouses (18). One of the supports used was the monolith—porcelain rods covered with films of alumina, on which platinum was deposited. California enacted laws in 1959 and 1960 on air quality and motor vehicle emission standards, which would be operative when at least two devices were developed that could meet the requirements. This gave the impetus for a greater effort in automotive catalysis research (19). Catalyst developments and fleet tests involved the partnership of catalyst manufacturers and muffler manufacturers. Three of these teams were certified by the California Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board in 1964-65 American Cyanamid and Walker, W. R. Grace and Norris-Thermador, and Universal Oil Products and Arvin. At the same time, Detroit announced that engine modifications by lean carburation and secondary air injection enabled them to meet the California standard without the use of catalysts. This then delayed the use of catalysts in automobiles. 

The catalyst companies were encouraged to resume their research activities in automotive catalysis in the late 1960 s as further tightening of automotive emissions standards became imminent, and it appeared that mere engine modifications might be inadequate to meet the new standards. A systems approach was first used upon the formation of the Inter-Industry Emission Control Program by the Ford Motor Company and the Mobil Oil Corporation in 1967, which was joined by a number of oil companies in the U.S. and a number of automobile companies in Italy, Japan, and Western Germany. 

In the USA, the Clean Air Act of 1970 established air-quality standards for six major pollutants particulate matter, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and photochemical oxidants. It also set standards for automobile emissions - the major source of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides. An overview of the major standards is given in Tab. 10.2. The levels of, for example, the European Union (1996) are easily achieved with the present catalysts. The more challenging standards, up to those for the ultralow emission vehicle, are within reach, but zero-emission will probably only be attainable for a hydrogen-powered vehicle. 

Recent automobile exhaust emissions standards are summarized in Table III, and a review of the catalytic systems designed to meet these standards has recently appeared (26). Catalytic converters have been used as a part of emission control systems since 1975. One approach has been to use a dual bed catalytic converter where the reduction of NO to N2 occurs over the first bed, and excess O2 is provided to the second bed to oxidize the CO and hydrocarbons more completely. Typically, the exhaust contains compounds listed in Table IV plus some poisons containing Pb, P, S etc, (27). The catalytic system must reduce concentrations of CO, hydrocarbon and NOx to legally acceptable levels. 

In contrast to the inaction at the federal level, 20 American states and the District of Columbia require the utilities within their states to use some renewable energy. In addition, 17 states are working on tailpipe emission standards that would force car manufacturers to increase the fuel efficiency of their cars. California and 16 other states want to raise the average mileage in their states to 43 mpg, which new standard would affect half of the automobiles in America. Currently 25 states support mandates for renewable energy and 18 states want to cap industrial carbon emissions. 

The world s supply of rhodium is in approximate balance with demand with erratic releases onto the world market from Russia being counterbalanced by national and industrial stockpiles. These fluctuations in availability are reflected in the spot price, which fell from US 64 at the millennium to US 17g by 2001. The current price in 2004 is US 26 g. Of the 2002 world production of 19.0 tonnes and recovered scrap from automobile catalysts of 3.1 tonnes, over 80% was used as rhodium alloy catalysts for automobile emission reduction. The rhodium component is vital in controlling NO emissions and looks set to increase in order to meet higher emission control standards. 

In our urban areas, we recognize two main types of pollution one coming from single sources—e.g., power plants and foundries, the other coming from multiple sources—e.g., the automobile. For the single, isolated sources, the ambient air standards are translated without too much difficulty into source emission standards. We have reasonably reliable mathematical formulae and empirical data to predict ground concentra-... 

Photochemical smog also contains unbumed hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide, both of which come from the exhaust of automobile engines. These pollutants can be reduced or eliminated from the atmosphere in a variety of ways. Cleaner running engines and catalytic converters greatly reduce NO and hydrocarbon levels. Strict federal tailpipe emission standards are encouraging automobile manufacturers to develop new cars that are powered by electricity or alternative fuels such as natural gas. 

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