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ANALYSIS OF MOTOR VEHICLE EMISSIONS IN A HOUSTON TUNNEL DURING THE TEXAS AIR QUALITY STUDY 2000
Citation:
McGaughey, G. R., N. R. Desai, D. Allen, R L. Seila, W A. Lonneman, M. P. Fraser, R. A. Harley, A. K. Pollack, J. M. Ivey, AND J. H. Price. ANALYSIS OF MOTOR VEHICLE EMISSIONS IN A HOUSTON TUNNEL DURING THE TEXAS AIR QUALITY STUDY 2000. Presented at NARSTO Workshop on Innovative Methods for Emission-Inventory Development and Evaluation, Austin, TX, October 14-17, 2003.
Impact/Purpose:
(1) To provide up-to-date VOC source profiles for EPA's revitalized SPECIATE source profile library, through gas chromatographic (GC) analysis of "samples of opportunity" acquired in HEASD-supported field studies.
(2) To provide VOC measurement support to HEASD-sponsored field studies.
Description:
Measurements from a Houston tunnel were used to develop fuel consumption based emission factors for CO, NOx, and Non-Methane Organic Compound (NMOC) for on-road gasoline vehicles. The Houston NOx emission factor was at the low range of emission factors reported in previous (primarily pre-1996) tunnel studies while the NMOC emission factor was slightly higher than that reported in the previous tunnel studies. The fuel based tunnel emission factors for CO, NOx and NMOC were compared to emission estimates calculated by the MOBILE5b and MOBILE6 models by making estimates of fuel efficiencies. The MOBILE6 emissions estimate for CO from gasoline vehicles was over twice that provided by the tunnel measurements and predicted by MOBILE5b. NMOC and NOx emission factors based on the tunnel data were consistent with the MOBILE6 estimates.
This work has been funded in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under intergovernmental agreement RWTX939025-01-0 to the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission. It has been subjected to Agency review and approved for publication.