It is well known that the use of a biofuel as an automotive fuel, such as the use of ethanol produced from lignocellulosics, is an efficient way of reducing the net emission of carbon dioxide. The question raised is what happens to the emission of components which are related to health risks ? This question is one of the key questions to be answered by the investigations included in a project which has been sponsored by the Swedish government with the object of bringing about a reduction in the emissions from buses and heavy duty trucks which are operated in urban areas. This presentation discusses the importance of the characterization of the emissions as an aid to the development of an ethanol fueled bus engine, an exhaust fueled bus engine, an exhaust control system and to some extent the question of how to specify the ethanol fuel to be used. The characterization of the emissions was carried out both on an engine on test and on vehicles driven on a chassis dynamometer. The emissions measured were the regulated emissions including NO2 and the unregulated emissions such as CO2, aldehydes, olefins and polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAC). In addition the biological activity of the exhaust was tested with respect to mutagenicity according to Ames, and with a TCDD receptor affinity test system. (A)
Samenvatting