Characterizing the particle number emissions of light-duty gasoline vehicles under different engine technologies and driving conditions

Vehicle particle number (PN) emissions have attracted increasing public attention due to their severe influence on human health. In this study, we selected 35 light-duty gasoline vehicles (LDGVs) with gasoline direct injection (GDI) and multi-port fuel injection (MPFI) engines to elucidate the main factors influencing PN emissions. Via real driving emission (RDE) and chassis dynamometer tests, we quantified the impact of engine technology, emission standards, engine-start conditions and engine load on vehicle PN emissions. The RDE test results indicated that GDI vehicles generated higher PN emissions than those of MPFI vehicles under hot-running conditions. MPFI vehicle PN emissions were greatly affected by rapidly changing driving conditions, especially vehicles equipped with automatic start-stop systems. In regard to China 6 GDI vehicles equipped with a gasoline particle filter (GPF), their PN emissions were usually low, and peak PN emissions could mainly be attributed to GPF regeneration. Engine manufacturers should optimize GPF regeneration conditions to further reduce particulate emissions. Furthermore, the analysis results of PN emissions for different road types indicated that PN emissions were related to vehicle driving conditions. The vehicle specific power (VSP) could be used as an important explanatory variable to characterize the PN emission rate when distinguishing different engine technologies and emission standards. A real-world LDGV VSP-based PN emission rate was suggested based on the RDE test dataset. The VSP-based emission rate could be considered to more accurately quantify vehicle PN emissions and support the formulation of urban vehicle particle emission control policies. •On-road particle number (PN) emissions stemming from light-duty gasoline vehicles (LDGVs) were quantified.•PN emissions were highly related to vehicle driving conditions.•The automatic start-stop system could increase vehicle PN emissions.•The PN emissions of China 6 gasoline direct injection (GDI) vehicles were dominated by gas particle filter (GPF) regeneration.