Air pollution (cars emissions)

By: Mariam Ananidze Ana Akhaladze

Air pollution (cars emissions)

Motor vehicle emissions are composed of the by-products that comes out of the exhaust systems or other emissions such as gasoline evaporation. These emissions contribute to air pollution and are a major ingredient in the creation of smog in some large cities.

The reason of emissions

During the first couple of minutes after starting the engine of a car that has not been operated for several hours, the amount of emissions is very high. This occurs for two main reasons: Rich Air-Fuel ratio requirement in cold engines: Right after starting the engine the walls as well as the fuel are cold. Fuel do not vaporizes and it would be difficult to create enough combustible gas mixture. therefore very reach operation is required at the beginning, sometimes even 1:1. The excess of fuel in the chambers is subsequently burned generating great amount of Hydrocarbons, Nitrogen Oxides and Carbon monoxide. Inefficient catalytic convertor under cold conditions: Catalytic convertors are very inefficient when cold. When the cold engine is started, it takes several minutes to the converter to reach the temperature to operate. Before that, gases are dropped directly into the atmosphere. There are many ways of reducing this effect: Locating the convertor closer to the engine, Superinsulation, electric heating, thermal battery, chemical reaction preheating, and Flame heating Considering that a substantial amount of trips are short, this is a major issue to improve air quality conditions.

Smog in New York City as viewed from the World Trade Center in 1988. A 2009 report indicates that, despite the City's air being close to the EPA's shortterm ozone standard, that New Yorkers still face a 25 per-cent increased risk of dying from lung disease.

Main motor vehicle emissions

Mono-nitrogen oxides NO and NO2 react with ammonia, moisture, and other compounds to form nitric acid vapor and related particles. Small particles can penetrate deeply into sensitive lung tissue and damage it, causing premature death in extreme cases. Inhalation of such particles may cause or worsen respiratory diseases such as emphysema, bronchitis it may also aggravate existing heart disease. In a 2005 U.S. EPA study the largest emissions of NOx came from on road motor vehicles, with the second largest contributor being non road equipment which is mostly gasoline and diesel stations.

Ozone

Ozone is beneficial in the upper atmosphere, but at ground level ozone irritates the respiratory system, causing coughing, choking, and reduced lung capacity.In the United States, ozone is responsible for an estimated $500 million in reduced crop production each year