Remote Sensing of On-Road Vehicle Emissions

摘要

A Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectrometer based remote sensor system has been developed to detect tailpipe, exhaust Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), and Hydrocarbons (HC) from moving on-road motor vehicles in order to identify high polluting vehicles. A secondary project goal was to find if other exhaust gases might also be detected, such as NOx. In field tests, it has been demonstrated that an FTIR system is capable of detecting and quantifying gaseous exhaust emission species from vehicles moving of speeds up to 50 miles per hour. The system was tested in a controlled environment on a parking lot. The measured CO/CO2 ratios correlated well with similar data from other remote sensors. The minimum detection threshold for HC/CO2 ratio was about the same as that of the CO, channel. However, the HC output from most vehicles was below this detection threshold, and therefore the HC channel responded reliably only to high polluting vehicles. With the system sensitivity currently achieved, and with the short collection times required (about one second), CO2, CO and HC were detected, but no other exhaust gases could be identified.