Title: Effect of oxygenated fuels on ambient carbon monoxide concentrations in Provo, Utah, USA

Authors: R.E. Keislar, J.L. Bowen, E.M. Fujita, D.R. Lawson, W.R. Pierson

Addresses: Desert Research Institute, PO Box 60220, Reno, Nevada 89506, USA. ' Desert Research Institute, PO Box 60220, Reno, Nevada 89506, USA. ' Desert Research Institute, PO Box 60220, Reno, Nevada 89506, USA. ' Co-operative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 90523, USA. ' Desert Research Institute, PO Box 60220, Reno, Nevada 89506, USA

Abstract: Oxygenated gasoline is used to reduce wintertime urban ambient CO concentrations by reducing CO emissions from spark-ignition motor vehicles. Our study was designed to measure background-corrected wintertime ambient CO and CO2 concentrations in Provo before, during, and after oxyfuel periods. Any oxyfuel effect would be manifested as a lower CO/CO2, ratio from spark-ignition vehicles during the oxyfuel period. Salt Lake City, which did not introduce oxyfuels, was used as a control for weather, house heating, and other differences, unrelated to oxyfuel use, between oxyfuel and non-oxyfuel periods. An apparent effect on ambient-air CO/CO2 ratios at traffic sites was invariably observed but proved to be of marginal to low statistical significance; our best estimate of the CO oxyfuels benefit at the traffic sites is 15 ± 20%. In the parking garages, a reduction variously estimated as 11% or 33% was observed, indicating significant CO benefits from oxyfuels during cold-start, however, the random uncertainty in this estimate is not known. A second objective of this study was to see whether this new method is feasible. Our conclusion is that improvements are needed but it was successful enough to warrant evaluation against other methods.

Keywords: carbon monoxide; vehicle emissions; oxygenated fuels; winter air quality; air pollution; exhaust emissions; USA; United States.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.1997.062061

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 1997 Vol.18 No.3/4, pp.379 - 390

Published online: 29 May 2014 *

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