ETH – Conference
The 22nd ETH Conference on Combustion Generated Nanoparticles took place in Zürich (Switzerland) from 18 to 21 June.
This interdisciplinary platform brings together research, industry and legislative representatives to discuss all aspects of nanoparticles, freshly emitted from various sources, aged in ambient air, technical mitigation aspects, impact of particles on health, environment and climate.
Mr Gerhard Müller, chair of the CITA emission expert group, was invited as a speaker to the focus event regarding the topic “Emission of In-use Vehicles: Quality and Control”. His presentation was about the importance of loaded periodic emission tests for petrol and diesel vehicles. He also introduced the main results of several laboratory tests conducted by CITA members over the last years.
Mr Müller stated that since the emission behaviour of modern petrol and diesel engines is becoming increasingly similar, a differentiation in the test procedures is not needed any more. In addition, a minimum load is necessary for a periodic emission test to be able to evaluate modern after-treatment systems properly, e.g. for the emission of NOx, CO or HC. Therefore, a loaded periodic emission test would guarantee that a vehicle complies with the requirements during its whole life cycle, since it would be able to detect not only potential tampering, but also — and more importantly — normal wear and tear which will occur in every vehicle after some years or higher mileage.
The experience of PTI organisations across Europe has shown that defective vehicles will only be subject to maintenance and repair work as long as relevant defects can be detected, which is also imperative to keep the emission standard compliance at a high level. In a few words, modernised periodic emission test procedures for diesel and petrol vehicles would have a strong impact especially on air quality in urban areas.