CLEAN FUELS & VEHICLES REGULATORY TOOLKIT

Executive Summary With Toolkit CD Included

CLEAN FUELS AND VEHICLES TOOLKIT Executive Summary

1.

Background and Introduction

Despite significant advances in fuel efficiency and emission reductions over the last 50 years, the transport sector is a major source of air pollution and CO2 emissions. These emissions are set to increase sharply as the global vehicle fleet is projected to grow to between 2 and 3 billon vehicles by 2050 – with almost all of this growth taking place in developing and transitional countries. The transportation sector remains the main source of urban air pollution in many developing and transitional countries, contributing over 50% of urban air pollution in many cities. The key pollutant is fine particulate matter (PM2.5) causing an estimated 3.2 million premature deaths annually, with the transport sector being a major contributor (World Health Organisation, April 2014). One component of PM, black carbon, is an important climate pollutant as well. In addition, the sector contributes nearly one quarter of global CO2 emissions. This share is set to rise to at least one third by 2050 unless significant steps are taken. Other pollutants of concern from transportation include carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC) including volatile organic compounds (VOC), oxides of nitrogen (NOX) and sulfur dioxide (SO2)which can lead to a variety of air quality impacts, including ground level ozone and smog, and associated health and environmental problems. Developed countries have made major investments to introduce cleaner and more efficient modes of transport and vehicle emissions have been reduced sharply. Similar approaches to promote the use of cleaner fuels and vehicles need to be adopted

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by developing and transitional countries, where the bulk of vehicle growth is now taking place. The Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles (PCFV), the leading global public-private partnership to promote cleaner fuels and vehicles, works with developing and transitional countries to reduce air pollution from vehicles through the promotion of cleaner fuels and vehicles policies. This regulatory toolkit is part of this ongoing campaign and is meant to introduce the need for a systems approach to vehicle emission reduction in developing and transitional countries. Developed countries have used different tools to move to stricter fuel quality and vehicle emission standards. However, it is important to note that in spite of the different tools, these countries have had a clear and concise road map – a systems approach that matches fuels and vehicle improvements - to guide their progress towards tighter vehicle emissions regulations. A similar approach is missing in most developing and transitional countries.

The Systems Approach One of the most important lessons learned in the approximately 50-year history of vehicle pollution control worldwide is that vehicles and fuels must be treated as a system. Improvements in vehicles and fuels must proceed in parallel if significant improvements in vehicle related air pollution are to occur. A program that focuses on vehicles alone will not achieve the potential environmental benefits of the technologies; conversely, a program designed to improve fuel quality alone also will not achieve the maximum benefits resulting from the cleaner fuels. A second important lesson is that a program that focuses on improving vehicles and fuels as a system can be successful. Many countries are following the EU or US systems which laid out a clear roadmap with explicit links between vehicle emissions standards and the associated technologies with appropriate fuel parameters and specifications needed to optimize emissions performance.

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Vehicle Emissions Standards - January 2015

Above Euro 3 Euro 3 Below Euro 3 No Policy Unkown

www.unep.org/Transport/pcfv

Through PCFV support, many developing and transitional countries have adopted targets and roadmaps to introduce lower sulfur fuels after completing the phase-out of leaded gasoline. Unfortunately, the adoption of cleaner fuels and vehicle emission standards in most developing countries is not coordinated, and lacks a clear long term strategy. This toolkit is intended to assist developing and transitional countries to establish a systems approach to clean fuels and vehicles regulations. The toolkit will support those developing and transitional countries to introduce 50 parts per million (ppm) and lower sulfur fuels, produce or import low emitting and more efficient vehicle technologies, establish vehicle emissions control roadmaps and ultimately improve air quality and human health in these countries. The toolkit will show by examples how to build a regulatory strategy, establish enabling legislation and regulatory standards, and set up enforcement mechanisms. The toolkit will also use specific case examples to illustrate for developing and transitional countries how to integrate cleaner fuels and vehicles emission standards.

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Over approximately the last twenty-five years, extensive studies have been carried out to better establish the linkages between fuels and vehicles and vehicle emissions. Relying heavily on these studies as well as other recent work, the toolkit summarizes what is known about the impact of fuel sulfur content and other fuels components on vehicle emissions and assesses the implications for the phase-in of tighter new vehicle standards. The regulatory toolkit is available online, as an interactive toolkit on the PCFV website - http://www.unep.org/Transport/new/PCFV/.

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2. The Impact of Sulfur on Advanced Vehicle Pollution Control Technologies Diesel Fuel Sulphur Levels: Global Status January 2015

15 & Below* >15 - 50 >50 - 500 >500 - 2000 >2000 - 5000 >5,000 & Above

* Information in parts per million (ppm) For additional details and comments per country, visit www.unep.org/transport/pcfv/

While sulfur contributes to adverse effects on both health and the environment in a number of ways, the most important concern with regard to vehicle emissions is the impact on pollution control technology. The primary reason for introducing lower sulfur vehicle fuels, therefore, is to enable the introduction of emissions control devices that can significantly reduce vehicle emissions and to allow them to achieve their full emissions reduction potential - this is known as the Systems Approach. These technologies are already in place in some countries and are continuously being improved to further reduce vehicle emissions. However, these technologies generally require specific fuel qualities, often including low sulfur levels.

a)

Sulfur in Gasoline

Sulfur occurs naturally in crude oil. Its level in refined gasoline depends upon the source of the crude oil used and the extent to which the sulfur is removed during the refining process. 6

Modern gasoline engines use computer controlled intake port fuel injection and increasingly direct injection (so called GDI) with feedback control based on an oxygen sensor to meter precisely the quantity and timing of fuel delivered to the engine. The three-way catalytic converter provides greater than 90% reduction of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), and oxides of nitrogen (NOX). Durability in excess of 160,000 km, with minimal maintenance, is now common. Three-way catalytic converters were introduced on cars in the United States and Japan well before the impact of sulfur on catalyst performance was fully understood. We now know that sulfur in gasoline reduces the efficiency of catalysts and adversely affects heated exhaust gas oxygen sensors. High sulfur gasoline is a barrier to the introduction of new lean burn technologies using De-NOX catalysts, while low sulfur gasoline will enable new and future conventional vehicle technologies to realize their full benefits. If sulfur levels are lowered, existing vehicles equipped with catalysts will generally have improved emissions.

Catalytic Converter

For gasoline-fueled vehicles with no catalytic converters, reducing sulfur will have no effect on the pollutants of greatest concern, CO, HC or NOX. While the amount of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emitted is in direct proportion to the amount of sulfur in the fuel, gasoline vehicles are not usually a 7

significant source of SO2. Since SO2 can be converted in the atmosphere to sulfates, however, these emissions will also contribute to ambient levels of particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) which is an increasingly serious concern in many cities. The percentage benefits of reducing sulfur levels in fuels increase as vehicles are designed to meet stricter standards. Increasingly strict emissions standards require extremely efficient catalysts with a long lifetime. Based on the experience with advanced gasoline fueled vehicle emissions controls, it is concluded that most gasoline vehicles (other than lean Direct Injection) meeting both Euro 5 and Euro 6 emissions standards or US Tier 2 equivalent standards should perform satisfactorily with gasoline having a maximum sulfur content of 50 ppm. However this will depend on how much ‘margin’ there is between the actual emissions performance and the emission standards, and the higher levels of sulfur may impact on the ability to meet the standards at full durability of 160,000 km. If and when they shift to 10 ppm maximum sulfur fuels, their performance will improve.

b)

Sulfur in Diesel Fuel

Figure ES1: Tons of Directly Emitted Sulfate PM from Diesel Fuels Sulfur Source: Calculated from data provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)

The contribution of the sulfur content of diesel fuel to exhaust particulate emissions has been well established with a general linear relationship 8

between fuel sulfur levels and the particulate emissions. Figure ES1 is one estimate of this relationship calculated from data provided by the US EPA. (This figure shows only the sulfur-related PM and not the total PM emitted from a diesel engine.) An indirect relationship also exists as some emissions of SO2 will eventually be converted in the atmosphere to sulfate PM. For diesel vehicles with no controls, the SO2 and PM emissions are directly related to the amount of sulfur in the fuel. Figure ES2 illustrates the linkage between sulfur levels in the fuel and the mass of particulate; sulfur sits on the surface of the carbonaceous core in direct proportion to the amount of sulfur in the fuel.

Figure ES2: Schematic Illustration of a Typical Diesel Particle Source: Health Effects Institute (HEI)

The amount of sulfur trioxide (SO3) emissions is also directly proportional to the amount of sulfur contained in the fuel. In the oxygen-rich exhaust of diesel vehicles several percent of the SO2 formed during combustion is oxidized to SO3, which dissolves in the water vapor present to form sulfuric acid (H2SO4) vapor. H2SO4 forms very small (so called ultrafine) particles in diesel exhaust which are considered especially hazardous because of their ability to penetrate deeply into the lungs. Even though sulfate particles account for only a small fraction of particle volume or mass, they account for a large fraction of particle numbers.

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According to the US EPA, approximately 2% of the sulfur in the diesel fuel is converted to direct PM emissions. In addition, SO2 emissions can lead to secondary particle formation—particles that form in the ambient air. US EPA models predict that over 12% of the SO2 emitted in urban areas is converted in the atmosphere to sulfate PM. Urban areas would benefit most from reductions in SO2 emissions, as polluted urban air has higher concentrations of the constituents that catalyze the SO2-to-sulfate reaction. Even with vehicle stocks without advanced pollution controls, reductions of fuel sulfur levels would likely have a significant impact on primary and secondary PM concentrations in urban areas. (i)

Impact of Sulfur on Diesel Oxidation Catalysts

Light duty diesel engines (