Atmospheric Pollution Research xxx (2017) 1e14

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Atmospheric Pollution Research

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On-field and laboratory measurement of nanoparticle emission in the

wake of gasoline vehicle
Tandra Banerjee*, R.A. Christian
Environmental Laboratory, S V National Institute of Technology, Surat, 395007, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Nanoparticle emission from gasoline driven vehicles is reported to be significantly lower compared to
Received 8 January 2017 diesel vehicles. Accordingly, there is no threshold limit implemented by the regulatory authorities in
Received in revised form India for gasoline driven vehicles. Recent studies however indicate that this is true as far as the mass
24 May 2017
concentration of the nanoparticles is concerned. The number concentration of nanoparticles particularly
Accepted 25 May 2017
of smaller dimensions is reported to be significantly higher for gasoline driven vehicles under certain
Available online xxx
operating range of speed and load. Smaller the dimension of the particles more are their residence time
in environment and more susceptible are these particles to be inhaled by human respiratory and car-
Keywords:
Emission
diovascular system. Thus an estimate of the size distribution of nano-sized particulate matter emission
Nanoparticle from gasoline driven vehicle is of immense importance in context to Indian urban population. In this
Gasoline vehicle direction, laboratory measurements are reported for the nanoparticle size distribution emitted from a
Number concentration gasoline engine under different loading conditions. On-field measurements are carried out in the wake of
Nanoscaner a stationary vehicle under idling and throttling condition. Simultaneous measurement of vehicular ac-
celeration and deceleration is also reported along with nanoparticle distribution in the wake of a moving
vehicle. The measurements reported in this paper reveal the need for deciding threshold value of number
concentration to be implemented for gasoline vehicles by the Indian regulatory authorities.
© 2017 Turkish National Committee for Air Pollution Research and Control. Production and hosting by
Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Air quality deterioration has reached an alarmingly high level in
developing countries like India. Automobile industry of India has
undergone huge expansion in the recent past and is expected to be
the third largest in the world by 2016 (IBEF, 2016). Automobile
production reached a new high with a production of 23.9 million
motor vehicles in the financial year 2015-16 which included 3.4
million passenger vehicles and 18.8 million units of two-wheelers
being produced in the same year (IBEF, 2016). For the year 2015-
16, India is the 6th largest car manufacturer and 8th largest com-
mercial vehicle manufacturer (IIFL, 2016). Sixty out of sixty two
metropolitan cities of India have exceeded World Health Organi-
zation (WHO) standards for particulate matter (PM) and an
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: tandra_banerjee@rediffmail.com (T. Banerjee), rac@ced.svnit.
ac.in (R.A. Christian).
Peer review under responsibility of Turkish National Committee for Air Pollu-
tion Research and Control.
alarming 2.5 million premature deaths are caused annually in India
due to particulate matter exposure (Ghosh and Goswami, 2014).
The situation is expected to worsen in the coming future with total
passenger traffic to reach 168,875 billion passenger kilometer in
2031-32 from 10,375 billion passenger kilometer in 2011-12 with
road passenger traffic growth rate projected at 15 percent (ITR,
2014).
Owing to government of India's decision to link diesel to market
rates narrowing the gap between gasoline and diesel vehicles
(TWSJ, 2014), the sale of gasoline vehicles has picked up recently.
The running cost of gasoline cars in India has dropped from Rs.
4.89/km in 2012 to Rs. 4.62/km in 2016. On the other hand the
running cost of diesel cars in India has increased from Rs. 2.67/km
in 2012 to Rs. 2.89/km in 2016 (TET, 2016). As a result the share of
gasoline car sale in India has picked up from 48% in 2012 to 74% in
2016 while the share of diesel car sale has declined from 52% in
2012 to 26% in 2016 (TET, 2016). Emission from gasoline engines is
thus as significant a threat to Indian urban cities, as is emission
from diesel vehicles.
Incomplete combustion of fuel is the major cause of particulate

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2017.05.007
1309-1042/© 2017 Turkish National Committee for Air Pollution Research and Control. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article in press as: Banerjee, T., Christian, R.A., On-field and laboratory measurement of nanoparticle emission in the wake of
gasoline vehicle, Atmospheric Pollution Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2017.05.007
2 T. Banerjee, R.A. Christian / Atmospheric Pollution Research xxx (2017) 1e14
matter (PM) emission from gasoline driven vehicles. Particulate
matter forms during combustion and afterwards as carbon con-
taining molecules solidifies due to condensation. In gasoline en-
gines, soot (mainly elemental carbon and particle-bound organic
carbon, Srivastava and Agarwal, 2008) formation is not very prev-
alent as in the case of diesel engines but is formed in large quan-
tities under relatively rich air-fuel ratios (Harris and Maricq, 2001).
Over-fueling can occur under cold start conditions when engines
are run rich to provide sufficient fuel for burning (Ristima €ki et al.,
2005). Also for greater power and for component temperature
protection under high acceleration rates or higher loads, an extra
amount of fuel is needed to be injected (Lee et al., 2008).
Particulate matters like sulphates and phosphates are formed
from combustion of trace levels of sulphur and phosphorus found
in engine oil and fuel. The sulphur content of gasoline is 50 ppm as
per Bharat Stage-IV (BS-IV) norms. This reduces the formation of
sulphates from the fuel. However, gasoline engine oil contains
comparatively significant sulphur (and phosphorus) compounds
resulting into the formation of particulate matter due to combus-
tion (Ronkko et al., 2006). Positive Crankcase Ventilation present in
gasoline vehicles to remove excess hydrocarbons in the hot
crankcase is also responsible for inducting particulate matter pre-
cursors and oil into combustion chambers. Organic particulate
matter release is also significant due to oil consumption as oil is a
high molecular weight hydrocarbon and is mostly present in
uncombusted droplets. Other form of particulate matters such as
metallic oxides, metal sulphates and nitrates are also formed from
combustion of trace metals present in gasoline fuel and engine oil
(Corre ^a and Arbilla, 2005).
Particulate matter (PM) emissions have been an issue of concern
for diesel engines since long (Pope et al., 1995; Myung et al., 2009).
The use of Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF) has contributed to the
decrease in particulate matter emissions (Biswas et al., 2009; Mohr
et al., 2006). Although particle size distributions for diesel engines
using DPF look more similar to those for gasoline-powered engines,
emissions of ultrafine particles are of greater concern for gasoline
engine (Harris and Maricq, 2001; Lee et al., 2008; Mathis et al.,
2005; Morawska et al., 2008). The port fuel technology used in
gasoline vehicles is rapidly being replaced by gasoline direct in-
jection (GDI) engines (Alkidas, 2007) due to better fuel economy
and reduction in emission of greenhouse gases. The major draw-
back of GDI technology however is increased emission of particle
number concentration due to fuel impingement on surfaces of
piston and cylinder, resulting in the formation of partially fuel rich
zones (Bonandrini et al., 2012; Maricq et al., 1999b; Sementa et al.,
2012). When compared to particle number concentration released
from modern day diesel exhaust fitted with diesel particle filter, the
particle number concentration released from GDI engines is rela-
tively higher (Mathis et al., 2005).
In general, diesel engine emissions contain particles with
greater aerodynamic diameters compared to emissions from gas-
oline vehicles (Ristovski et al., 2000). Harris and Maricq, 2001 re-
ported that the diesel engine particle size distributions vary with
mean diameters in the range of 60e120 nm, while mean diameters
for gasoline vehicles are in the range of 40e80 nm. In a more recent
study on Indian vehicles it was reported that the peak concentra-
tion of emitted particles from gasoline vehicles lies in the nano-
particle range and with increase in size of the particle, the peak
concentration decreased (Agarwal et al., 2015). As reported by Gang
et al. (2014), the peak particle concentration for the PFI car is below
39 nm.
Toxicology studies show that nanoparticles can penetrate the
respiratory system of humans easily and can enter into the lungs,
blood tracts and even brain, and can cause death in extreme case
Please cite this article in press as: Banerjee, T., Christian, R.A., On-field and laboratory measurement of nanoparticle emission in the wake of
gasoline vehicle, Atmospheric Pollution Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2017.05.007
(Peters et al., 2000; O'Connor et al., 2008; Li et al., 2013; Mehel and
Murzyn, 2015). In a more specific study, Geiser and Kreyling, 2010
has depicted that the total health hazard to human body parts is
more due to smallest size of particles. The nanoparticles in the
diameter range of 3e10 nm can affect even the bronchi while the
alveoli are affected by particle sizes below 30 nm. Stricter emission
standards are thus being developed and implemented for emis-
sions from gasoline engines although with some degree of varia-
tions from country to country. Since 2004, United States of America
has adopted same particulate mass standards for diesel as well as
gasoline vehicles. Euro 5 standards set up a limit for particle mass
emissions from GDI gasoline engine since 2009. Euro 6 norms have
limits for particle number concentration also.
In order to help in developing similar threshold limits for Indian
environment, the present research is an attempt to estimate the
number concentration and size distribution of nanoparticles
released from gasoline driven vehicles running on Indian roads.
Nanoparticle number concentration in the size range of 10e420 nm
is measured from a gasoline vehicle running on Indian urban road.
The purpose of measuring nano-sized particles in the above
mentioned range is due to the maximum health hazard associated
with the smallest size of the particulate matter. In what follows in
this paper, the experimental test facility, instruments used and the
sampling procedure are discussed in section 2. Section 3 presents
results and discussion on nanoparticle number and size distribu-
tion due to variation in engine load, in the near wake of an idling,
throttling and moving gasoline vehicle. Discussion is also presented
in this section for the simultaneous measurement of vehicular ac-
celeration and deceleration and associated nanoparticle emission
in the near wake regime. Section 4 reports the major observations
and conclusions while section 5 is a list of suggestions for Indian
regulatory authorities in context to nanoparticle emission from
gasoline vehicle.
2. Experimental section
2.1. Laboratory test facility and instrumentation
Laboratory experiments are carried out on a 3 cylinder, 4 stroke
gasoline engine test rig. The engine has Multi Point Fuel Injection
system (MPFI), with a power of 27.6 kW at 5000 RPM and a torque
of 59 Nm at 2500 RPM. The 796 cc cylinder has a compression ratio
of 9.2 with stroke of 72 mm and bore of 66.5 mm. The engine is
connected to eddy current type dynamometer for loading. The test
rig consists of the engine, dynamometer, the control panel for
controlling supply of fuel and air. The measuring unit consists of
rotameters for measurement of air, fuel and cooling water flow
rates.
The exhaust from the gasoline engine is passed through a
dilution system (following the work of Brown et al., 2000) which
has dilution ratio sufficient to approach atmospheric dilution
conditions. Fig. 1 shows the schematic sketch of the gasoline engine
test rig along with the dilution system. The vehicular exhaust from
the tailpipe is delivered to the dilution tunnel through a short (1m)
heated sample line. On the basis of measured CO2 concentration of
raw exhaust and that of the diluted exhaust, the dilution ratio (~50)
is calculated. A flue gas analyzer (model: Testo 340) is used for
measurement of CO2 concentrations. The conditions of the sam-
pling system minimize the volatile nucleation mode formation.
However, semievolatile nucleation mode formation could not be
excluded. The measurements are carried out for constant RPM
operation of the engine and for a varying load. For loading the
engine, an eddy current, water cooled, dynamometer is used along
with a loading unit (measured in terms of torque in Nm).
 T. Banerjee, R.A. Christian / Atmospheric Pollution Research xxx (2017) 1e14 3

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of gasoline engine test rig.

Since the present research focuses on the measurement of
smallest sized nanoparticles, particle number and mass concen-
tration along with the surface area is measured using TSI make
Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) 3910. It measures particle
in the size range of 10e420 nm involving 13 size channels up to a
particle concentration of 100-1,000,000 particles/cm3. The mea-
surement time for size distributions is 60 s (45 s upscan, 15 s
downscan) and for single size mode is 1 s. A flow rate of 0.75
lpm ± 20% is maintained at inlet. An accurate measurement at high
and low concentrations is provided by isopropanol-based CPC.
2.2. On-field measurement in the wake of vehicle
Dynamics of flow in the wake regime of a vehicle significantly
influences the thermo-chemical transformation processes leading
to nucleation and dispersion of nanoparticles from the exhaust. The
near-wake region is associated with recirculation vortex consisting
of separated flows from the top and from sides of the vehicle. The
vortex recirculates the airflow back to the vehicle entraining a
portion of the exhaust. The vehicle exhaust consisting of precursor
gases and pre-existing particles is first emitted into the vehicle
wake region for dispersion into the ambient atmosphere

Please cite this article in press as: Banerjee, T., Christian, R.A., On-field and laboratory measurement of nanoparticle emission in the wake of
gasoline vehicle, Atmospheric Pollution Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2017.05.007
4 T. Banerjee, R.A. Christian / Atmospheric Pollution Research xxx (2017) 1e14
(Carpentieri et al., 2011; Carpentieri and Kumar, 2011). Rapid
dilution and turbulent mixing influences various transformation
processes in the near wake. The particle size distribution thus
changes rapidly in the near wake region (Kumar et al., 2009;
Solazzo et al., 2007, 2008). According to results reported by
Ronkko et al., 2006 for the on-road measurements, the nucleation
mode particles are formed within a residence time of 0.7 s in the
ambient atmosphere. In the far wake region, due to mixing by at-
mospheric turbulence and decay of turbulence with varying dis-
tance from tailpipe, the rate of evolution is much slower (Baker,
2001; Eskridge and Hunt, 1979).
The field measurements are first carried out for standing vehicle
under idling and low throttling condition which is a very common
scenario for vehicles in traffic signals on peak hours in India. A
commercially available 5 seater light duty BS-IV complaint 3 cyl-
inder gasoline engine is used for this measurement. The engine
with a displacement of 998 cc, stroke of 72 mm and bore of 69 mm
used a Multi-Point Fuel Injection system (MPFI) system. The
maximum engine output is 50 kW at 6200 RPM and the maximum
torque is 90 Nm at 3500 RPM.
Following the procedure adopted by Ning et al. (2005) and Wang
et al., 2006 measurements are carried out in semi-enclosed envi-
ronment with sufficient space for dispersion of the exhaust plume in
all directions. The measurement site allowed repeatable measure-
ments under stable environment as the wind speed is low during the
measurements with ambient temperature and relative humidity in
the range of 25e28  C and 55e65% respectively. The real time
measurements are carried out under atmospheric dilution condition
and the background concentrations are continuously monitored. It is
to be noted here that monitored total background concentrations are
very low ~2000 1/cm3. For measurements, the near wake region is
divided into a set of grid points along the centreline of the plume
separated by a distance of 0.2 m from the tail pipe. For improved
accuracy and in order to eliminate random errors, at every point, the
measurements are repeated 3 times. Such field measurements can
augment the mathematical model of nanoparticle evolution and
dispersion mechanisms. However, such studies are relatively rare in
literature (Wehner et al., 2009; Uhrner et al., 2011).
Measurements are also carried out in the near wake of moving
vehicle under accelerating and decelerating conditions. A special
attachment is prepared to mount the nano-scanner behind the
vehicle during the vehicle movement. The attachment has the
provision to move the nano-scanner in vertical and horizontal di-
rection. This allows for measurement exactly in the plane of the
exhaust and along the centerline of the plume. A V-Box is mounted
on the dashboard of the moving vehicle. It is a 10 Hz GPS based
performance meter equipped with an MMC/SD flash memory card
socket for obtaining position, speed and acceleration of the vehicle.
MMC flash card with the stored data can be analyzed using the PC
software. The data collected by the V-Box is utilized for plotting the
driving cycle and then the driving cycle is correlated with the
nanoparticle number concentration. An anemometer is used for the
measurement of ambient wind speed. Thermometer is used for
measuring the “Dry bulb temperature” of ambient air temperature
and a dry and wet bulb hygrometer is used to measure relative
humidity of the atmosphere.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Variation of nanoparticle size distribution with engine load
Measurements are first carried out for constant RPM operation
of the engine and for varying load. The variation of number con-
centration and surface area distribution are discussed in terms of
particle diameter for different loading operations. Fig. 2 shows the
Please cite this article in press as: Banerjee, T., Christian, R.A., On-field and laboratory measurement of nanoparticle emission in the wake of
gasoline vehicle, Atmospheric Pollution Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2017.05.007
size distribution of nanoparticles measured for different loading
conditions. The data presented in Fig. 2 is for engine speed of 3000
RPM. The particle number concentration measured for gasoline car
in the present experiments shows an asymmetric distribution for
all loads. This is in contrast to log-normal distribution reported in
literature for diesel engines (Srivastava and Agarwal, 2008; Kumar
et al., 2008a,b,c). For all loads (Fig. 2 aed), the particle number
concentration distribution shows a peak value associated with
lowest particle diameter of 10e20 nm due to nucleation. Nucle-
ation happens as the saturation ratio of low and semi-volatile
gaseous compounds (mainly sulphuric acid) reaches a maximum
due to rapid cooling and dilution of emissions (Charron and
Harrison, 2003; Kittelson et al., 2006). The particle number distri-
bution in Fig. 2 shows a decreasing trend with increase in particle
diameter for all loads. This is in line with the results reported by
Agarwal et al. (2015) and Gang et al., 2014. Smaller peaks of number
concentration associated with Aitken and accumulation mode in
the particle diameter range of 30e300 nm are also observed in the
present measurements. These peaks are associated with soot mode
particles of different morphologies associated with incomplete
combustion and lubricating oil originating compounds (Karjalainen
et al., 2014). Nanoparticles from exhaust consists of carbonaceous
agglomerates contributing most of the particle mass in the accu-
mulation mode, semi-volatile droplets comprising most of the
particle number in the nucleation mode, and contains minute
lubricating oil originating compounds which may either adsorb on
already existing particles or may form distinct solid particles in the
size range of nucleation mode (Jung et al., 2005; Xing et al., 2017).
Fig. 2c and d shows that the particle number concentration in-
creases significantly at higher loads of 20 Nm and 30 Nm. This is
because of fuel-rich mixture supplied at higher loads. Under
normal driving conditions, the fuel system of gasoline vehicle de-
livers homogeneous and chemically correct mixture to the cylinder
and these results in very low particulate matter (PM) emissions. But
under high loading conditions richer mixtures are used leading to
local inhomogeneities in the combustion mixture supplied to the
cylinder. This is associated with incomplete combustion and flame
quenching near the walls which results into the presence of un-
burned and partially oxidized hydrocarbons thereby leading to
much higher PM emissions (IARC, 2014; Kittleson and Kraft, 2014).
Rich fuel used in gasoline vehicle at higher load also results in
higher temperature at the exhaust (Srivastava and Agarwal, 2008;
Gupta, 2013). Unless there is rapid dilution a significant portion
of semi-volatile and volatile species in the exhaust plume remain in
vapor phase due to the higher exhaust temperature at higher load.
However during dilution, a large quantity of condensable mass
exiting the exhaust pipe results in supersaturation thereby creating
favorable conditions for rapid growth and nucleation. The peak
values of nucleation mode particles in the lowest dimension of
10e20 nm therefore shows significant rise for higher loads of 20
Nm (Fig. 2c) and 30 Nm (Fig. 2d). The present results thus clearly
depict that the size of the particles emitted by gasoline engine are
relatively smaller with peak concentration as low as 10e20 nm.
With increase in load, the peak value of number concentration for
smaller diameter particle increases significantly.
Surface area variation of engine exhaust particles in terms of
particle size distribution is highly important from toxicological
view point. Smaller size particles have larger surface area to volume
ratio. Higher the surface area, higher is the possibility of surface
adsorption and hence toxic potential of the particles. Thus smaller
particles are potentially more hazardous to human health as
compared to large size particles. Surface area of particles depends
on diameter and number distribution. Fig. 3 shows the variation of
surface area of nanoparticles with load for an engine operating
speed of 3000 RPM. With increase in load, the area under the
 T. Banerjee, R.A. Christian / Atmospheric Pollution Research xxx (2017) 1e14 5

Fig. 2. Particle size distributions for varying load condition (a) 0 Nm (b) 10 Nm (c) 20 Nm and (d) 30 Nm at constant RPM of 3000.

surface area curve increases. In addition, the peak value of surface
area shifts towards the left, thereby indicating that smaller particles
dominate with increase in load. At lower loads of 0e10 Nm (Fig. 3 a
and b), the peak value of surface area is associated with particle
diameter above 100 nm while as the load increases to 20 Nm the
peak value of surface area drops below 100 nm diameter (Fig. 3 c). It
is interesting to note that at very high load of 30 Nm (Fig. 3 d), the
peak of the surface area variation is associated with particle
diameter of the order of 30 nm. Geiser and Kreyling, 2010 has
depicted that nanoparticles in the size range below 30 nm can
affect even the alveoli of the human respiratory system.
3.2. Nanoparticle size distribution under idling and throttling
condition of vehicle
In this section nanoparticle emission measurements are re-
ported for idling and throttling condition of the vehicle. The mea-
surements are carried out at different grid points along the

Please cite this article in press as: Banerjee, T., Christian, R.A., On-field and laboratory measurement of nanoparticle emission in the wake of
gasoline vehicle, Atmospheric Pollution Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2017.05.007
6 T. Banerjee, R.A. Christian / Atmospheric Pollution Research xxx (2017) 1e14

Fig. 3. Surface area distributions for varying load condition (a) 0 Nm (b) 10 Nm (c) 20 Nm and (d) 30 Nm at constant rpm of 3000.

centerline of the plume up to a distance of 1 m behind the tail pipe.
The size distribution of nanoparticles measured at a distance of
20 cm from the exhaust of stationary vehicle under idling and
throttling conditions is shown in Fig. 4. At idling condition (Fig. 4 a)
the particle number concentration, though low in number is widely
distributed over the entire range of measured diameter. The wide
distribution of particle size at low load or idling condition is asso-
ciated with nucleation mode due to sulphuric acid nucleation, soot-
mode of different morphology due to incomplete combustion and
adsorption onto existing particles (Kittelson et al., 2006).
Under throttling conditions (Fig. 4 b and c) the peak values of
number concentration in the nucleation mode increases. This is in
line with the observation of Agarwal et al. (2015) and Gang et al.,
2014 who reported that the accumulation mode particles changes
to nucleation mode with increase in either RPM or load on the
engine. A sharp rise in number concentration is observed at high
throttling condition of 3000 RPM (Fig. 4d). This is associated with
rich fuel mixture at high load/RPM which may lead to inhomoge-
neous distribution of combustion mixture in the cylinder and
associated PM emission of carbonaceous material. Also at higher

Please cite this article in press as: Banerjee, T., Christian, R.A., On-field and laboratory measurement of nanoparticle emission in the wake of
gasoline vehicle, Atmospheric Pollution Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2017.05.007
 T. Banerjee, R.A. Christian / Atmospheric Pollution Research xxx (2017) 1e14 7

Fig. 4. Particle size distribution at 20 cm from exhaust of stationary vehicle under (a) idling condition and throttling condition at (b) 1000 RPM (c) 2000 RPM (d) 3000 RPM.

load/RPM, there is higher nucleation of sulphuric acid due to higher
exhaust temperature and rapid dilution (Kittleson and Kraft, 2014;
Xing et al., 2017). The maximum value of number concentrations is
thus associated with the lowest diameter of 10e20 nm.
Fig. 5 shows variation of number concentration at different
distances from the exhaust of the vehicle under idling condition. At
very close to exhaust, under idling condition (Fig. 5 a) the particle
number concentration is distributed over the entire range of
measured diameter. The peak value of number concentration is
observed to decrease with distance signifying the influence of
dilution. At smaller distances from the exhaust (Fig. 5b and c), the
volatile organics condenses on the nucleated particles leading to
the shift of the peak to higher diameter. At further distance of 80 cm
(Fig. 5 d) the low volatile organics still condense onto nucleated
particles; however, semi-volatile organics may begin to evaporate
due to dilution (Du and Yu, 2008; Sakurai et al., 2003a,b). At this
distance the peak value is again observed to be associated with
lower particle diameter.
Fig. 6 shows variation of number concentration at different
distances from the exhaust of the vehicle under throttling condi-
tion. The nucleated particles are more in number and the peak is
associated with lowest diameter in Fig. 6a as the accumulation
mode particles changes to nucleation mode as the RPM of the en-
gine is increased. At smaller distances from the exhaust Fig. 6 (b and
c) the influence of dilution leads to reduction in number concen-
tration. Coagulation of smaller particles and condensation of

Please cite this article in press as: Banerjee, T., Christian, R.A., On-field and laboratory measurement of nanoparticle emission in the wake of
gasoline vehicle, Atmospheric Pollution Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2017.05.007
8 T. Banerjee, R.A. Christian / Atmospheric Pollution Research xxx (2017) 1e14

Fig. 5. Particle size distribution from stationary vehicle exhaust under idling condition at different distances from exhaust (a) 20 cm (b) 40 cm (c) 60 cm and (d) 80 cm.

volatile organics on the nucleated particles leads to formation of
number of large diameter particles with distance. This results in
peak value to shift to larger diameters at larger distances from
exhaust (Fig. 6 d).
3.3. Nanoparticle emission in the wake of a moving vehicle
The measurements discussed in this section are at a distance of
20 cm from the exhaust for the moving vehicle under varying speed
ranges of 10 km/h to 60 km/h which is the prevalent speed on In-
dian urban roads. The speed of the vehicle is monitored
simultaneously by a V-Box placed in the vehicle. Fig. 7 shows a
typical Indian driving cycle measured by the V-box. The zigzag
nature of the driving cycle shows the continuous acceleration and
deceleration of the car in an Indian urban road condition. Nano-
particle measurements are carried out under constant speed mo-
tion of the vehicle and under accelerating/decelerating conditions
of the vehicle.
Fig. 8 shows the number concentration variation measured at
different constant speed operation of the vehicle. The number
concentration shows highest peak at very low particle diameter. For
lower speed (Fig. 8a) the particle number concentration is

Please cite this article in press as: Banerjee, T., Christian, R.A., On-field and laboratory measurement of nanoparticle emission in the wake of
gasoline vehicle, Atmospheric Pollution Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2017.05.007
 T. Banerjee, R.A. Christian / Atmospheric Pollution Research xxx (2017) 1e14 9

Fig. 6. Particle size distribution under throttling condition of 2000 RPM at different distances (a) 20 cm (b) 40 cm (c) 60 cm (d) 80 cm from stationary vehicle exhaust.

distributed over a large range of particle diameters and peak values
of number concentration is observed for diameter in the range of
10e20 nm. The total particle number concentration is observed to
increase with speed (Fig. 8b and c). However, the peak value is
observed to be associated with lower diameters of 10e20 nm.
Karjalainen et al., 2014 has earlier reported high nucleation particle
(mean diameter of the order of 20 nm) concentrations under
driving conditions of high vehicle speed and high engine rotational
speed. This is due to rapid cooling and mixing which results in
strong nucleation. The particle number concentration from gaso-
line vehicles observed in Fig. 8d is significantly high and is of the
order of magnitude reported in literature for diesel vehicles (Gang
et al., 2014; Gupta et al., 2010).
Fig. 9 shows the variation of total number concentration of
particles measured on road from the gasoline vehicle simulta-
neously with the driving cycle recorded by the V-box. In Fig. 9, the
number concentration is superposed over the speed of the vehicle.
In general, the total particle number concentration is observed to
be higher during acceleration mode of the vehicle. The highest
particle number is observed when the speed of the vehicle is
suddenly accelerated to 55 km/h.
3.4. Comparison of nanoparticle emission with diesel vehicle
A comparison of nanoparticle emission from a gasoline vehicle
and a diesel vehicle of almost similar specification are presented in

Please cite this article in press as: Banerjee, T., Christian, R.A., On-field and laboratory measurement of nanoparticle emission in the wake of
gasoline vehicle, Atmospheric Pollution Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2017.05.007
10 T. Banerjee, R.A. Christian / Atmospheric Pollution Research xxx (2017) 1e14

Fig. 7. Typical Indian driving cycle measured by the V-Box for more than 4 km distance travel.

this section. The diesel vehicle used is a commercially available 5 conditions considered for comparison are:
seater light duty BS-IV complaint 4 cylinder 1.3 litre turbo engine
with DDIS (Direct Diesel Injection System). The 1248 cc engine has 1. Sample 1: when both the vehicles are accelerated in 2nd Gear
a stroke of 71.5 mm and bore of 73 mm and maximum engine from 40 to 60 km/h
output is 55.14 kW at 4000 RPM with a maximum torque of 190 Nm 2. Sample 2: when both the vehicles are decelerated from 60 to
at 2000 RPM. Nanoparticle emission measurements are carried out 40 km/h in 2nd Gear
in the wake of the diesel and gasoline vehicle under different 3. Sample 3: when both the vehicles are accelerated from 40 to
accelerating and decelerating conditions in the speed range of 60 km/h in 3rd Gear.
40e60 km/h. Three different samples for acceleration/deceleration

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 T. Banerjee, R.A. Christian / Atmospheric Pollution Research xxx (2017) 1e14 11

Fig. 8. Particle size distribution at 20 cm from vehicle exhaust behind moving vehicle at different speed (a) 30 km/h (b) 40 km/h (c) 50 km/h and (d) 60 km/h.

Fig. 10 shows total number concentration of nanoparticles
measured at 20 cm distance from the tailpipe of the diesel and
gasoline vehicle. When the engine is accelerated from 40 km/h to
60 km/h, it is observed that the particle number concentration
increased in 3rd gear compared to when accelerated in 2nd gear.
Our observations reveal that increased engine torque associated
with lower engine speed results in increase in particle number
concentration in the vehicle exhaust when accelerated in the speed
range of 40e60 km/h. Significant rise in number concentration
under transient driving condition and sudden accelerating condi-
tions in gasoline vehicles can be attributed to the emission of
particles consisting of lubricant oil originating compounds and
agglomerated soot consisting of elemental carbon due to inhomo-
geneous combustion mixture in the cylinder (Karjalainen et al.,
2014).
In all the three accelerating/decelerating conditions shown in
Fig. 10, the number concentration of gasoline and diesel vehicles is
observed to be comparable. In earlier studies on Indian vehicles,
Agarwal et al., 2011; Gupta et al., 2010, has also demonstrated that
the number concentration of nanoparticles are comparable for
gasoline and diesel vehicles for certain operating conditions of
speed and load.

Please cite this article in press as: Banerjee, T., Christian, R.A., On-field and laboratory measurement of nanoparticle emission in the wake of
gasoline vehicle, Atmospheric Pollution Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2017.05.007
12 T. Banerjee, R.A. Christian / Atmospheric Pollution Research xxx (2017) 1e14
Fig. 9. Speed versus total number concentration recorded on-road from gasoline vehicle.
Fig. 10. Comparative assessment of total number concentration from a diesel and
gasoline car for three different samples in the speed range of 40e60 km/h.
4. Observations and conclusion
Even though the exhaust from tailpipe of a gasoline engine does
not demonstrate any visible emissions, the laboratory measure-
ments reported in this study shows that at high engine load the
particle number concentration emitted by gasoline engines are
comparable to diesel engines. It is observed from the measurement
behind gasoline engine test rig that for operating load beyond 20
Nm, there is a sharp rise in the peak particle concentration.
1. The total area under the particle surface area curve increases
with increase in load. The peak of surface area curve shifts to the
left indicating the dominance of smaller particles with increase
in load.
2. For stationary gasoline vehicle under throttling condition, it is
observed that beyond a speed of 2500 RPM, peak particle
number concentration increases unexpectedly. The peak values
of number concentration are associated with lower diameter
range of 10e20 nm.
3. Accumulation mode particles change to nucleation mode as the
load or the speed of the gasoline engine is increased.
Please cite this article in press as: Banerjee, T., Christian, R.A., On-field and laboratory measurement of nanoparticle emission in the wake of
gasoline vehicle, Atmospheric Pollution Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2017.05.007
4. Particle concentration from moving gasoline vehicle is observed
to increase with acceleration of the vehicle. At higher speed the
total number concentration values are comparable to diesel
vehicles of similar specification.
5. During acceleration of a vehicle, the particle number concen-
tration in the exhaust plume of the vehicle increases due to
increased engine torque associated with lower engine speed.
Present on-field and laboratory measurements behind gasoline
vehicle establish that nanoparticles emitted from gasoline exhaust
are relatively smaller in size compared to diesel vehicle exhaust. It
was reported that the peak particle concentrations for diesel engine
range between 30 and 40 nm (Gang et al., 2014; Gupta et al., 2010;
Myung et al., 2009). But for gasoline engine it is observed to be as
low as 10e20 nm. Contribution of gasoline engines to the nano-
particle emission in Indian urban areas is thus significant. Also the
total number of smaller size particle is comparable to diesel engine
at speed of the order of 55 km/h.
5. Suggestions for Indian regulatory authorities
1. Currently Indian regulatory authorities are more concerned
with limiting particle mass concentration emitted from diesel
vehicles with little attention paid to control the same from
gasoline vehicles, as the particle mass emitted from gasoline
vehicle is negligible compared to diesel vehicles. But in coun-
tries like USA, since 2005 same critical limit is applied for both
diesel and gasoline vehicles. With increase in sale of gasoline
cars following Indian government's decision to link diesel prices
to market price, a critical limit should be adopted for Indian
gasoline vehicles as well.
2. A comparative assessment for Indian vehicles presented in this
work also shows that under certain operating condition of the
vehicle, total number concentration of particles released from
gasoline vehicle is comparable to that released from diesel
vehicle. The present study also demonstrates that the particle
number emission of smallest dimension is significantly high for
gasoline vehicles. Toxicological studies have established severe
health hazards associated with nanoparticles of smallest
dimension. Thus, a critical particle number limit should be
implemented for gasoline vehicles.
3. Also for better fuel economy and reduction in emission of
greenhouse gases, the recently used port fuel technology is
 T. Banerjee, R.A. Christian / Atmospheric Pollution Research xxx (2017) 1e14
getting replaced by gasoline direct injection technology.
Although emission of greenhouse gases could be controlled
satisfactorily using GDI engines, emission of particle number is
posing a serious concern for GDI technology (Gang et al., 2014).
Since most of the new cars proposed to be launched in Indian
market will be equipped with GDI technology, Indian regulatory
authorities should sincerely assess the emissions and set up a
threshold limit for particle number for the same.
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gasoline vehicle, Atmospheric Pollution Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2017.05.007