A study by a team of researchers from China, the US and Germany suggests that future climate change may worsen air quality for more than 85% of China’s population, leading to an additional 20,000 deaths each year. An open access paper on their work is published in Proceedings of the... Read more →

Wind plays a role in carrying microplastics (MPs, shreds of plastic less than five millimeters long) to both the snowy streets of European cities and remote areas of the Arctic Ocean. The high concentrations found in snow samples from disparate regions suggest microplastics—which may contain varnish, rubber, or chemicals used... Read more →

The Colorado Air Quality Control Commission adopted a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) standard for Colorado early today in an 8-1 decision. The new zero-emission standard adopts California ZEV requirements, with automakers to sell more than 5% zero-emission vehicles by 2023 and more than 6% zero-emission vehicles by 2025. Eleven states now... Read more →

University of Kentucky Chemistry Professor Marcelo Guzman has received a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for research, education and outreach efforts in the field of environmental and atmospheric chemistry. The $461,000-project, titled “Heterogeneous Aging Mechanisms of Combustion and Biomass Burning Emissions,” will focus on how gases, such... Read more →

Long-term exposure to ambient air pollutants, especially O3 (ozone), is significantly associated with increasing emphysema, according to a new study led by the University of Washington, Columbia University and the University at Buffalo. While previous studies have shown a clear connection of air pollutants with some heart and lung diseases,... Read more →

As part of the Horizon 2020 research project CARES (City Air Remote Emission Sensing), an international research consortium is working on new contactless exhaust measurement methods that will enable municipalities to take emission-reducing measures. In concrete terms, the researchers want to develop new sensors that can be attached to roadsides,... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board’s latest state inventory of greenhouse gas emissions shows that California’s GHG emissions continue to decrease. In 2017, emissions from GHG emitting activities statewide were 424 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent (MMTCO2e), 5 MMTCO2e lower than 2016 levels and 7 MMTCO2e below the 2020 GHG... Read more →

Purdue University researchers are developing pre-chamber technology for automobiles to replace conventional spark plugs and enable more reliable ultra-lean combustion. In the pre-chamber approach, a tiny chamber—a pre-chamber—is filled with a mixture of fuel and air. The mixture ignites, producing combustion, and specialized nozzles in the bottom of the chamber... Read more →

Disease-causing air pollution remains high in pockets of America, particularly those where many low-income and African-American people live, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in New York. The nation’s air on the whole has become cleaner in the past 70 years, but those... Read more →

A team of researchers in China suggest that, in the context of promoting the use of clean fuel vehicles and increasing vehicle fuel efficiency, CO2 emissions of China’s urban passenger transport sector could reach a peak of 225 MtCO2 in 2030. If the mode share of public transport could further... Read more →

Findings of a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and published in the European Respiratory Journal suggest that a significant proportion of childhood asthma cases may be attributable to outdoor air pollution, and that these cases could be prevented. Asthma is the most common chronic disease... Read more →

Dearman and TIP Netherlands (NL) have entered into a partnership to deploy alongside their regular fleet of refrigerated trailers Dearman’s liquid nitrogen-powered transport refrigeration units (earlier post) trailers leased by TIP to leading fleet operators. The Dearman transport refrigeration system combines cryogenic refrigeration with a Dearman engine (earlier post) and... Read more →

Adamas Intelligence reports that according to the Association of China Rare Earth Industry (ACREI), China’s domestic manufacturers produced approximately 7.6 million liters of vehicle exhaust gas catalyst in the first half of 2019—a decrease of 13% year-over-year on weak passenger vehicle production. Vehicle exhaust gas catalysts comprising platinum-group metals are... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board launched a new $40-million program designed to accelerate the purchase and use of zero-emission off-road freight technologies. The “Clean Off-Road Equipment Voucher Incentive Project” (CORE) will feature a streamlined voucher process for buyers to receive funding that will offset the higher costs of clean, zero-emission... Read more →

According to a study commissioned by the Washington, DC-based Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), NOx emissions measured from propane autogas school buses were substantially lower than those measured from diesel school buses. The study was conducted in 2018 by West Virginia University’s Center of Alternatives Fuels, Engines, and Emissions... Read more →

Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA) has launched Porsche Impact, an online tool that links individual CO2 emissions to specific climate projects. The program is available to US customers after PCNA earlier this year enrolled its own Porsche Experience Center cars and its Porsche Passport subscription fleet. Impact has been... Read more →

A new study from North Carolina State University finds that while shared e-scooters may be greener than most cars, they can be less green than several other options, including, in some cases, buses. Their open-access paper is published in the journal E.nvironmental Research Letters Using life cycle assessment, the researchers... Read more →

An international research team led by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research (WIMR) has found that even a sub-chronic low level exposure to particulate matter can have an adverse effect on lung health. In a paper in the American Journal of Physiology -... Read more →

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced that 34 cleaner energy transportation projects will receive $8,489,844 in Driving PA Forward grants and rebates. Funded by Pennsylvania’s share of the settlement with Volkswagen Group of America, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)is committing funding for a range of clean energy transportation projects on... Read more →

by Michael Sivak. Because of the long distances typically involved in flying, your next airline trip will likely contribute a substantial amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Obviously, to minimize the emissions, taking a nonstop flight is the way to go because that will result in the shortest distance flown. However,... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has proposed carbon intensity (CI) values for a new Temporary LCFS pathway for Alternative Jet Fuel. Public comments on the proposed new Temporary pathway are being accepted through 16 September prior to certification. Upon certification, this new Temporary pathway will be available for LRT-CBTS... Read more →

CSIRO scientists have developed a new way to account for ozone in computer simulations of the climate. This latest modeling shows that the oceans take much less ozone out of the atmosphere than previously thought. This has implications not only for the understanding of future global warming, but also on... Read more →

Scientists at ETH Zürich and oil and gas company Total have developed a new catalyst that efficiently converts CO2 and hydrogen directly into methanol. Offering realistic market potential, the technology paves the way for the sustainable production of fuels and chemicals. ETH Zürich and Total have jointly filed a patent... Read more →

An international team of scientists has observed a previously unclear inflammatory mechanism caused by airborne particles that can worsen asthma symptoms. The paper is published in the journal Toxicological Sciences. Research teams from Hiroshima University, the University of California and the Leibniz Research Institute identified a cell receptor—AhR—that was activated... Read more →

Researchers in Europe have found that while diesel particulate filters (DPFs) have to a large extent masked the role of diesel fuel properties on particulate emissions, there is still room for optimization, especially in particle number (PN) emissions of vehicles with frequent regenerations. Their study is published in the journal... Read more →

As the Trump administration prepares to freeze emission standards for light-duty cars and trucks, a consortium of four automakers—Ford, Honda, BMW of North America and Volkswagen Group of America—and California have agreed on a voluntary framework to reduce emissions that could serve as an alternative path forward for clean vehicle... Read more →

Air quality in the US may be linked with increased mortality and reduced life expectancy according to new research from Imperial College London and the Center for Air, Climate and Energy Solutions at Carnegie Mellon University. The study, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, analyzed concentrations of PM2.5 across all... Read more →

Researchers at Hunan University have investigated the effects of compression ratio (CR), EGR and spark timing strategies on performance, combustion and NOx emissions of a heavy-duty natural gas engine fueled with 99% methane content. A paper on their work is published in the journal Fuel. … natural gas … is... Read more →

Infants born to women exposed to high levels of air pollution in the week before delivery are more likely to be admitted to a newborn intensive care unit (NICU), suggests an analysis by researchers at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). Depending on the type of pollution, chances for... Read more →

Tests have demonstrated that a residential combined heat and power (CHP) engine developed as an Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)-backed venture through the Generators for Small Electrical and Thermal Systems (GENSETS) program (earlier post) offers at least a 20% improvement in efficiency over the current leading alternatives. The... Read more →

An international team led by Professor Barbara Maher, of Lancaster University in the UK, has found that iron-rich, magnetic combustion- and friction-derived nanoparticles (CFDNPs), which are abundant in particulate air pollution, are highly abundant in the hearts of young urban residents with lifelong exposure to high concentrations of particulate air... Read more →

A new report released by the Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG) in the UK recommends as an immediate priority that non-exhaust emissions (NEE) are recognized as a source of ambient concentrations of airborne PM, even for vehicles with zero exhaust emissions of particles. Non-exhaust emissions (NEE) from road traffic refers... Read more →

Researchers from the University at Buffalo (UB), with colleagues in the US and China, have provided pathophysiologic evidence of the effect of air pollution on cardiovascular disease in China. Their findings also suggests that China may need to revise its standard for one type of pollutant. Spatial Distribution of Estimated... Read more →

Researchers at George Washington University led by Prof. Stuart Licht (earlier post) report a process for the high-yield, low-energy synthesis of carbon nano-onions (CNOs) by electrolysis of CO2 in molten carbonate. A paper on their work is published in the journal Advanced Sustainable Systems. High yield electrolytic synthesis of carbon... Read more →

Brunel University London is the first to begin researching future powertrain concepts using Camcon Automotive’s new Single Cylinder Intelligent Valve Technology (SCI). The system uses the company’s Intelligent Valve Technology (iVT) and is intended to speed up OEM and Tier 1 engine development significantly, helping meet upcoming emissions regulations while... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group has developed the first Continuously Variable Valve Duration (CVVD) technology to feature in future Hyundai and Kia vehicles. The innovation was revealed at Hyundai Motorstudio Goyang on Wednesday alongside the Smartstream G1.6 T-GDi—the first engine to feature the technology. CVVD optimizes both engine performance and fuel efficiency... Read more →

by Michael Sivak. This analysis examined the effect of flight distance on greenhouse gas emissions per passenger, and compared emissions from flying different distances with annual emissions from driving. Greenhouse gas emissions were examined for 17 nonstop flights with round-trip distances ranging from 131 miles to 19,040 miles. Among these... Read more →

A large-scale study has found that high levels of air pollution adversely effect ovarian reserve—a term widely adopted to reflect the number of resting follicles in the ovary and thus a marker of potential female fertility. Results from the Ovarian Reserve and Exposure to Environmental Pollutants (ORExPo study), a real-world... Read more →

Three years after embarking upon rigorous evaluation of a pool of more than 400 candidates (earlier post), researchers with the US Department of Energy (DOE) Co-Optimization of Fuels & Engines (Co-Optima) initiative have identified the six blendstocks—di-isobutylene, ethanol, fusel alcohol blend, isobutanol, isopropanol, and n-propanol—that exhibit the greatest potential to... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) approved a rule that will require fixed route airport shuttles serving the state’s 13 largest airports to transition to 100% zero-emission vehicles by 2035. The regulation applies to public and private fleets, including parking facilities, rental car agencies and hotels. With almost 1,000 airport... Read more →

The benefits of living in a walkable neighborhood could be diminished by increased exposure to traffic-related air pollution, suggests a study led by St. Michael’s Hospital in Canada and ICES, a non-profit research institute that uses population-based health information to produce knowledge on a broad range of health care issues.... Read more →

Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, and the Chair of the California Air Resources Board, Mary Nichols, today signed a new cooperation agreement to advance cleaner vehicles and fuels. The transportation sector is the source of nearly a quarter of Canada’s carbon emissions and more than 40%... Read more →

Scientists from the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have taken the first images of carbon dioxide molecules within a molecular cage—part of a metal-organic framework (MOF), with great potential for separating and storing gases and liquids. Cryo-EM (cryogenic electron microscopy) images show a slice through... Read more →

According to provisional data published by the European Environment Agency (EEA), the average CO2 emissions from new passenger cars registered in the European Union (EU) in 2018 increased for the second consecutive year, reaching 120.4 grams of CO2 per kilometer. For the first time, the average CO2 emissions from new... Read more →

UK Natural History Museum Head of Earth Sciences Prof Richard Herrington and fellow expert members of SoS MinErals (an interdisciplinary program of NERC-EPSRC-Newton-FAPESP funded research) recently wrote a letter to the UK Committee on Climate Change pointing out that meeting UK electric car targets for 2050 would require production of... Read more →

At the 2019 IAA Frankfurt in September, Tenneco’sPowertrain division will present its award-winning PRiME 3D simulation software which has been shown to cut development time for engine cylinder components by up to 70%. In an industry first, the software tool enables the generation of a physically realistic virtual model of... Read more →

Maersk is piloting a new carbon neutral product—the first of its kind in the industry—with select Maersk customers who are highly engaged in sustainable solutions for their supply chain. H&M Group is the first company to trial it as part of the shift towards carbon-neutral transportation. The biofuel in the... Read more →

SensorComm Technologies received an award through the CASCADE Innovation Program, managed by Coachella Valley Economic Partnership (“CVEP”), to conduct an Internet of Things-based (IoT) emissions monitoring pilot program within the Coachella Valley in Southern California. SensorComm’s IoT capability will capture real-time NOx emissions data from a fleet of vehicles, and... Read more →

BASF and Sichuan Lutianhua Co., Ltd. (Lutianhua) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to co-develop a pilot production plant that will significantly reduce carbon emissions and increase energy efficiency in producing dimethyl ether (DME) from syngas compared to the traditional process. DME is a methanol equivalent and can be used... Read more →

Emissions Analytics, a leading independent specialist for the scientific measurement of real-world emissions, suggests that mass adoption of hybrid vehicles, rather than low-volume take-up of full BEVs, is the most effective solution to cutting CO2 now and also in meeting 2030 emission targets. Of all electrification strategies, full BEVs currently... Read more →