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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 31, L02116, doi:10.1029/2003GL018448, 2004

The effect on photochemical smog of converting the U.S. fleet of gasoline vehicles to modern diesel vehicles

Mark Z. Jacobson

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA


John H. Seinfeld

Departments of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Science and Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA


Greg R. Carmichael

Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA


David G. Streets

Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois, USA


Abstract

With the increased use of particle traps and nitrogen oxide (NOx) control devices to reduce air pollution, “modern” diesel vehicles are being encouraged over gasoline vehicles globally as a central method of slowing global warming. Data to date, though, suggest that the NO2:NO ratio from modern diesel may exceed that of gasoline, and it is difficult to reduce diesel NOx below gasoline NOx without increasing particle emissions. Here, it is calculated that, unless the diesel NO2:NO ratio and total NOx are reduced to those of gasoline, modern diesel, which should have lower hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions than gasoline, may still enhance photochemical smog at the surface and aloft, on average, over the U.S. relative to gasoline. The reason is that vehicle-produced smog in the U.S. depends more on NOx and the NO2:NO ratio than on HCs or CO. It is also found that vehicle NOx controls may be more effective than NO2:NO ratio controls at reducing ozone.

Received 18 August 2003; accepted 17 November 2003; published 30 January 2004.

Index Terms: 0305 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Aerosols and particles (0345, 4801); 0317 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Chemical kinetic and photochemical properties; 0322 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Constituent sources and sinks; 0345 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Pollution—urban and regional (0305); 0365 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphere—composition and chemistry.

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Citation: Jacobson, M. Z., J. H. Seinfeld, G. R. Carmichael, and D. G. Streets (2004), The effect on photochemical smog of converting the U.S. fleet of gasoline vehicles to modern diesel vehicles, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L02116, doi:10.1029/2003GL018448.