Real-Time Measurements of Diesel Vehicle Exhaust Particulate Using Photoacoustic Spectroscopy and Total Light Extinction

There is a clearly demonstrated need to develop “real-time” methods for the measurement of diesel vehicle particulate emissions. Optical techniques provide One alternative for such methodology because of the rapid data acquisition times involved and the relatively simple sampling methods that can be used. This report describes two different approaches to this problem. The first, the spectrophone, measures light absorption by the diluted exhaust plume using photoacoustic spectroscopy, and the second, the long pathlength smokemeter, determines total light extinction across the diluted exhaust plume. For the measurement of total mass emissions, both techniques show estimated errors of ±15% for specific vehicles, while for a multi-vehicle diesel fleet the estimated errors are ±20% and ±30% for the long pathlength smokemeter and the spectrophone, respectively. For the measurement of the “elemental” carbon content of the exhaust particulate, both instruments have estimated errors of ±10% for specific vehicles, while for the vehicle fleet the estimated errors are ±10% for the spectrophone and ±20% for the long pathlength smokemeter.