Characterization of Exhaust Emissions from Passenger Cars Equipped with Three-Way Catalyst Control Systems

This paper describes the effort to characterize regulated and unregulated exhaust emissions from four gasoline powered passenger cars equipped with three-way catalyst control systems. The vehicles have been evaluated over four test cycles, with three fuels at four mileage accumulation points. In addition to the currently regulated automobile emissions, exhaust emission components measured include: sulfate, aldehydes, ammonia, sulfur dioxide, cyanide, and several other compounds. From the standpoint of toxicity, the most significant emissions from three-way catalyst systems are the currently regulated emissions, followed to a lesser degree by the sulfate emissions.