Particulate matter (PM), mainly its finer fraction, is among the main atmospheric pollutants present in an urban environment. The relationship between the increase in the concentration of this pollutant and the harm to human health is well established. The main sources of particulate matter in urban areas are mobile sources, which include the exhaust emission from light duty vehicles.
This work measured the emission of PM in three light duty passenger vehicles, characterizing it in terms of emitted mass in one “flex” vehicle with port fuel (indirect) injection (PFI), using ethanol and gasohol (mixture of 22% anhydrous ethanol and 78% gasoline, by volume), in another “flex” vehicle with direct fuel injection (GDI), and in a diesel vehicle.
In addition to mass measurement, images of the filters used in PM sampling were produced using scanning electron microscopy. The processing of these images made it possible to determine the average PM size, as well as establish a particle size distribution for each vehicle and test fuel. With the same instrument, the presence of some chemical elements present in the sample could be determined, through Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) analysis.