73-19 AW Exhaust Emissions from Three Diesel-Powered Passenger Cars March 1973 Emission Control Technology Division Office of Air and Water Programs Environmental Protection Agency ------- Background The Emission Control Technology Division is currently conducting a technical feasibility study and evaluation of the light duty Diesel engine to determine it's potential for low exhaust emissions in light duty passenger vehicle applications. As part of the experimental phase of this study we have tested three passenger cars powered by Diesel engines that are in current production. These are the Mercedes 220D, the Opel Rekord 2100 D, and the Peugeot 504 Diesel. The Mercedes was supplied by Mercedes-Benz of North America, the Opel by General Motors Corp., and the Peugeot by Peugeot, Inc. Of the three vehicles the Mercedes 220 Diesel is the only one available for purchase in the United States. Vehicle Descriptions The Mercedes is a four-door sedan with a capacity of five persons. It is powered by a four-cylinder, four-stroke, 2.2 litre (134 CID) Diesel engine which develops 65 hp (SAE). The car is equipped with a four-speed automatic transmission. Inertia weight is set at 3500 pounds. The Opel is a four-door sedan with a capacity of five persons. The engine is a four-cylinder, four-stroke, 2.1 litre (126 CID) Diesel engine which develops 68 hp (SAE). Inertia weight is set at 3000 pounds. The transmission is a three-speed automatic. The Peugeot is also a four-door sedan with a capacity of five persons. The engine is a four-cylinder, four-stroke, 2.1 litre (129 CID) Diesel which develops 65 hp (DIN). The transmission is a four-speed manual. Inertia weight is set at 3000 pounds. ------- -2- Test Procedure Tests were run on all cars as specified in the 1975 Federal Test Procedure for light duty Diesel passenger vehicles. In addition, several tests were run on the Mercedes after a modified injection system was installed. The modified system consisted of new fuel lines which incorporated dampers for the purpose of damping out stray pressure pulses in the delivery lines to the nozzles. Standard instrumentation specified in the Federal Register for measurement of CO, C02, HC and NOx was used. For the Mercedes with the standard injection system, an IPM RS-5 flame ionization detector (FID) was used to continuously analyze the dilute exhaust for hydrocarbons. A Beckman 402 FID was used for the remainder of the tests. FID oven and sample line temperature was 375°F. Results Emissions from the Mercedes were consistently within the 1975 limits (see Table I). The modifications to the injection system caused no change in NOx, but resulted in approximately 25% reductions in CO and HC (see Table II). NOx levels were about four times the permissable level for 1976. The Opel ran at or below the 1975 levels. CO and NOx are about half the specified limits (Table III). HC ran very close to the 1975 standard, with some tests above it and some tests below. NOx is about three times the level required for 1976. Emissions from the Peugeot exceeded the 1975 standards for CO and HC (see Table IV). HC levels were about seven times the allowable level and CO was slightly above the allowable level. ------- -3- NOx levels are about one-third the 1975 level. Conclusions Both the Mercedes and the Opel are capable of meeting the 1975 standards. The Opel has adequate power for city and country driving. It can keep pace with traffic without using full throttle. The Mercedes is considerably slower than the Opel and it is necessary to use full throttle most of the time in order to keep up with traffic. The Peugeot in its present form does not meet the 1975 standards. This may be due to what Peugeot calls its "deferred injection" system, which alters the injection rate at idling speed to reduce the amount of engine noise. The driveability of the Peugeot is comparable to the Opel, Fuel economy was calculated from emissions data, by the 1975 FTP and the 1972 FTP. All three cars exhibit superior fuel economy for their weight classes. Using the data from Tables I-IV, we find the 3500 Ib. Mercedes achieved an average of 23.6 mpg in stock form and 24.6 mpg with the modified injection system, both calculated from 1975 FTP emissions data. The 3000 Ib. Opel averaged 23.8 mpg and the 3000 Ib. Peugeot averaged 25.2 mpg, again from 1975 FTP emissions data. An EPA report released in November 1972 and titled 'Fuel Economy and Emission Control" gives the following data for gasoline- powered cars (1972 FTP): 1973 Model Year Average Range Inertia Weight MPG 3000 16.2 12.6 to 19.7 3500 14.0 9.8 to 17.8 ------- -4- The Diesel-powered cars show about 70% greater fuel economy, by the same test procedure (1972 FTP), than comparable gasoline cars. ------- Table I Mercedes-Benz 220 Diesel Gaseous Emissions 1975 Federal Test Procedure (grams per mile) Cold Bag Hot FID Test No. HC 1 0.16 2 0.19 3 0.18 4 0.16 5 0.16 AVERAGE 0.17 1975 Standards 1976 Standards Fuel Economy (miles Test No. 1 2 3 4 5 AVERAGE HC CO 0.27 1.21 1.58 0.30 1.51 0.40 1.34 0.37 1.46 0.34 1.42 0.41 3.4' 0.41 3.4 per gallon) MPG ('75 FTP) 23.7 22.6 23.8 24.0 24.0 2316 CO 2 423.39 434.97 416.80 409.82 411.76 419.35 MPG 23.3 22.3 23.3 23.9 23.5 23.3 NOx 1.62 1.55 1.17 1.45 1.38 1.43 3.1 0.4 ('72 ------- Table II Mercedes-Benz 220 Diesel Modified Injection System Gaseous Emissions 1975 Federal Test Procedure (grams per mile) Cold Bag Hot FID Test No. HC 1 0.13 2 0.13 3 0.12 4 0.12 5 0.14 AVERAGE 0.13 1975 Standards 1976 Standards Fuel Economy (miles per Test No. 1 2 3 4 5 HC 0.26 0.26 0.24 0.27 0.35 0.28 0.41 0.41 gallon) MPG ('75 23.8 24.4 25.3 24.9 24.5 CO 1.15 1.01 1.06 1.05 1.13 1.08 3.4 3.4 FTP) co2 418.66 412.35 400.12 402.38 410.03 408.71 "" ~ ~. MPG 22.8 23.8 24.0 24.0 23.6 NOx 1.46 1.50 1.42 1.46 1.55 1.48 3.1 0.4 ('72 ! AVERAGE 24.6 23.6 ------- Table III Opel Rekord 2100 Diesel Gaseous Emissions 1975 Federal lest Procedure (grams per mile) Cold Bag Hot FID Test No. HC 1 0.13 2 0.16 3 0.17 4 0.17 AVERAGE 0.16 1975 Standards 1976 Standards Fuel Economy (miles Test No. 1 2 3 4 AVERAGE HC CO - 0.28 1.12 0.32 1.12 0.50 1.24 0.48 1.17 0.40 1.16 0.41 3.4 0.41 3.4 per gallon) MPG ('75 FTP) 23.9 24.3 23.2 23.7 23.8 C0.2 414.39 409.23 427.13 419.98 417.68 MPG (' 23.3 23.5 22.7 23.1 23.2 NOx 1.37 1.29 1.38 1.32 1.34 3.1 0.4 72 FTP ------- Table IV Peugeot 504 Diesel Gaseous Emissions 1975 Federal Test Procedure Cgrams per mile) Cold Bag Hot FID Test No. HC 1 0.96 2 0.83 3 1.05 1 4 1.03 5 1.30 0 AVERAGE 1.03 1975 Standards 1976 Standards Fuel Economy (miles per Test No. 1 2 3 4 5 AVERAGE HC 2.76 3.41 2.72 3:53 3.11 0.41 0.4.1 gallon) MPG ('75 25.4 25.2 24.1 25.2 26.2 25.2 CO 3.37 3.04 3.54 3.30 3.84 3.42 3.4 3.4 FTP) co2 399.33 394.06 407.28 397.22 379.47 395.47 MPG (' 24.3 24.3 23.3 24.2 25.1 24.2 NOx 1.05 1.08 1.09 1.07 1.04 1.07 3.1 0.4 72 FTP ------- |