Chemiion evolution in motor vehicle exhaust: Further evidence of its role in nanoparticle formation

Fangqun Yu

Atmospheric Sciences Research Center

State University of New York, Albany, New York

(Geophys. Res. Lett., 29(15), 10.1029/2002GL015004, 2002)

Abstract. The evolution of engine-generated chemiions in a vehicle tailpipe or in a sampling transfer line is studied and the key parameters controlling chemiion concentration at the exit plane are investigated. We find that the observed higher number concentration but smaller size of nuclei mode particles associated with shorter transfer line residence time, enhanced nanoparticle emission associated with reduced soot emission, and increase in the number concentration but decrease in the size of nuclei mode particles associated with increasing traffic speed, can all be consistently explained by the reduced loss of ions in the transfer line or tailpipe. This provides further evidence that engine-generated chemiions play a key role in the formation of the nanoparticles observed in motor vehicle exhaust.