Gas/Particle Partitioning of Dioxins in Exhaust Gases from Automobiles

This study investigates distributions of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin and polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDD/F) congeners in the exhaust gases of gasoline-and diesel-fueled vehicles. 6 sport utility vehicles (SUVs), 6 diesel passenger vehicles (DPVs), and 3 heavy duty diesel vehicle (HDDV) were examined using chassis dynamometer tests for measuring vehicular dioxin emissions. The mean PCDD/F I-TEQ emission factors were 0.101, 0.0688 and 0.912 ng I-TEQ/km for the SUVs, DPVs and HDDV, respectively. Highly chlorinated congeners dominated both gaseous and particulate phase PCDD/Fs. The major contributors of gas-phase PCDD/F I-TEQ for the SUVs, DPVs, and HDDV were 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF, 2,3,7,8-TeCDD, and 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF, respectively; however, 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF was the major contributor in particulate-phase PCDD/F I-TEQ of these vehicles. The particulate-phase PCDD/Fs was responsible for 78.0, 90.3 and 71.1% of total PCDD/Fs for the SUVs, DPVs, and HDDV, respectively. Therefore, the control of particulate matter is more critical than that of gaseous pollutants for reducing PCDD/F emissions from automobiles.