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Six full range gasolines were tested in two engines (one with a catalyst) operated at 4 steady states. Engine-out regulated emissions responded to equivalence ratio, Φ, in the accepted manner. For both CO and NOx, there was a characteristic, single emissions response to changes in Φ. Changing fuel composition will primarily alter the production of these emissions by modifying the stoichiometric air/fuel ratio, projecting engine operation onto another part of the Φ response curve. These Φ effects, which are independent of engine design, also determine how operating conditions affect engine-out CO and NOx. Speciated hydrocarbon measurements at engine-out and tail-pipe confirm results seen in previous test-cycle based programmes.

The heavier components of a gasoline appear to contribute disproportionately to hydrocarbon emissions. To quantify this effect, a series of well defined bi-component fuels consisting of a mid-range volatility base (isooctane) with a variety of heavy hydrocarbons have been tested in a single cylinder test engine under steady conditions. The fraction of the heavy component in the fuel that was emitted in the exhaust was greater than that predicted from the correlation that has been developed with its OH reactivity. The extent of the discrepancy increased with the concentration of heavy component in the fuel or with the boiling point of the heavier hydrocarbon. The results are consistent with a mechanism based on an increased probability of wall impaction of heavy components during the intake stroke because of their slowness to evaporate.

Increasing interest in gasoline engine emissions has focused attention on the fuel compositional and emissions effects that govern NOx conversion over the catalyst. This study reports the transient effects of individual species emissions and catalyst conversions on NOx conversion made using Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) spectroscopy of the engine-out and tailpipe emissions (regulated and speciated) during the testing of a catalyst equipped gasoline vehicle run on multi-component model fuels over the standard European cycle. FTIR measurements confirm that transient NO conversion is directly correlated with that of CH4, especially within the Urban Drive Cycle (EUDC). Other hydrocarbon species do not govern the transient variability in NO conversion. This vehicle maintained ϕ≤ 1.0 practically throughout the EUDC and consequently no correlation was seen between transient NO conversion and equivalence ratio.