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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a reporting rule for the Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) emissions including Nitrous Oxide (N₂O) from all sectors of the economy. In addition, EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have been working together on developing a National Program of harmonized regulations to reduce GHGs emissions and improve fuel economy of light-duty vehicles (LDV). As a consequence, the limiting value for N₂O emission from LDV is set to 0.01 g/mile. Considering this regulatory limit of N₂O emission from LDV, if the exhaust gas is diluted and stored in a sample storage bag, the concentration of N₂O becomes very low which requires a highly sensitive analyzer for accurate measurement. In the previous study, an instrument based on Quantum Cascade Mid-IR Laser (QCL-Mid IR) Spectroscopy has been developed for measuring ultra-low level of N₂O in automobile exhaust gas sampled in a sample storage bag.

Understanding the chemical reactions taking place in the engine and after-treatment systems is indispensable for minimizing harmful emissions in automotive exhaust gas. Real time gas analyzers for engine exhaust play a vital role for developing mathematical models and evaluating new after-treatment technologies. Gas analyzers using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) offer the advantage of continuous non-destructive simultaneous multicomponent analysis of a single gas stream. The ability of such analyzers to detect concentration fluctuations in the sample gas depends on a balance between its sample gas replacement rate and data sampling frequency. Increasing the sampling frequency is useful for detecting rapid concentration fluctuations, provided that the sample gas replacement rate is fast enough. This is commonly achieved by increasing the sample flow rate.