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Procedia Engineering 187 (2017) 775 – 782

10th International Scientific Conference Transbaltica 2017:

Transportation Science and Technology

Investigation of Exhaust Emissions of Vehicles with the Spark

Ignition Engine within Emission Control
Branislav Sarkana,*, Ondrej Stopkab, Jozef Gnapa, Jacek Cabanc
a
Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communications, University of Zilina, Slovakia
b
Faculty of Technology, Institute of Technology and Business in České Budějovice, Czech Republic
c
Faculty of Production Engineering, University of Life Science in Lublin, Poland

Abstract

The level of exhaust gases production of road vehicles is mainly influenced by legislation that determines the maximum values of
individual gases elements. However, inter alia, vehicles composition in given region or country is very important aspect in the
context of exhaust gases production in normal operation. The paper is focused on the data analysis of the emission controls
results in selected workstation during years 2005 to 2014. In the paper, analysis regarding the relation of level of the exhaust
emissions selected elements of different emission systems according to year of vehicle production is processed.
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of the 10th International Scientific Conference Transbaltica 2017:
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Transportation
Peer-review underScience and Technology.
responsibility of the organizing committee of the 10th International Scientific Conference Transbaltica 2017

Keywords: exhaust emissions, spark ignition engine, emission control, emission system

1. Introduction

For more than a century, mankind has used vehicles for their need. These are able to move using the source of
mechanical energy which, in the vast majority, represents the internal combustion engine. The internal combustion
engine converts chemical energy to mechanical energy. During the process of chemical energy conversion, the fuel
oxidation in the form of combustion is present.

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: branislav.sarkan@fpedas.uniza.sk

1877-7058 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of the 10th International Scientific Conference Transbaltica 2017
doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2017.04.437
776 Branislav Sarkan et al. / Procedia Engineering 187 (2017) 775 – 782

When taking place this combustion, inter alia, the various combustion products are created as well. These
products are freely discharged into the environment where their concentration, due to rapid motorization expansion,
significantly rises [1, 2].

2. Exhaust emissions

2.1. CO – carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas. It arises particularly in the rich mixture, since there is
not sufficient amount of oxygen required for the oxidation of carbon to harmless carbon dioxide. In the area of fuel
surplus, the content by volume of CO increases with decreasing value of lambda (λ) practically linearly.
In the area of air surplus, the content by volume of CO is low and is virtually independent of the lambda λ value.
In the area of stoichiometric composition of the mixture, the content of CO is approximately 0.3 to 0.5% [1, 3–5].

2.2. HC – hydrocarbons

In the area of rich mixture, the value of HC rises with decreasing value of λ. This is the consequence of fuel
surplus and incomplete combustion, and thereby, the emissions increased value of unburned and partially burned
hydrocarbons.
The minimum value of λ is located in the range of 1.1 to 1.2, and with the increasing value of λ, the content of
HC continues to increase due to incomplete combustion. HC content by volume is significantly lower than CO
content. Its value is expressed in ppm (parts per million) units and the following applies – 100% of HC content by
volume = 1000000 ppm;1% of HC content by volume = 10000 ppm [1, 6].

2.3. NOx – nitrogen oxides

NO is a colorless gas which oxidizes in air to NO2. NO2 is a brownish-red gas with a strong odor. The
dependence of nitrogen oxide on the value of λ is exactly opposite compared to CO and HC. In the area of fuel
surplus, NOx increases with increasing value of λ due to the increased oxygen concentration. In the area of lean
mixture, NOx decreases with increasing value of λ [1, 3, 6–8].

2.4. CO2 – carbon dioxide

The increase of content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is one of the major causes of the greenhouse effect.
Carbon dioxide is a non-toxic product of combustion. The maximum values of carbon dioxide are reached in the
area of stoichiometric ratio and these are approximately 14.7 of content %. CO2 value has a high explanatory value
about the engine condition and condition of its parts.
The low values of CO2 as well as the low values of CO and HC indicate the exhaust system leakages. In the case
of catalyst proper function, CO2 value can be even higher than when complete combustion [1, 3, 6, 9].

3. The number of emission controls in the Slovak Republic

In the Slovak Republic, company SEKA, s.r.o., that provides various services related to the emission controls on
its webpages, represents the authorized organization for emission controls of road motor vehicles.
It also shows the statistics on the number of vehicles which arrived on emission controls in recent years. This
data is divided according to the type of fuel, emission system and vehicle category. Table 1 contains the processed
data on the number of emission controls in terms of competency λ [1, 9, 10].
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Table 1. The results of emission controls in the Slovak Republic in 2007–2014. Source: authors, according to [1].
Unfit Fit
Year Total
Vehicles [%] Vehicles [%]
2007 826978 8246 1.00 818732 99.00
2008 955214 8244 0.86 946970 99.14
2009 894810 9241 1.03 885569 98.97
2010 935183 8698 0.93 926485 99.07
2011 942945 6097 0.65 936848 99.35
2012 1009938 6734 0.67 1003204 99.33
2013 1025420 11392 1.11 1014028 98.89
2014 1065451 22054 2.07 1043397 97.93

4. The process of the emission control

Investigating the road vehicles fuel consumption under laboratory conditions using roller test bench and flow-meter
allows for performing several different tests. Each test is specific for its investigating result, time-consumption and
usability. From these investigations, subsequently, it is possible to illustrate the variety of characteristics.
Emission control of a motor vehicle represents the vehicle engine condition check (control) and its system which
affects the production of pollutants in exhaust gases and detected compliance with the specified conditions by
manufacturers and engine emission limits – if the manufacturer has not specified the engine emission limits,
compliance with the emission limits stipulated by the generally applicable legislation.
Emission controls of motor vehicles are divided into [3, 6, 10, 11]:
• Regular,
• Special,
• Administrative.
Regular emission control is a basic type of emission controls (Fig. 1). Based on the granted authorization to carry
out the regular emission control, also the special as well as the administration emission control can be carried out [1, 3].

Fig. 1. The process of the emission control. Source: authors.

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Emission control is performed based on the methodical instruction on performing the regular emission control,
administrative emission control and special emission control. Methodical instruction precisely defines the individual
steps and procedures (see Fig. 1) about the necessary actions (operations). In summary, it can be concluded that the
emission control consists of seven basic steps which are divided into individual operations. There are also
differences within individual emission systems. The most significant difference is to allocate the controlled and
detected emissions while the CO and HC values at idle engine speed are controlled for vehicles with unimproved
emission system. For vehicles with improved emission system, in addition to previous, CO and λ values at increased
engine speed are monitored [1, 4, 6, 12].

4.1. Emission control of vehicles with the spark ignition engine and unimproved emissions systems

Unimproved emission system is the motor vehicle emission system without or with a device for additional
pollutants reductions in the exhaust emissions in which the fuel mixture preparation is not controlled depending on
the content of free oxygen in the exhaust gases [5, 12, 13].
When identifying, the identification data indicated in the vehicle registration certificate required for execution of
the emission control protocol with the vehicle details are compared. Subsequently, the values of controlled
parameters are determined. Among vehicles controlled parameters with the spark ignition engine and unimproved
emission system can be included: engine temperature, values at idle engine speed (idle engine speed, switching
contacts angle in interrupter, spark advance, content by volume of CO, content by volume of HC), parameters values
at increased engine speed (increased engine speed, spark advance). After setting the determined values of controlled
parameters for the identified vehicle, visual inspection (control) of the emission relevant components is performed
[5, 13, 14].
During the visual inspection, condition of the intake, fuel, ignition and exhaust systems is evaluated. In the case
that these systems are in the satisfactory technical condition, the engine control settings, in which the spark advance
angle as well as the switching contacts angle in interrupter at idle and increased engine speed are controlled, are
performed after the engine warming up above the desired temperature. After this operation, the actual emissions
investigation, in which the values of CO and HC at idle engine speed are measured, is performed. For several
independent outlets of the exhaust manifold, the emissions investigation is performed at each outlet independently.
The vehicle is evaluated as satisfactory if all the detected values of controlled parameters correspond to the
prescribed (predetermined) values [5, 8, 15, 16].

4.2. Emission control of vehicles with the spark ignition engine, improved emissions systems and OBD system

Improved emission system is the motor vehicle emission system with a device for additional reductions of
pollutants in exhaust emissions in which the fuel mixture preparation is controlled depending on the content of free
oxygen in the exhaust gases [5, 8].
Similarly to the previous case, when identifying, the identification data indicated in the vehicle registration
certificate required for execution of the emission control protocol with the vehicle details are compared. After
determining the prescribed values of controlled parameters for the identified vehicle, visual inspection of the
emission relevant components is performed as well as the OBD system control for vehicles equipped with an
onboard diagnostics. Each vehicle with a spark ignition engine that was registered for the first time from 1 January
2004 is considered to be the vehicle equipped with an on-board diagnostics (OBD). During the visual inspection,
condition of the intake, fuel, ignition system as well as the exhaust system and electrical circuit is evaluated. And for
vehicles equipped with an onboard diagnostics, OBD system control is assessed as well [17, 18].
As long as these systems are in a satisfactory technical condition and OBD systems do not show malfunctions
(error condition), after the engine warming up above the desired temperature, the procedures will continue
performing the engine control settings and investigating its emissions. During these procedures [5], the smoothness
of the engine running at increased engine speed is monitored and CO and lambda values are detected. After this
operation, followed by checking the uniformity of running at idling speed are measured while the CO and HC. For
vehicles equipped with an OBD system, temperature and speed values are detected exclusively via an OBD system.
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After this operation, the control of errors memory of an OBD system is performed subsequently. Similarly to the
previous case, for several independent outlets of the exhaust manifold, the emissions investigation is performed at
each outlet independently. The vehicle is evaluated as satisfactory if all the detected values of controlled parameters
correspond to the prescribed values. For vehicles equipped with an OBD, this system must be functional, must not
show malfunctions and an OBD errors memory must not contain any record [5, 19].

5. Obtained results and discussion

When evaluating the development of CO and HC emissions values, it is based on the emission control station
data of the Department of Road and Urban Transport at the University of Zilina from 2005 to 2014. During this
period, 8780 motor vehicles with the spark ignition engine of M1 category with following number of individual
emissions systems were prepared to perform the testing [11, 13]:
• 126 vehicles – unimproved emission system with a device for additional pollutants reductions in the exhaust
emissions, in which the fuel mixture preparation is not controlled depending on the content of free oxygen in the
exhaust gases,
• 1700 vehicles – improved emission system of a motor vehicle with a device for additional pollutants reductions
in the exhaust emissions, in which the fuel mixture preparation is controlled depending on the content of free
oxygen in the exhaust gases,
• 6954 vehicles – unimproved emission system without a device for additional pollutants reductions in the exhaust
emissions.
From the foregoing values, it can be seen that vehicles without a catalyst have the utmost representation on the
emission control. Figs 2–4 indicate a visible decrease in a controlled volume concentration of CO (%) significantly
below the value 1% when using a controlled catalyst. It is obvious that the current vehicles with controlled
operations of whole engine produce significantly less emissions compared to vehicles with emission systems
without controlled catalyst [1, 6].

Fig. 2. CO (%) –for vehicles without catalyst. Source: authors.

Figs 5–7 show the development of HC average values depending on the year of vehicle manufacture for
individual emission systems. As for the older vehicles without catalyst, they reach HC values from 200 to 1000 ppm
depending on the year of vehicle manufacture. On the other hand, current vehicles, equipped with a controlled
catalyst, have HC values about 10 ppm when investigation at idle engine speed [15, 20].
780 Branislav Sarkan et al. / Procedia Engineering 187 (2017) 775 – 782

Fig. 3. CO (%) – for vehicles with uncontrolled catalyst. Source: authors.

Fig. 4. CO (%) – for vehicles with controlled catalyst. Source: authors.

Fig. 5. HC (ppm) – for vehicles without catalyst. Source: authors.

 Branislav Sarkan et al. / Procedia Engineering 187 (2017) 775 – 782 781

Fig. 6. HC (ppm) – for vehicles with uncontrolled catalyst. Source: authors.

Fig. 7. HC (ppm) – for vehicles with controlled catalyst. Source: authors.

6. Conclusions

From the analyzed data, the process of vehicle emissions reduction at a time can be seen. Based on the emission
limits and engines design development, it can be assumed that the motor vehicles exhaust emissions will constantly
decrease. Emerging market with electric vehicles, since their operation does not produce any emissions, represents a
positive fact as well. Reducing of the negative impact of vehicles in the operation phase, on the natural environment
is largely dependent on the adopted of construction solutions.
Currently, increasingly stringent rules when performing emission controls are established in the Slovak republic.
This fact has an effect on the percentage share of vehicles that do not pass an emissions control and thus are unfit for
the road traffic.
From analyzed results of emission controls at the specific emission workstation in the Slovak Republic, an
importance of new technologies application into the process of controlling the fuel mixture preparation is explicitly
shown. While vehicles without controlling the fuel mixture preparation (without catalyst and lambda probe) have
values of controlled CO emissions above the level of 1%, the current vehicle reaches ten or more times less of these
combustion gasses. The same effect can be observed regarding the HC emissions. Evaluation of the environmental
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contamination level by mentioned emissions with respect to the number of vehicles in operation and fleet
composition of the given country or evaluated area may be of interest.

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