Modelling vehicle emissions using the TEMIS program: Part 2: Case studies

Abstract

Many challenges are associated with the ever increasing level of energy consumption and the damage to the environment caused by the pollutants from all sectors, On the local level the problem is associated with matters such as noise and air pollution, while on the global level the problems are associated with acid rain, ozone layer depletion and the greenhouse effect (global warming). The transport sector is a major contributor in this respect. The use of appropriate decision-making tools to assist in the assessment of alternative transport policies is required urgently. One such tool is the TEMIS program which was described in Part 1 of this investigation, where the methodology for the enhancement of TEMIS was reported. The enhanced version of TEMIS has subsequently been used to model the effects of different transport scenarios in order to improve future fuel economy and the adverse effects of air emissions as well as the greenhouse gases. In the present paper, three main case studies have been considered to test the effect of different scenarios (in terms of alternative fuels and technical advances) on energy consumption and emissions: firstly, the switch to alternative fuels, through investigating the effects of switching from petrol to diesel, secondly, the effects of switching from diesel to bio-diesel (for buses) and, finally, the effects of technical advances (three-way catalytic converters) and the effects on fuel consumption and emissions are considered.