Strategies Equipment Replacement Technical Considerations – Retire older equipment that has higher emissions and more miles per year of operation, especially any that emits visible smoke which indicates the need for repairs such as the need for filter replacement, oil changes, and engine upgrades. Frequent maintenance of light duty vehicles and buses is very important to maintain clean operation in addition to extending sustainable use of vehicle. Inexpensive emissions testing equipment is available to periodically verify that fleet maintenance practices to minimize emissions are effective and identify equipment that have excess repairable emissions. Options for Implementation – Implementation strategies may include; technical support, lease requirements, tariffs, and incentives. Pros and Cons – Positive emission reduction benefits for air toxics, VOCs, NOx and PM. The costs of replacing engines and/or vehicles may be substantial.
Operational Improvements Technical Considerations – Evaluate current usage patterns and identify opportunities for vehicle miles traveled reductions through schedule revisions, ridesharing, and other alternatives. Options for Implementation – Implementation through voluntary programs, incentives, and/or lease renewals/renegotiations. Pros and Cons – Light duty vehicles are relatively cleaner than heavy duty diesel equipment so the total emissions from these engines at ports are relatively small. Emissions of toxic air pollution and volatile organic compounds from gasoline-fueled engines can be significant. Some of this equipment is diesel-fueled and could be addressed by strategies similar to those outlined for heavy duty diesel equipment. As mentioned earlier, replacing older engines and vehicles with newer cleaner equipment can improve emission reductions. However, international availability may be a concern. The costs of replacing engines and/or vehicles may be prohibitive.
Clean Fuels Technical Considerations – Work with ports and fuel suppliers on the availability and supply of clean fuels, vehicles, and refueling stations. Depending on the type of clean fuel used, cleaning of the fuel tank may be required in order to avoid fuel contamination. This is particularly true for fuels containing ethanol or biodiesel. Options for Implementation – Implementation strategies may include the use of lease requirements and tariff changes. Pros and Cons – Positive emission reduction benefits for air toxics, VOC, SOx, NOx, PM and GHGs. The use of biodiesel may present a slight increase in NOx. Challenges may arise with fuel availability depending on international location. Some options such as natural gas, propane or electricity may require a substantial capital investment in refueling or powering infrastructure.
Emission Control Technologies Technical Considerations – Operational and feasibility testing is required to ensure the function and applicability of an emissions control technology on the bus. In particular, many ECTs require exhaust gas temperature analysis by conducting exhaust gas temperature datalogging to measure exhaust gas temperatures. Many ECTs have exhaust temperature thresholds that are required for the operation and effectiveness of the technology. Considerations must include duty cycle, exhaust temperatures, and preventative maintenance schedules. Emission control technologies which have been certified or verified by regulatory agencies (such as those programs at the US Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board) are most likely to deliver the claimed benefits. Options for Implementation – Implement strategy through lease requirements, tariff charges, and incentives. Design a Technology Advancement Program that would demonstrate feasibility of ECTs on buses. The Technology Advancement Program would consider use of newer technologies. Pros and Cons – Positive PM, NOx, HC and CO emission reduction benefits. Challenges may occur while assessing appropriate technologies. Some technologies such as DPFs have strict exhaust temperature requirements. Retrofitting may include exhaust reconfiguration and cutting of the exhaust pipe. DPFs require annual cleaning depending on the technology and can be costly. SCRs require urea dosing units and may acquire an increase in fuel cost with urea + diesel. The costs of emission control technologies and/or vehicles may be prohibitive.
Idle-Reduction Technologies Technical Considerations – Test feasibility of idle-reduction technology. Options for Implementation – Implement strategy through education and outreach, lease requirements, tariff charges, and incentives. Pros and Cons – Eliminating idling time by using an idle-reduction technology greatly reduces emissions that would be generated from idling. International availability may create a challenge for some ports. A major advantage of anti-idling programs for light duty vehicles is that they can save fuel costs with very little capital investment. |
Light Duty Vehicles
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