SESSION 25

EMISSION MEASURING EQUIPMENT HC,CO and NOx

Oxides of Nitrogen
Oxides of nitrogen which also occur only in the engine exhaust are a combination of
nitric oxide(NO) and nitrogen dioxide(NO2). Nitrogen and oxygen react at relatively high
temperatures. Therefore, high temperatures and availability of oxygen are the two main
reasons for the formation of NOx . When the proper amount of oxygen is available, the higher
the peak combustion temperature the more is the NO formed.

The NOx concentration in exhaust is affected by engine design and the mode of
vehicle operation. Air-fuel ratio and the spark advance are the two import factors which
significantly affect NOxemissions.The maximum NOx is formed at ratios between 14:1 and
16:1. At lean and rich air-fuel mixtures the NO xconcentration is comparatively low.
Increasing the ignition advance will result in lower peak combustion temperatures and higher
exhaust temperatures. This will result in high NOx concentration in the exhaust.
Internationally accepted method for measuring oxides of nitrogen is by
chemiluminescence analyser. The principle of measurement is based on chemiluminescence
reaction between ozone and NO resulting in the formation of excited NO 2. This excited NO2
emits light whose intensity is proportional to NO concentration. The analyser measures only
nitric oxide, NO, and not NO2. To analyse all the oxides of nitrogen a converter is usually
fitted ahead of the reaction chamber to convert all the oxides of nitrogen into nitric oxide.
Thereby, the light intensity can be taken to be proportional to the oxides of nitrogen
concentration in the sample.

Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide occurs only in engine exhaust. It is a product of incomplete
combustion due to insufficient amount of airfuel mixture or insufficient time in the cycle for
completion of combustion. Theoretically, the gasoline engine exhaust can be made free of CO
by operating it at air-fuel mixture ratios greater than 16:1. However, that some CO is always
present in the exhaust even at lean mixtures.

The percentage of CO decreases with speed. In passenger cars CO percentage has

been found to be as high as 5 percent with rich mixtures and 1% with near stoichiometric
mixtures. The complete elimination of CO is not possible and 0.5 percent CO should be
considered a reasonable goal.
Carbon monoxide emissions are high when the engine is idling and reach a minimum
value during declaration. They are the lowest during acceleration and at steady speeds.
Closing of the throttle which reduces the oxygen supply to engine is the main cause of CO
production, so declaration from high speed will produce highest CO in exhaust gases.
Non Dispersive Infra-Red analyzer (NDIR) is the widely accepted instrument for
measuring CO. This instrument is presently used for the testing and legal certification of
some automotive exhaust emission s. In the NDIR analyzer the exhaust gas species begin
measured are used to detect themselves. The method of detection is based on the principle of
selective absorption of the infrared energy of a particular wave length peculiar to a certain gas
which will be absorbed by the gas.

Unburned Hydrocarbons
Unburnt hydrocarbons emissions are the direct result of incomplete combustion. The
pattern of hydrocarbon emissions is closely related to many design and operating variables.
Two of the import design variables are induction system design and combustion chamber
design, while main operating variables are air-fuel ratio, speed, load and mode of operation.
Maintenance is also an important factor.

Induction system
design and engine maintenance affect the operating air-fuel ratio of the engine and hence the
emission of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. Induction system determines fuel
distribution of cylinders, fuel economy, available power etc. And the quality of engine
maintenance determines whether the engine will operate at the designed air-fuel ratio and for
how long. This will include piston ring wear, lubrication, cooling, deposits and other factors
which are likely to affect the air-fuel ratio supplied or its combustion in the combustion
chamber.
The design of the combustion chamber is important. A portion of the fuel-air mixture
in the combustion chamber into direct contact with the chamber walls and are quenched and
do not burn. Some of this quenched fuel-air mixture is forced out of the chamber during the
exhaust stroke and, because of the high local concentration of hydrocarbon in this mixture,
contributions to the high hydrocarbon exhaust from the engine. A small displacement engine
will have higher surface-to-volume ratio than an engine with a large displacement. Factors
like combustion chamber shape, bore diameter, stroke and compression ratio affect the
surface-to-volume ratio and hence the hydrocarbon emission. Lower compression ratio,
higher stroke to bore ratio, larger displacement per cylinder and fewer cylinders, all lower the
surface-to-volume ratio and hence the hydrocarbons.
The effect of air-fuel ratio on the HC emission is exactly like that on carbon
monoxide. At near stoichiometric fuel-air mixtures both hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide
emission as higher and lean fuel mixtures have substantially low emission.
Flame Ionization Detector is used for measuring hydrocarbons. This instrument is
well established and accepted method for measuring HC. Ionization is a characteristic of HC
compound. This principle is employed in the FID detector. Formation of electrically charged
particles of ionized carbon atoms from the hydrocarbons in a hydrogen-oxygen flame is

achieved in the FID analyzer. Current flow in micro amperes is a measure of the
concentration of hydrocarbons.