Unraveling Reactive Nitrogen Emissions in Heavy-Duty Diesel Vehicles across Evolving Standards and Cheating Tactics

Abstract

Reactive nitrogen (Nr) emissions significantly affect air quality and the nitrogen cycle in ecosystems. Heavy-duty diesel vehicles (HDDVs), as major sources of these emissions, exhibit complex emission characteristics because of the combined effects of different driving conditions and aftertreatment technologies. This study first investigated the emission factors (EFs) of Nr species, including NO, NO₂, HONO, N₂O, and NH₃, from HDDVs under different emission standards (China IV/V/VI) and cheating strategies, with a particular focus on the impact of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems. Vehicles employing water injection cheating present NO, NO₂, and HONO EFs that are consistent with the China III standards, significantly undermining the effectiveness of Nr emission control. The evolution of SCR technology in China IV, V, and VI standards has generally led to substantial reductions in NO, NO₂, and HONO emissions, yet the integration of ammonia slip catalysts (ASC) systems in China VI vehicles presents new challenges. While ASCs have successfully reduced NH₃ slip to an average of 17 ± 12 mg/km, they have also caused a 6–13-fold increase in N₂O emissions compared with those of China IV and V vehicles, reaching levels of 205 ± 85 mg/km. Additionally, China VI vehicles exhibit a marked increase in the HONO/NOx ratio, which increases from 0.9% in China V to 4.6%. These increases are attributed to high-temperature oxidation of NH₃ within the ASC catalyst, leading to undesirable byproducts. The temporal dynamics of Nr emissions under real-world driving conditions further reveal that the effectiveness of aftertreatment technologies and their selectivity toward byproducts vary depending on the driving mode. This variability underscores the need for further optimization of the SCR and ASC technologies to balance the control of all the reactive nitrogen species effectively.