Vehicle Non-Exhaust Emissions Significantly Contribute to Urban PM Pollution in New Energy Vehicles Era

Abstract

The non-exhaust emissions of motor vehicles derived from brake and tire wear have caused great concern, thereby requiring an investigation of their impact on air quality. We develop a high-resolution vehicle non-exhaust emissions inventory for Tianjin City based on detailed link-level traffic profiles and localized emission factors. We conduct atmospheric simulations of ambient particulate matter (PM) concentrations contributed by vehicle non-exhaust emissions. The results show that brake and tire wear emissions surpassed exhaust emissions for the first time in 2013 (PM_2.5). Areas with high emission intensities are primarily concentrated in central urban areas with high human activity and population and motor vehicle density. Local vehicle non-exhaust emissions can be responsible for approximately 3% of the urban PM concentrations, and may reach 7.13% in some time periods. In the future, controlling vehicle non-exhaust emissions will effectively alleviate urban PM pollution during the new energy vehicles era.