theenvironmentalimpactofvehicleemissions.docVIP

The Environmental Impact of Vehicle Emissions From: Illinois EPA http://www.epa.state.il.us/air/vim/guide/air_pollution.html Emissions from an individual car are generally low, relative to the smokestack image many people associate with air pollution; however, in numerous cities across the country, the personal automobile is one of the single greatest sources of air pollution as emissions from millions of vehicles on the road add up. Vehicle emissions are responsible for up to 50 percent of the emissions that form ground-level ozone and up to 90 percent of carbon monoxide in major metropolitan areas. Driving a private car is probably a typical citizens most polluting daily activity. The power to move a car comes from burning fuel in an engine. Pollution from cars comes from: by products of this combustion process (exhaust) and, from evaporation of the fuel itself (Emissions generated by brakes and tires are not mentioned in this article but they are also an important source of emission) Gasoline and diesel fuels are mixtures of hydrocarbons -- compounds that contain hydrogen and carbon atoms. In a perfect engine, oxygen in the air would convert all the hydrogen in the fuel to water and all the carbon in the fuel to carbon dioxide. Nitrogen in the air would remain unaffected. In reality, the combustion process cannot be perfect, and automotive engines emit several types of pollutants. Perfect Combustion: Fuel (hydrocarbons) + air (oxygen and nitrogen) = carbon dioxide + water + unaffected nitrogen Typical Engine Combustion: Fuel + air = unburned hydrocarbons + nitrogen oxides + carbon monoxide + carbon dioxide + water Exhaust Pollutants Hydrocarbons (HC): Hydrocarbon emissions result when fuel molecules in the engine do not burn or burn only partially. Hydrocarbons react in the presence of nitrogen oxides and sunlight to form ground-level ozone, a major component of smog. Ozone irritates the eyes, damages the lungs, and aggravates respiratory problems. It is o