Characterization of particulate matter emissions from internal combustion engines using δ13C values: Impact of engine operation conditions and fuel type on PM10 isotopic composition

Abstract

Stable carbon isotope ratio of particulate emissions from internal combustion engines (ICEs) is an important characteristic in atmospheric carbonaceous PM source studies. Long-term measurements (2009–2020) of δ13C values of commercial fuels in Lithuania were conducted to evaluate the current isotopic composition of the fuel due to the changing share of renewable energy sources (RES). In this work, we present experimental results on stable carbon isotope ratio (δ13C) in PM10 emitted by different types of ICEs (two-stroke and four-stroke), including on-road transport and non-road mobile machinery. Different driving scenarios were simulated on a test bench (idling, NEDC, different torque, and speed). At idle, the average δ13C(PM10) values of different fuel types were determined: −27.80‰ for gasoline, −28.97‰ for diesel, − 27.89‰ for biofuel-C3, and −16.95‰ for biofuel-C4. Isotopic fractionation during combustion in ICEs depended on fuel type. The magnitude of Δ13C was 3‰ for gasoline, 2‰ for diesel, 1.5‰ for biofuel-C3, and 0.6‰ for biofuel-C4. The δ13C values of ICEs-generated PM10 were found to be dependent on the amount biobased components such as hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) to the fuel. However, insubstantial differences were found between the δ13C of PM derived from pure diesel and from an ethanol/diesel blend (E40).