Emission standards

Emission standards are  requirements  that  set  specific 

limits  to  the  amount  of pollutants that  can  be  released 
into the environment. Many emissions standards focus 
on  regulating  pollutants  released 
by automobiles (motor  cars)  and  other 
powered vehicles but  they  can  also  regulate  emissions 
from industry,  power  plants,  small  equipment  such  as 
lawn mowers and diesel generators. 
Vehicle emission performance standard: 
An emission  performance  standard is  a  limit  that  sets 
thresholds  above  which  a  different  type  of  emission 
control technology might be needed.
• In  the United States,  emissions  standards  are  managed  by 
the Environmental  Protection  Agency (EPA).  The  state 
of California has  special  dispensation  to  promulgate  more 
stringent  vehicle  emissions  standards,  and  other  states  may 
choose to follow either the national or California standards.
• California's  emissions  standards  are  set  by  the California  Air 
Resources  Board,  known  locally  by  its  acronym  "CARB". 
Given that California's automotive market is one of the largest 
in  the  world,  CARB  wields  enormous  influence  over  the 
emissions  requirements  that  major  automakers  must  meet  if 
they  wish  to  sell  into  that  market.  In  addition,  several  other 
U.S. states also choose to follow the CARB standards, so their 
rulemaking has broader implications within the U.S.
 European Emission Standards
• European emission standards define  the  acceptable  limits  for  exhaust  emissions 
of new vehicles sold in EU member states. 
• Currently,  emissions  of nitrogen  oxides (NOx), total  hydrocarbon (THC), non-
methane  hydrocarbons (NMHC), carbon  monoxide (CO)  and particulate 
matter (PM)  are  regulated  for  most vehicle  types,  including  cars,  lorries,  trains, 
tractors and similar machinery,  but excluding seagoing ships and aeroplanes. 
• For  each  vehicle  type,  different  standards  apply.  Compliance  is  determined  by 
running the  engine at a standardised test cycle. Non-compliant vehicles  cannot be 
sold in the EU, but new standards do not apply to vehicles already on the roads. No
use of specific technologies is mandated to meet the standards, though
available technology is considered when setting the standards. New  models 
introduced must meet current or planned standards,
CO2 emission
• Within  the European  Union,  road  transport  is  responsible  for  about  20%  of 
all CO2 emissions, with passenger cars contributing about 12%.
• The target fixed at Kyoto Protocol was an 8% reduction of emissions in all sectors 
of the economy compared to 1990 levels by 2008-2012.
• Relative CO2 emissions from transport have risen rapidly in recent years, from 21% 
of the total in 1990 to 28% in 2004,
 Toxic emission: stages and legal 
framework
• The stages are typically referred to as Euro 1, Euro 2, Euro 3, Euro 4 and 
Euro  5  for  Light  Duty  Vehicle  standards.  The  corresponding  series  of 
standards  for  Heavy  Duty  Vehicles  use  Roman,  rather  than  Arabic 
numerals  (Euro  I,  Euro  II,  etc.)  The  following  is  a  summary  list  of  the 
standards, when they come into force, what they apply to, and which EU 
directives provide the definition of the standard.
• Euro 1 (1993):
– For passenger cars - 91/441/EEC.
– Also for passenger cars and light trucks - 93/59/EEC.
• Euro 2 (1996) for passenger cars - 94/12/EC (& 96/69/EC)
– For motorcycle - 2002/51/EC (row A) - 2006/120/EC
• Euro 3 (2000) for any vehicle - 98/69/EC
– For motorcycle - 2002/51/EC (row B) - 2006/120/EC
• Euro 4 (2005) for any vehicle - 98/69/EC (& 2002/80/EC)
• Euro  5  (2008/9)  and  Euro  6  (2014)  for  light  passenger  and  commercial 
vehicles - 715/2007/EC
Emission standards for passenger cars

• Since  the  Euro  2  stage,  EU  regulations  introduce 

different  emission  limits  for  diesel  and  petrol 
vehicles.  Diesels  have  more  stringent  CO 
standards but are allowed higher NOx emissions. 
• Petrol-powered  vehicles  are  exempted  from 
particulate  matter  (PM)  standards  through  to  the 
Euro  4  stage,  but  vehicles  with direct 
injection engines  will  be  subject  to  a  limit  of 
0.005 g/km for Euro 5 and Euro 6. 
 Bharat Stage Emission Standards

Bharat stage emission standards are emission

standards instituted by the Government of
India to regulate the output of air pollutants from
internal combustion engine equipment, including
motor vehicles. The standards and the timeline
for implementation are set by the Central
Pollution Control Board under the Ministry of
Environment & Forests.
 History
• The first emission norms were introduced in India in 1991 for petrol and 1992
for diesel vehicles. These were followed by making the Catalytic converter
mandatory for petrol vehicles and the introduction of unleaded petrol in the
market.
• On April 29, 1999 the Supreme Court of India ruled that all vehicles in India
have to meet Euro I or India 2000 norms by June 1, 1999 and Euro II will be
mandatory in the NCR by April 2000. Car makers were not prepared for this
transition and in a subsequent judgment the implementation date for Euro II
was not enforced...
• In 2002, the Indian government accepted the report submitted by
the Mashelkar committee. The committee proposed a road map for the roll out
of Euro based emission norms for India. It also recommended a phased
implementation of future norms with the regulations being implemented in
major cities first and extended to the rest of the country after a few years.
• Based on the recommendations of the committee, the National Auto Fuel policy
was announced officially in 2003. The roadmap for implementation of the
Bharat Stage norms were laid out till 2010. The policy also created guidelines
for auto fuels, reduction of pollution from older vehicles and R&D for air
quality data creation and health administration
• The standards, based on European regulations were first introduced
in 2000. Progressively stringent norms have been rolled out since
then. All new vehicles manufactured after the implementation of the
norms have to be compliant with the regulations. Since October
2010, Bharat stage III norms have been enforced across the country.
In 13 major cities, Bharat stage IV emission norms are in place since
April 2010.
• The phasing out of 2 stroke engine for two wheelers, the stoppage of
production of Maruti 800 & introduction of electronic controls have
been due to the regulations related to vehicular emissions.
• While the norms help in bringing down pollution levels, it
invariably results in increased vehicle cost due to the improved
technology & higher fuel prices. However, this increase in private
cost is offset by savings in health costs for the public, as there is
lesser amount of disease causing particulate matter and pollution in
the air.
For 2-and 3-wheelers, Bharat Stage II (Euro 2) was made applicable from April 1,
2005 and Stage III (Euro 3) standards came in force from April 1, 2010
 Overview of the Emission Norms in
India
• 1991 - Idle CO Limits for Gasoline Vehicles and Free Acceleration Smoke
for Diesel Vehicles, Mass Emission Norms for Gasoline Vehicles.
• 1992 - Mass Emission Norms for Diesel Vehicles.
• 1996 - Revision of Mass Emission Norms for Gasoline and Diesel Vehicles,
mandatory fitment of Catalytic Converter for Cars in Metros on Unleaded
Gasoline.
• 1998 - Cold Start Norms Introduced.
• 2000 - India 2000 (Equivalent to Euro I) Norms, Modified IDC (Indian
Driving Cycle), Bharat Stage II Norms for Delhi.
• 2001 - Bharat Stage II (Equivalent to Euro II) Norms for All Metros,
Emission Norms for CNG & LPG Vehicles.
• 2003 - Bharat Stage II (Equivalent to Euro II) Norms for 13 major cities.
• 2005 - From 1 April Bharat Stage III (Equivalent to Euro III) Norms for 13
major cities.
• 2010 - Bharat Stage III Emission Norms for 4-wheelers for entire country
whereas Bharat Stage - IV (Equivalent to Euro IV) for 13 major cities.
 CO2 Emission

• India’s auto sector accounts for about 18 per cent

of the total CO2 emissions in the country. Relative
CO2 emissions from transport have risen rapidly
in recent years, but like the EU, currently there
are no standards for CO2 emission limits for
pollution from vehicles.
 Emission Test Cycles
• The ECE+EUDC test cycle is performed on a chassis dynamometer.
The cycle—also known as the MVEG-A cycle—is used for EU type
arroval testing of emissions and fuel consumption from light duty
vehicles. The entire cycle includes four ECE segments, Figure 1,
repeated without interruption, followed by one EUDC segment,
Figure 2. Before the test, the vehicle is allowed to soak for at least 6
hours at a test temperature of 20-30°C. It is then started and allowed
to idle for 40s.
• Effective year 2000, that idling period has been eliminated, i.e.,
engine starts at 0 s and the emission sampling begins at the same
time. This modified cold-start procedure is also referred to as
the New European Driving Cycle or NEDC.
• Emissions are sampled during the cycle according the the “Constant
Volume Sampling” technique, analyzed, and expressed in g/km for
each of the pollutants.
The ECE cycle is an urban driving cycle, also known as UDC. It was devised to represent
city driving conditions, e.g. in Paris or Rome. It is characterized by low vehicle speed, low
engine load, and low exhaust gas temperature.
The above urban driving cycle represents Type I test, as defined by the original ECE 15
emissions procedure. Type II test is a warmed-up idle tailpipe CO test conducted
immediately after the fourth cycle of the Type I test. Type III test is a two-mode (idle and 50
km/h) chassis dynamometer procedure for crankcase emission determination.
The EUDC (Extra Urban Driving Cycle) segment has been added after the fourth ECE cycle
to account for more aggressive, high speed driving modes. The maximum speed of the
EUDC cycle is 120 km/h. An alternative EUDC cycle for low-powered vehicles has been
also defined with a maximum speed limited to 90 km/h (Figure 3).