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Suggested Citation:"INTRODUCTION." National Research Council. 1973. Report by the Committee on Motor Vehicle Emissions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11096.
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Suggested Citation:"INTRODUCTION." National Research Council. 1973. Report by the Committee on Motor Vehicle Emissions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11096.
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Suggested Citation:"INTRODUCTION." National Research Council. 1973. Report by the Committee on Motor Vehicle Emissions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11096.
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Page 8
Suggested Citation:"INTRODUCTION." National Research Council. 1973. Report by the Committee on Motor Vehicle Emissions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11096.
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Page 9
Suggested Citation:"INTRODUCTION." National Research Council. 1973. Report by the Committee on Motor Vehicle Emissions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11096.
×
Page 10
Suggested Citation:"INTRODUCTION." National Research Council. 1973. Report by the Committee on Motor Vehicle Emissions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11096.
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Page 11
Suggested Citation:"INTRODUCTION." National Research Council. 1973. Report by the Committee on Motor Vehicle Emissions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11096.
×
Page 12
Suggested Citation:"INTRODUCTION." National Research Council. 1973. Report by the Committee on Motor Vehicle Emissions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11096.
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Suggested Citation:"INTRODUCTION." National Research Council. 1973. Report by the Committee on Motor Vehicle Emissions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11096.
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Page 14

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

1. INTRODUCTION The Clean Air Amendments of 1970, which established exhaust emission standards for 1975 and 1976 light-duty vehicles (henceforth called vehicles ) and light-duty vehicle engines, called on the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) "to enter into appropriate arrangements with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS ) to conduct a comprehensive study and investigation of the tech­ nological feasibility of meeting the emission standards" promulgated by the Clean Air Amendments. Meetings held between the NAS and EPA early in 1971 resulted in the establishment of a mutually agreeable work statement for the Committee on Motor Vehicle Emissions of the National Academy of Sciences. An extract from the work statement follows: Statement of Work A. The Contractor shall conduct a many-faceted study of the technological feasibility of meeting the motor vehicle emission standards prescribed by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, as required by Section 202 (b) of the Clean Air Act, as amended. B. For the purposes of this study the term "technological feasibility" includes the ability within the automobile industry or elsewhere to 1. Design an engine, control system, or device capable of meeting the statutory emission standards using fuels which are or could be available 2. Mass produce such an engine, control system, or device 3. Maintain such an engine, control system, or device so that it will continue to meet the statutory emission standards with safety for a period of five years or 50, 000 miles of operation, whichever is shorter. - 6 - Digitized byGoogle

c. The study of technological feasibility as defined shall include a study emphasizing the technical aspects of the reported costs expected to be incurred in and the estimated time for the design, development, and mass production of an engine, control system, or device capable of meeting the statutory emission standards. D. The study of technological feasibility shall include a study emphasizing the technical aspects of the reported estimates of extra cost incurred in maintaining such an engine, control system, or device so that it will meet the statutory emission standards for a period of five years or 50, 000 miles, whichever is shorter. E. Should the Contractor conclude that the attainment of emission standards on the schedule provided by Section 202 (b) (l) of the Clean Air Act is not technologically feasible, the Contractor shall specifically determine technologically feasible inter� emission levels to assist the Administrator in exercising his responsi­ bilities under Section 202 (b) (5) of the Act. 1. 1 Past Work of the Committee on Motor Vehicle Emissions Membership of the Committee, shown in Appendix A, was selected entirely by the National Academy of Sciences. The first meeting of the Committee took place on June 16, 197 1, with subsequent meetings held approximately once each month. The Clean Air Amendments called for the Committee to submit semiannual progress reports to the Administrator and to Congress. One of the primary func­ tions of such reports was to provide advice to the Administrator of EPA with respect to his decision whether or not to postpone for one year the applicable deadlines of the standards called for by the Clean Air Amendments. Under the legislation, anyt�e after January 1, 1972, any manufacturer may file with the Administrator an application requesting a one year suspension of the regulations applicable to emissions from 1975 model year vehicles. Anytime after January 1, 1973, any manu­ facturer may file an application requesting a one year suspension of the regulations applicable to emissions from 1976 model year vehicles. - 7 - Digitized byGoogle

The Adminis tra tor mus t make his de termina tion o f each reque s t for s u s ­ pens ion wi th in 6 0 day s . To provide maximum as s is tance to the Adminis trator in the formu­ l a t ion o f h i s dec i s ion , and with due cons idera t ion o f the t iming re­ quired for s uch a dec is ion , the C ommit tee i s s ued its f ir s t s ub s t ant ive repor t on January 1, 1972, containing a c omprehens ive s tudy o f the techno l og ical feas ib il i ty of the s tandard s appl icab le to 1975 model year veh ic l e s . In Apr i l 1972, in re spons e to a dire c t reques t from E PA, the Commi t tee prepared a rep ort wi th respec t to po s s ible interim s tandards , in the event the Adminis trator were to grant a s us pens ion of the 1975 s tandards . A br ief progre s s re port was submit ted July 1, 1972, d is cu s s ing the var ious areas of inve s t igat ion of the Commi t tee at tha t time . Th is report o f the Commi t tee emphas izes the ques t ion o f techno­ logical feas ib i l i ty o f the 1976 s tandard s . In Augus t 1972, the Admini s trator denied the reque s t s of Vo lvo, Internat ional Harve s ter, Chrys ler , Ford, and General Mo tors for a su spens ion o f the 1975 s tandard s . Reques t s for suspensi on o f the 1975 s tandards may , however , be f i led again by the above manufac turers or by o thers . A por t ion of this report is thus addres sed to the techno logical fea s ibil i ty o f the 1975 s tandards . 1.2 Pane l s of C ons u l t an t s The Commit tee h a s recogni zed the impor tanc e o f having avai lable to i t the mo s t recent and comp l e t e technical data and informat ion upon wh ich to make i t s j udgment s . Much o f the informat ion has been pro­ vided by e igh t p ane l s o f cons ul tan t s, each pane l deal ing with a par t ic­ u l ar sub j e c t area o f importance in the Commit tee del iberat ions . Panel member s were s e l e c ted by the Commi t tee on the bas i s of recognized com­ pe tence in s pe c i f ic areas . Membership of the pane l s is shown in Appendix B. Seven o f the se panel s were in operat ion dur ing 1971. The C a talys t Pane l was added early in 1972 af ter the C omm i ttee became aware - 8 - Digitized byGoogle

o f the many controvers ial and c r i t ical factors as s o c iated wi th the operational charac ter is tics o f the au tomo t ive catalys t . The work o f each of the pane l s was as fol lows . 1. 2. 1 T e s t ing, Inspe c t ion, and Ma intenance The Pane l on Te s t ing , Inspec tion , and Maintenance was organized to as s e s s the feas ib i l i ty of ens ur ing that automob ile s manufac tured for 1975- 1976 mode l years c ontinue to mee t the s pec ified emi s s ion s tandards in ac tual cus tomer use over the required period . The pane l eval uated each me thod as a sys tem , from certific a t ion te s t ing through assembly­ l ine control , s urve i l lance , ins pec tion , and maintenance in use . Thi s s tudy also cons idered the neces s ary tra ining and l icens ing of mechanic s , enforcement act ion required , shor t emiss ion tes ts s u i tab le for ins pec­ t ion or d iagno s i s , s urve i l l ance test ing , feasibil ity of required maintenance procedures , and cos ts of maintaining emi s s ion- control sys­ tems for 1975- 1976 veh ic les . 1. 2. 2 Emi s s ion-Control Sys tems The Pane l on Emi s s ion-Control Sys tems was to inves t igate the po tential o f expertmental 1975- 1976 emi s s ion- control sys tems , inc lud ing c ons idera t ion o f the durabi l i ty o f the s e sy s tems . The a c t ivit ie s of th is pane l were res tric ted to s tudie s of emi s s ion contro l for the spark­ ignit ion internal-combus tion engine inc lud ing the Wankel and s trat i f ied­ charge types of engine s . The use of d i f ferent fue l s , s uch as l ique f ied petro leum gas (LPG ) , as wel l as dua l - fuel c oncep ts were a l so evalua ted . 1. 2. 3 Al terna te Power Sources Th is p anel was re s pons ible for evaluating all automobile p ower source concept s except the convent ional O t to-cycle engine, the internal­ combus t ion Wanke l eng ine , and the s tra t i f ied- charge engine . The pane l thus cons idered d iesel engine s , Rankine -cyc le eng ine s , Br ay ton- cyc le - 9 - Digitized by Coogle

eng ine s , S t irl ing eng ines, elec tric sy s tems , hybr id sys tems , and s everal sys tems tha t fell into no broad category . The panel was to determine if i t would be pos s ible for any o f the candidate engine sys tems to me e t the 1 975 - 1976 emi s s ion s tandard s i n produc t ion and the 50, 000-mile (or f ive-year ) l ife s tandard . For each promis ing sys tem, the pane l es t� ted the ear l ie s t pos s ible date that mas s produc t ion could be ach ieve d . Ma j or technic al problem areas were identified for each sys tem , and the probab il i ty of s o lving the se problems was e s t� ted . Accep tabil ity o f each sys tem , to the cus tomer and to the indu s try , was predic ted by the pane l on the bas is of dr iveab i l i ty , s afe ty , s tar t ing character is t ic s , ma inta inab i l i ty , no ise , co s t , fuel economy, and many o ther fac tors . Some o f the s e de termina t ions were made in cooperat ion with o ther pane l s . 1 . 2. 4 Manufac tur ing and Produc ib ili ty This panel was concerned wi th the manufac turab i l i ty o f low­ emi s s ion sys tems and the ir components . The e f for t was no t l imi ted to the technical pos s ib i l ity o f bu ild ing one or a few sys tems; the techno­ logical feas ib i l i ty of produc ing mil l ions of sys tems in 1975 and 1976 was determ ined . Th is s tudy inc l uded such cons iderations as produc ibil i ty , tool ing , lead t ime, and cos t s . The work o f this panel was direc ted toward he l p ing the Commit tee determine, as s pecified in paragraph B2 of the S ta tement o f Work, whether, wi thin the automobile indus try or e l s ewhere , there was a capab il i ty to mas s - produce an eng ine , contro l sy s tem , or device capab le of mee t ing the emis s ion standards . - 10 - Digitized byGoogle

1. 2.5 Dr iveab i l i ty The mis s ion o f this pane l was to appra ise the driveab i l i ty o f veh ic l e s powered by cand idate engine sys tems . Good dr iveabi l i ty i s loo s e ly def ined as the ab i l i ty of a veh ic le t o s tar t , operate, and s top smoo thly under a l l environmental and operating cond i t ions , without s ta l l s , s urges , hes itations , af ter- fir ing , and o ther unde s irab le charac ­ teris tics . There has been cons iderab le te s t imony expres s ing op inions that some of the emis s ion- contro l sys tems , es pec ial ly if no t properly main­ tained , would serious ly affec t the safe ty of the car, no t only relative to its occupants , but also re lative to o ther vehicles in traffic . Thus , a s s e s s ing dr iveabil ity i s an important a spec t of de termining the feas ib i l i ty o f us ing a given sys tem or engine . The work of this panel was done in conj unc t ion with that o f the Pane l on Emis s ion-Contro l Sys tems . 1. 2.6 Catalys ts The CMVE organized this pane l when it became apparent that the durab i l i ty of many proposed emis s ion-control system s is c lo sely tied to cataly s t performance . Th is pane l analyzed act ivity and dura­ b i l i ty of bo th oxidation and reduc t ion catalys t s for emi s s ion-contro l sys tems . The ma j or cau s e s of cataly s t failure dur ing vehic l e operat ion were examined . The e ffect on cataly s t deteriora t ion of the level of poisons in gas o l ine such as lead, s u l fur , and phos phorus was s tud ied , as was the e ffec t of over- temperature on catalys t ac tivi ty . Availab i l i ty of catalytic mater ia l s and pos s ib l e toxic ity prob lems assoc iated with the use of cer tain catalys ts were also inve s t igated . - 11 - Digitized byGoogle

1 . 2. 7 Emi s s ion S tandards and Atmospheric Chemis try The work o f the Pane l s on Emi s s ion S tandards and Atmo s pher ic Chemis try was assoc iated with the requirement in the or ig inal work s tatement concerning recommendat ion by the Academy of techno logic a l ly feas ib le interim emi s s ion leve l s . The ma j or concern was with inter� leve l s for the 1976 s tandards, in the event tha t achievement of such s tandards was to be delayed a year . For the 1976 s tandards, oxides o f n itrogen (NO ) mus t be contro l led in X addit ion to hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO ) ; procedures that reduce NO do not nec e s s ar i ly reduce HC and CO, and may increas e them. X There are many s e t s o f techno logica l ly feas ib le leve l s o f the three p o l lutants that the Commit tee might recommend . Thus, the se two pane ls have s tudied the various pos s ib i l i t ies and tradeo ffs . The Pane l on Atmo s pheric Chemis try de termined , from the l a te s t available data, the relat ionship be tween ambient concentra t ions o f HC and NO nec e s s ary to cause unde s irab le leve l s o f oxidant produc t ion. X The Pane l on Emis s ion S tandards used these da ta, along with des irab le air-qua l i ty goa l s for CO and NO , and deve loped corre s pond ing mo tor x veh i c l e emis s ion l evel s . Each o f the pane l s has devo ted cons iderab le time and effor t to the work of the Commi t tee . S ome of the panel members have g iven vir tu­ a l ly ful l - t �e e f fort to Commi ttee work. Thes e pane l s have traveled extens ive ly and probed deeply in the ir at temp t s to bring be fore the Commit tee the ma terial and informat ion needed for the Comm i t tee to reach the j udgment s cal led for in the leg i s l a t ion . Pane l vis i t s have been made to dome s t ic and fore ign automobile manufac turers, to dome s tic and fore ign catalys t supp l ier s , to the EPA and other government labora­ tories, to independent research laborator ie s, to s ta te and local agenc ie s c oncerned with the prob lems o f enforc ing emis s ion s tandards, to thos e - 12 - Digitized byGoogle

carrying ou t research and deve l o pment on many types o f a l ternate power p l ants , to o il companies , and to many o ther s . A l is t o f companie s and individua l s vis i ted or o therwise contac ted by CMVE personne l is g iven in Append ix C . In each vis i t, pane l members have endeavored to ensure the time l ines s and val id i ty of the data furnished to them . Pane l vis its have invo lved discus s ions with pers onnel ranging from top management to working technic ians and eng ineers . The pane l s have reported per iod ical ly to the parent Commit tee on their progres s . C lose contac t has been maintained be tween the pane l s and the C omm i t tee, t o ensure that the pane l s were s tre s s ing the nece s s ary top ical areas in the ir inve s t igat ions . Panel ac tivities term inated with the s ubmis s ion o f final wr i t ten pane l repor ts to the Comm i t tee . 1.3 O ther Means of Ob taining Informat ion The C omm i t tee has attemp ted to s o l ic i t per t inent informa t ion from the general pub l ic . Ann ouncements have been p l aced in the Federal Reg is ter reques t ing informa tion with res pec t to techno log ical feas ib il i ty . Descrip tions o f the s e announcements are inc luded a s Append ix D . F inal ly, the Comm i t tee as a who le vis ited General Mo tors and Ford in De troit on May 18 and 19, 197 2, to ge t a f ir s t-hand view o f the e fforts o f two o f the l arger manu fa c turers toward mee t ing the emi s s ion s tandards . Vis its by s e l ec ted members o f the Comm i t tee were made to o ther manufac turers . The j udgments o f the C omm i t tee to be pres ented in th i s repor t necessar ily rely upon the information rece ived us ing the var iou s sources mentioned above . The Committee be l ieve s tha t i t ha s had presented to it su ffic ient informa t ion upon wh ich to base its j udgments . - 13 - Digitized byGoogle

F inal reports o f the CMVE pane l s are be ing prepared as technical pub l ications and will be made available to the pub l ic by the Na t ional Research Counc i l . O ther pert inent information wil l be maintained as a pub l ic record in the f iles o f the CMVE . - 14 - Digitized byGoogle

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