Abstract
In this study, the authors assessed the road emissions of several passenger cars using specialised instrumentation, of the PEMS type, to measure particle number emissions in real traffic conditions. The tests were performed on a RDE test route developed and compliant with EU guidelines. The results of the tests were discussed in terms of the direct (created in the internal combustion engine) emission of particulate matter in various road conditions. Additionally, an index was determined that characterizes the number of particles according to their diameter in relation to the content of particles in the air. A characteristic of combustion engines (gasoline, diesel) is that during a cold start of the engine, the concentration of the number of particles with diameters around 100 nm increases more than 200 times (for hybrids—300 times). On this basis, it can be concluded that particle emissions with diameters smaller than 23 nm are significant in motor vehicles powered by combustion engines, regardless of whether they are conventional or hybrid vehicles. The share of particles with diameters less than 5 nm is 66% (for diesel engines) and 40% (for gasoline engines) of all the particles.