Modelling of future year emissions control scenarios for the Lower Fraser Valley: Impacts of natural gas and propane vehicle technologies

The MC2–CALGRID photochemical modeling system is used to simulate the impact of two fuel substitution scenarios on ozone levels for a future year in the Lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada. The relative impacts of selected natural gas and propane vehicle technologies are compared for the year 2005. The chosen natural gas technology imposes large reductions in nonmethane hydrocarbon emissions with moderate reductions in nitrogen oxide emissions, while the propane technology greatly lowers nitrogen oxide emissions with only small changes to nonmethane hydrocarbon emissions.

The model results showed that replacing the entire light-duty gasoline car and truck fleet with the selected natural gas vehicle technology in the year 2005 in the Canadian portion of the Lower Fraser Valley yielded significant benefits in terms of reducing potential exposures to elevated ozone levels in suburban and rural areas. Sites closer to the urban core were less affected. For the propane fuel substitution, benefits were realized in terms of lowering ozone concentrations and ozone exposures in the rural areas. Within the urban and suburban areas, ozone exposures tended to increase. The exposures to peroxyacetyl nitrate were universally smaller in the alternative fuel scenarios.

The nature of an effective control strategy for the Lower Fraser Valley is discussed, and it is suggested that in addition to the propane fuel substitution, moderate controls on the primary NOx sources in conjunction with moderate nonmethane hydrocarbon controls could be the preferred route to lower ozone exposures.