The Santiago de Chile diesel particle filter program for buses of public urban transport

Ministerio del Medio Ambiente (MMA) 2 This document has been drafted by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and its experts, and has been thoroughly reviewed, discussed and revised by the Chilean environmental authorities. 3 Preface As in many cities in the world, for more than 3 decades Santiago de Chile has been suffering serious problems with air quality, particularly with elevated concentrations of particulate matter. Urban transport became the main source of emissions. Particles from diesel engines are of major concern. They are a toxic air contaminant. Especially the ult-rafine particles (nanoparticles) cause severe adverse effects on human health. Moreover, the main component of diesel particles is black carbon: following recent scientific understanding, this is possibly the second-most significant global warming pollutant after carbon dioxide and ahead of methane. For more than two decades, Diesel Particle Filters (DPF) are the best solution and the best available technology to reduce emissions of ultrafine particles from diesel engines. Nowadays, the variety and scale of available DPF technologies is such that technical solutions can be found for all types of engines, driving cycles and operation modes as well as fuel qualities ; whereas in the 1990s, the DPF systems required low sulfur fuel (< 50ppm sulfur content), nowadays quite a few systems are available also for high sulfur fuel. High quality DPF systems achieve emission reductions of ultrafine particles of 99 % and even more. One can even say that such systems not only reduce particle emissions, but also actually eliminate them. Thus, regulations, emission standards and economic instruments implying Diesel Particle Filter (DPF) applications for new heavy duty vehicles and retrofit of in-use heavy duty vehicles are highly impact oriented , very effectively reduce health costs of air pollution and achieve quick wins for the mitigati-on of climate change. The good operation of DPF systems has been demonstrated in tens of thousands of buses, trucks, construction machines and other applications. Nevertheless , before the start of the Santiago de Chi-le DPF Program, most of the DPF development and application occurred in developed countries of the northern hemisphere and practically no experience existed in the southern hemisphere. Thus, rather differently from close replication among European countries, the Chilean experience had to be newly designed in the context of an emerging country and far away from a neighborhood of natural dissemination processes. The program was conceived and developed on the background …