Traffic-related Air Pollutants

Module Overview

In this module, you will learn about urban air quality, the formation of traffic emissions, as well as the measurement and modelling of vehicle emissions.  This knowledge is important because transportation contributes to climate change through the emissions of greenhouse gases and causes major health effects through the emissions of air pollutants. 

Learn more about what this module is about:

Learning Outcomes

Introduction to major traffic-related air pollutants

In this section you will:

• Learn about the criteria air contaminants associated with road traffic
• Explore the types of emissions generated from road transport

Combustion and production of air pollutants in vehicle exhaust

In this section, you will: 

• Learn the basics of internal combustion engines
• Understand the role of the air to fuel ratio for pollutant formation 

Modelling Transportation Emissions

In this section, you will: 

• Explore the different approaches to model emissions
• Understand the role of emission factors (EFs) in emission modelling
• Be introduced to operational emission models  

Emissions Monitoring

In this section, you will: 

• Explore different methods to measure vehicle emissions
• Understand the functioning of Portable Emissions Monitoring Systems (PEMS)
• Discover a case study in which PEMS were used to estimate real-world emissions 

Preview this Module

Please note that this preview is intended for exploration purposes only. If you'd like to use this module in one of your courses, to ensure playback and tracking, you must upload the SCORM package (downloadable below) to your institution's Learning Management System (ex. Blackboard, D2L, Moodle, etc).