Meeting ozone standards is an aftermarket challenge

Oct. 23, 2015
Once you make such a rule how do you actually get it to result in a reduction of ozone? First, you have to identify the means of reduction and that is the reason for writing this column; to let you know what is almost certainly on its way.

Last summer you may have noticed – if you live in a large city – big prop planes flying overhead at a fairly low level. Many of those were collecting air samples to determine levels of ground level ozone in in air.

The EPA was doing a study and in December of last year they published an extensive report on their findings and their recommendations. I am going to give you a high level view, but if you need some reading to help you sleep you can find the study here.

Ozone is naturally occurring high in our atmosphere and helps to protect living things on Earth from the sun’s harmful rays. When ozone forms at ground level it makes it more difficult to breathe and also causes eye irritation.

Despite reducing the levels of ozone in most areas nationwide, there are a number of non-attainment areas in this country. This is caused because there are more cars on the road than ever and we tend to drive more miles and idle more often.

The EPA is proposing that the parts per million of low level ozone standard be dropped from its current level to somewhere between 60-70ppm, with 65 seemingly the target. My friends in Washington D.C. say that we can expect a final ruling on ozone levels in November. If you want to know more about ozone click here.

Once you make such a rule how do you actually get it to result in a reduction of ozone? First, you have to identify the means of reduction and that is the reason for writing this column; to let you know what is almost certainly on its way.

The key players in creating ground level ozone are hydrocarbons (fuels in their unburned state), nitrogen oxide (NOx), which is a byproduct of high combustion system temperatures where a molecule of nitrogen (78 percent of our atmosphere) and a molecule of oxygen (20 percent of our atmosphere) get stuck together and instead of being inert they become nasty. The final component is sunlight. As these gases rise in the air the sun causes them to create ozone, which drops back down to ground level.

Driving cars and filling them with fuel are the major contributors to these two gasses. Interestingly, enough studies have shown that only about 10 percent of all the cars are “super polluters,” but the challenge has been to identify them.

Now we get down to the policy issue. There are many places around the country that have emissions programs. But if this standard changes it is the belief of those of us who have been studying it that there will be many more non-attainment areas.

In my home state of Colorado we have had a problem with NOx that our emissions repair technicians have learned to resolve to the current standard. In most cases the vehicles are not running badly, but they have a worn out catalytic converter that no longer processes NOx adequately.

The challenge for our parts partners is that they need to be aware and identify replacement parts that will return the vehicle to very close to new output levels. This is what we are dealing with today.

As this kind of ruling rolls out we may have to get even more aggressive in the repair process to get the hydrocarbon and NOx levels down. Carbon deposits, injector spray pattern quality, evaporative emissions, onboard vapor recovery systems that are intended to capture hydrocarbons during refills are all areas that may require more diligence and scrutiny from our technicians.

This also means that someone has to get these technicians to take appropriate training, which is a topic for a whole different time. Taking these kinds of actions is a long-term strategy to make it easier to breathe. Plus, it just might drive a group of repairs that many of us thought were going to go away with the latest onboard diagnostic systems. 

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