Effects of fresh lubricant oils on particle emissions emitted by a modern gasoline direct injection passenger car

Particle emissions from a modern turbocharged gasoline direct injection passenger car equipped with a three-way catalyst and an exhaust gas recirculation system were studied while the vehicle was running on low-sulfur gasoline and, consecutively, with five different lubrication oils. Exhaust particle number concentration, size distribution, and volatility were determined both at laboratory and on-road conditions. The results indicated that the choice of lubricant affected particle emissions both during the cold start and warm driving cycles. However, the contribution of engine oil depended on driving conditions being higher during acceleration and steady state driving than during deceleration. The highest emission factors were found with two oils that had the highest metal content. The results indicate that a 10% decrease in the Zn content of engine oils is linked with an 11-13% decrease to the nonvolatile particle number emissions in steady driving conditions and a 5% decrease over the New European Driving Cycle. The effect of lubricant on volatile particles was even higher, on the order of 20%.