Thomas W. Kirchstetter
QUANTIFYING EMISSIONS FROM DIESEL TRUCKS: PERFORMANCE AND DURABILITY OF PARTICLE FILTERS AND SELECTIVE CATALYTIC REDUCTION TECHNOLOGIES
Diesel engines are major sources of black carbon (BC), a major constituent of particulate matter (PM) emitted in diesel exhaust, and nitrogen oxides (NOx). To reduce these emissions and their associated adverse effects on human health and the environment, new heavy-duty diesel trucks sold in the U.S. are typically equipped with diesel particle filter (DPF) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems. Similar approaches are being used in other parts of the world to control diesel engine emissions. Nationwide, reductions in emissions are expected to occur over a time scale of several decades, as new trucks equipped with these emission control systems replace older, higher emitting trucks. California has mandated a more rapid transition to cleaner engines by first requiring the retrofit or replacement of older diesel drayage trucks that serve ports and rail yards beginning in 2010, followed by the modernization of the on-road heavy-duty truck fleet operating statewide beginning in 2012.
UC Berkeley's Kirchstetter, Harley, and Preble are leading research to measure the in-use performance and durability of particle filters and selective catalytic reduction on heavy-duty diesel trucks, and to verify the emission benefits, as well as unintended consequences, of California’s retrofit/replacement policies. Postdoctoral researcher Chelsea Preble (shown in instrumented research van below) recently published three papers that show marked reductions in black carbon and nitrogen oxide emissions but increases in emissions of nitrogen dioxide, nitrous oxide, and ammonia associated with increasing use of DFP and SCR technologies, as well as evidence that a small fraction of trucks contribute the majority of pollution emitted from all in-use highway trucks.
Selected publications:
Preble, CV; Harley, RA; Kirchstetter, TW (2019) Control Technology-Driven Changes to In-Use Heavy-Duty Diesel Truck Emissions of Nitrogenous Species and Related Environmental Impacts, Environ. Sci. Technol., doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b04763
Preble, CV; Cados, TE; Harley, RA; Kirchstetter, TW (2018) In-use performance and durability of particle filters on heavy-duty diesel trucks, Environ. Sci. Technol., doi: 10.1021/acs.est.8b02977
Preble, CV, Dallmann, TR; Kreisberg, NM; Hering, SV; Harley, RA; Kirchstetter, TW (2015) Effects of particle filters and selective catalytic reduction on heavy-duty diesel drayage truck emissions at the Port of Oakland, Environ. Sci. Technol., doi:10.1021/acs.est.5b01117
Dallmann, TR; Onasch, TB; Kirchstetter, TW; Worton, DR; Fortner, EC; Herndon, SC; Wood, EC; Franklin, JP; Worsnop, DR; Goldstein, AH; Harley, RA (2014) Characterization of particulate matter emissions from on-road gasoline and diesel vehicles using a soot particle aerosol mass spectrometer, Atmos. Chem. Phy. Discuss, doi: 10.5194/acpd-14-4007-2014.




Selected publications:
Caubel, JJ; Cados, TE; Prevle, CV; Kirchstetter, TW (2019) Distributed Network of 100 Black Carbon Sensors for 100 Days of Air Quality Monitoring in West Oakland, California, Environ. Sci. Technol., doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b00282
Caubel, JJ; Cados, TE; Kirchstetter, TW (2018) A New Black Carbon Sensor for Dense Air Quality Monitoring Networks, Senosrs, 18, 738
Apte, JS; Messier, KP; Gani, S; Brauer, M; Kirchstetter, TW; Lunden, MM; Marshall, JD; Portier, CJ; Vermeulen, RCH; Hamburg, SP (2017) High-resolution air pollution mapping with Google Street View cars: exploiting big data, Environ. Sci. Technol., doi: 10.1021/acs.est.7b00891
Related information:
https://www.edf.org/media/study-web-sensors-shows-how-pollution-varies-over-space-and-time
https://www.edf.org/airqualitymaps/oakland/study-shows-how-pollution-changes-over-space-and-time

The research team is quantifying emissions of greenhouse gases, odorous compounds, and other air pollutants associated with anaerobic digestion, conversion of biogas to electricity, and composting processes; conducting life-cycle cost, energy and greenhouse gas assessments to enable maximum economic and environmental performance of waste-to-energy facilities; and evaluating policy and economic barriers that inhibit scale-up and additional net energy export.
Selected publications:
Satchwell, AJ; Scown, CD; Smith, SJ; Amirebrahimi, J; Jin, L; Kirchstetter, TW; Brown, NJ; Preble, CV (2018) Accelerating the Deployment of Anaerobic Digestion to Meet Zero Waste Goals, Environ. Sci. Technol., doi: 10.1021/acs.est.8b04481

Preble, CV; Hadley, OL; Gadgil, AJ; Kirchstetter, TW (2014) Emissions and climate-relevant optical properties of pollutants emitted from a Three-Stone Fire and the Berkeley-Darfur Stove tested under laboratory conditions, Environ. Sci. Technol., doi:10.1021/es5002715.
Sleiman, M; Kirchstetter, TW; Berdahl, P; Gilbert, HE; Quelen, S; Marlot, L; Preble, C; Chen, S; Montalbano, A; Rosseler, O; Akbari, H; Levinson, R; Destaillats, H (2014) Soiling of building envelope surfaces and its effect on solar reflectance - Part II: Development of an accelerated aging method for roofing materials, SOLMAT, 122, 271-281, doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2013.11.028.
Scarnato, B; Vahidinia, S; Richard, DT; Kirchstetter, TW (2013): Effects of internal mixing and aggregate morphology on optical properties of black carbon using a discrete dipole approximation model, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 5089-5101, doi:10.5194/acp-13-5089-2013.
Kirchstetter, TW; Thatcher, TL (2012) Contribution of organic carbon to wood smoke particulate matter absorption of solar radiation, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 1-6, doi:10.5194/acp-12-1-2012.
Hadley, OL; Kirchstetter, TW (2012) Black carbon snow albedo reduction, Nature Climate Change, 2, 437-440, doi: 10.1038/NCLIMATE1433.
Kirchstetter, TW; Novakov, T; Hobbs, PV. (2004) Evidence that spectral light absorption by aerosols emitted from biomass burning and motor vehicles is different due to organic carbon, J. Geophys. Res., 109, D21208, doi:10.1029/2004JD004999.

Selected publications:
Kirchstetter, TW; Preble, CV; Hadley, OL; Bond, TC; Apte, JS (2017) Large reductions in urban black carbon concentrations in the United States between 1965 and 2000, Atmos. Environ., 151, 17-23, doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv 2016.11.001
Kirchstetter, TW; Aguiar, J; Tonse, S; Novakov, T; Fairley, D. (2008) Black carbon concentrations and diesel vehicle emission factors derived from coefficient of haze measurements in California: 1967-2003. Atmos. Environ., 42, 480-491.
Novakov, T.; Ramanathan, V.; Hansen, J.; Kirchstetter, T.W.; Sinton, J.E.; Sathaye, J.A. (2003) Large historical changes of fossil-fuel black carbon aerosols. Geophys. Res. Letters, 30, 10.1029/2002GL016345.