Impact of Electric Vehicles on Indirect Carbon Emissions and the Role of Engine Posttreatment Emission Control Strategies

Electricity generation in developing countries is dependent on fossil fuel-based thermal power plants, and the introduction of electric vehicles will only shift the threat of emissions from the operation stage to the energy generation stage. India is one of the developing countries in South Asia where fossil fuel-based power plants make major contributions to electricity generation. In this paper, a detailed review of the challenges faced by electric vehicles is discussed, and an analysis was conducted on the equivalent C emissions from electric vehicles by considering 3 scenarios in India: 1) current electricity generation, 2) power generation considering the installed capacity, and 3) Vision 2022. Based on these 3 scenarios, the main objectives of this work are to understand the potential of electric vehicles to reduce the overall C emissions after considering the indirect C emissions from electricity generation and to highlight the importance of emission control techniques. Experimental investigations of the conversion efficiency of diesel oxidation catalysis (DOC) systems have been conducted for comparative studies. The results of the analysis showed that the indirect C emissions from electric vehicles are higher than the C emissions from internal combustion engines for scenarios 1 and 2. In scenario 3, the C emissions from electric and fossil fuel-powered vehicles are found to be in the same range. The DOC system had an average conversion efficiency of 56% for hydrocarbons and 59% for particle number emissions. The posttreatment emission control systems in internal combustion engines will be the best possible solution, compared to electric vehicles, for reducing overall vehicular emissions until renewable energy sources have a major share in electricity generation. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2020;16:234-244. © 2019 SETAC.