Diesel exhaust nanoparticles and their behaviour in the atmosphere.

Diesel engine emissions are by far the largest source of nanoparticles in many urban atmospheres, in which they dominate the particle number count, and may present a significant threat to public health. This paper reviews knowledge of the composition and atmospheric properties of diesel exhaust particles, and exemplifies research in this field through a description of the FASTER project (Fundamental Studies of the Sources, Properties and Environmental Behaviour of Exhaust Nanoparticles from Road Vehicles) which studied the size distribution-and, in unprecedented detail, the chemical composition-of nanoparticles sampled from diesel engine exhaust. This information has been systematized and used to inform the development of computational modules that simulate the behaviour of the largely semi-volatile content of the nucleation mode particles, including consequent effects on the particle size distribution, under typical atmospheric conditions.

The characterisation of diesel exhaust particles - composition, size distribution and partitioning.

A number of major research questions remain concerning the sources and properties of road traffic generated particulate matter. A full understanding of the composition of primary vehicle exhaust aerosol and its contribution to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation still remains elusive, and many uncertainties exist relating to the semi-volatile component of the particles. Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs) are compounds which partition directly between the gas and aerosol phases under ambient conditions.