Abstract:

In Mexico City, according to the city’s emission inventory, roughly half of all fine particulate matter (PM2.5) comes from diesel vehicles. This presentation summarizes the results from a demonstration project to retrofit existing diesel transit buses in Mexico City, and reduce particulate emissions. The project was undertaken by a broad range of government and non-governmental partners to test the effectiveness of advanced emission control technologies for diesel trucks and buses -- currently in use in the U.S. and Europe -- on Mexican buses, in Mexico City’s operating conditions. Partners included the USEPA, Mexico City and its bus company RTP, the Mexican Federal Ministry for Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), the World Resources Institute, and the Mexico City-based Center for Sustainable Transport.

In the Mexico City demonstration project, 20 working buses in the Red de Transporte de Pasajeros del Distrito Federal (RTP) city bus fleet were retrofitted with diesel oxidation catalysts and diesel particulate filters and fueled with ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, containing sulfur levels of less than 15 ppm. Results from emissions testing demonstrate that diesel particulate filters reduced emissions of particulate matter in the retrofitted buses by almost 90 percent . The project demonstrates that it is possible to have extremely clean buses operating in Mexico City, using commercially available technology and ULSD fuel.

The results of the Mexico City Diesel Retrofit Project have contributed to key policy decisions in Mexico and Mexico City, including:
Mexico’s decision, at the beginning of 2006, to move toward ultra-low sulfur fuel, with early implementation along the US-Mexico Border in 2007, in key Mexican cities in 2009, and country-wide in 2010.
The Mexico City Transit Bus Company’s (RTP) decision to replace their older diesel engines with new engines, and to commit to retrofitting its entire fleet with diesel particulate filters, when the fuel is available in Mexico City.

Presentation: http://www.cleanairnet.org/baq2006/1757/docs/SW26_2.ppt