A.

Emissions of exhaust gases

Presently, shop grade analyzers are capable of measuring from as few as two exhaust gasses, HC and CO, to as many as five. The five gasses measured (for petrol emissions) by the latest technology exhaust analyzers are: HC, CO, CO2, O2 and NOX. All five of these gasses, especially O2 and CO2, are excellent troubleshooting tools. In troubleshooting, always remember the combustion chemistry equation: Fuel (hydrogen, carbon, sulphur) + Air (nitrogen, oxygen) = Carbon dioxide + water vapor + oxygen + carbon monoxide + hydrocarbon + oxides of nitrogen + sulphur oxides. The idea is to properly burn up all the petrol and not have any "leftovers". Into the combustion chamber we put petrol, symbolized by 'HC' for hydrocarbons. These are combinations of hydrogen and carbon atoms. We also add lots of air, which contains oxygen. Normal air is about 20.7% oxygen. The air we add to the combustion chamber is mainly nitrogen, about 78%. This doesn't burn; it just goes along for the ride and expands with the heat, helping to push down the piston. Coming out of the combustion chamber we have carbon dioxide, water and nitrogen. The carbon dioxide is symbolized CO2. It's good, in that plants like it and it doesn't hurt us, but is blamed too much for global warming. The water is symbolized by H2O. And then good combustion also puts out all the nitrogen that came in. Good combustion is simply put this way: HC + O2 + N2 = H2O + CO2 + N2. Ideally, what we want is to convert all the Fuel and Air that enters the engine in to Water and Nitrogen! Bad Combustion is where the wrong things happen, and the by-products of combustion produce gases which contribute to air pollution or other problems. The Complete Combustion is impossible to obtain even with the best tuned engines! So in practice we are left with Incomplete Combustion and an obsolete engine design. One example of Incomplete Combustion is raw gasoline (HC) which goes in, then comes out, and isn't burnt up in the process. Another example is Carbon Monoxide (CO). It doesn't create smog, but it's deadly, so you don't want it around. A third example is Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx). It helps create out brown smog. These are all a problem and we are soon going to talk about them in more detail. 1. Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) emissions Sulphur dioxide is sometimes created during the combustion process from the small amount of sulphur present in gasoline. During certain conditions the catalyst oxidizes sulphur dioxide to make SO3, which then reacts with water to make H2SO4 or sulphuric acid. Finally, when sulphur and hydrogen react, it forms hydrogen sulphide gas. This process creates the rotten egg odor you sometimes smell when following vehicles on the highway. 2. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions Carbon Dioxide, or CO2, is a desirable byproduct that is produces when the carbon from the fuel is fully oxidized during the combustion process. As a general rule, the higher the carbon dioxide reading, the more efficient the engine is operating. Therefore, air/fuel imbalances, misfires, or engine mechanical

problems will cause CO2 to decrease. Remember, Ideal combustion produces large amounts of CO2 and H2O (water vapor). 3. Knocks (NOx) emissions NOx (or nitrogen oxide) is a chemical in automotive exhaust that gets created when the temperature inside a vehicle engine's combustion chamber exceeds 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. It is a pollutant that helps create smog, acid rain and particulate pollution. This can cause health problems for people exposed to it and damage to sensitive ecosystems. 4. Other emissions Oxygen (O2) readings provide a good indication of a lean running engine, since O2 increases with leaner air/fuel mixtures. Generally speaking, O2 is the opposite of CO, that is, O2 indicates leaner air/fuel mixtures while CO indicated richer air/fuel mixture. Lean air/fuel mixture and misfires typically cause high O2 output from the engine. HC = Hydrocarbons, concentration of the exhaust in parts per million (ppm). = Unburned Petrol, represents the amount of unburned fuel due to incomplete combustion exiting through the exhaust. This is a necessary evil. We don't want it so try to keep it as low as possible. An approximate relationship between the percentage of wasted fuel through incomplete combustion and the ppm of HC is about 1/200 ( 1.0% partially burned fuel produces 200 ppm HC, 10%=2000 ppm HC, 0.1%=20 ppm HC ) CO = Carbon Oxide, concentration of the exhaust in percent of the total sample. = Partially Burned Petrol, This is the petrol that has combusted, but not completely. This gas is formed in the cylinders when there is incomplete combustion and an excess of fuel. Therefore excessive CO contents are always a sign of an overly rich mixture preparation. (The CO should have become CO2 but did not have the time or enough O2 to become real CO2 so it is exhausted as CO instead.) CO is HIGHLY POISONOUS ODORLESS GAS! Always work in well ventilated areas! B. Gas Analyser Measurements:

Look closely at this diagram. It represents the Exhaust Gases relationship to the Air/Fuel ratio that enters the engine and the Power output of the engine. As they say a picture says a thousand words. Ideal Air/Fuel Ratio is 14.71/1 (for petrol) and not consequently this is where the CO2 is at about its highest percentage and the HC at its lowest. The Power graph highest point is also almost there, so these should be your guide lines. Also notice that the CO and O2 have almost the same (low) values at the "ideal" point (the gray area on the diagram). Don't forget that all gases relate to one another so if one is out of range it will reflect on the others too.