Urban airshed modeling of air quality impacts of alternative transportation fuel use in Los Angeles and Atlanta

The main objective of NREL in supporting this study is to determine the relative air quality impact of the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) as an alternative transportation fuel when compared to low Reid vapor pressure (RVP) gasoline and reformulated gasoline (RFG). A table lists the criteria, air toxic, and greenhouse gas pollutants for which emissions were estimated for the alternative fuel scenarios. Air quality impacts were then estimated by performing photochemical modeling of the alternative fuel scenarios using the Urban Airshed Model Version 6.21 and the Carbon Bond Mechanism Version IV (CBM-IV) (Geary et al., 1988) Using this model, the authors examined the formation and transport of ozone under alternative fuel strategies for motor vehicle transportation sources for the year 2007. Photochemical modeling was performed for modeling domains in Los Angeles, California, and Atlanta, Georgia