Characterization and Mitigation of in-use GHG Emissions from Natural Gas Engines

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Natural gas as an engine fuel carries many benefits relative to traditional fuels, including reduced carbon dioxide, NOx, SOx, and particulate emissions. This, combined with its historically lower cost and Canada's significant domestic reserves, make it an attractive engine fuel for large applications where electrification is not yet possible. Despite these benefits, the net greenhouse impact of natural gas fuelled engines is very sensitive to methane emissions due to its high global warming potential, and must therefore be minimized. This research will quantify the methane emissions from large natural gas engines under real-world operating conditions, as well as develop strategies for their mitigation. For this, a portable, low-cost, robust, and fast methane sensor will be further developed using laboratory engines and ultimately implemented for measurements on real-world engines. The laboratory experiments will also be used to identify relevant methane mitigation strategies, as well assess the influence of engine operating properties and fuel properties. Through this combination of laboratory and field studies, the methane emissions from in-use engines will be assessed, providing policy and decision-makers with the key information required to ensure that natural gas is effectively used as an engine fuel.