Development and evaluation of vehicular air pollution inventory model

Estimating emissions by road traffic is a key-issue for air pollution management in many regions. Emission models are important tools to help compute vehicular exhausts. There are several vehicular emission models available worldwide, though most of them have been developed in countries with advanced economies. Due to substantial differences in conditions and available datasets, application of these models in developing countries like India might be misleading. To bridge the gap between the available models and the tools needed in developing countries, the Vehicular Air Pollution emission Inventory (VAPI) model has been developed and evaluated. The proposed VAPI model is based on a simple approach incorporating emission factors and correction factors. This model can be used for estimating emissions for exhaust, evaporative and non-exhaust conditions in Indian cities. The temporal trend of emission estimates calculated with the VAPI model show reasonable agreement with ambient air concentrations monitored at locations significantly influenced by vehicular activity.