Since the complete renewal of the fleet of diesel vehicles is not possible in the midterm due to a lack of budget, the installation of diesel particulate filters is the only practical strategy to improve air quality in Iran's metropolises, an environmentalist said.
Diesel vehicles are among the main sources of particulate pollution in Iran's large cities, Zistonline reported.
Based on a recent study, from the total amount of particulate matter in Tehran's air, 23% are emitted by large trucks, 4% by minibuses, 12% by urban buses and 18% by intercity coaches, all of which burn diesel. The figures show the key role of diesel in the capital's pollution. Diesel particulate filters are designed to trap soot particles in the exhaust gases released by diesel vehicles and convert them into carbon dioxide during the regeneration phase.
Mehdi Doozandegan, a mechanical engineer and environmental activist, said the filter is nothing new as the instrument has been out since 1994. Iran tested its very first diesel particulate filter back in 2015 with the help of Sharif University of Technology.
"From more than 10 types of diesel particulate filters, four or five were accepted and tentatively installed on urban buses," Doozandegan explained. Last year in September, Iran made DPF a legal requirement for both brand new and secondhand diesel vehicles, but the requirement faced many challenges.
The environmental activist then suggested that the logical solution to tackle the high level of soot generated by diesel vehicles is to replace the highly dilapidated diesel fleet with new DPF-equipped ones and install the filter on the remaining vehicles in operation. Today, around 50 diesel-fueled urban buses in Tehran are equipped with the filter that has reduced soot emissions to 0.001 g / km.
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