China: Heavy-duty: Emissions

Overview

 * Standard type: Conventional pollutant emission limits
 * Regulating body:
 * Nationwide: Ministry of Environmental Protection
 * Regional and Local: Environmental Protection Bureaus
 * Current standard:
 * Nationwide: China IV (similar to Euro IV)
 * Regional and Local: China V (similar to Euro V) in Beijing
 * Future standards:
 * Nationwide: China V adopted but no implementation date
 * Regional and Local: China V expected in additional cities in the coming years; China VI possible in Beijing in 2016
 * Applicability: Heavy-duty vehicles over 3,500 kg, equipped with compression ignition engines or positive ignition natural gas (NG) or (liquified petroleum gas) LPG engines.

History
Emission standards for new heavy-duty truck and bus engines in China follow the European precedent, and are known as China I, II, III, etc. China has historically implemented equivalent Euro emission standards approximately 7-8 years after Europe.

Vehicle emission standards are developed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), then jointly issued by MEP and the Standardization Administration of China (SAC).

The following table presents implementation dates for emission standards for heavy-duty diesel and gasoline vehicles in China.

Sub-national regions and cities in China are permitted to implement vehicle emission standards in advance of the nationwide implementation dates, under two conditions. First, the standard must have already been adopted and issued by the national government. Second, China's State Council, the highest executive body, must grant approval. Beijing has historically led in the advanced implementation of vehicle emission standards, following by Shanghai, Guangzhou, and some other major cities. The following table summarizes the advanced implementation of HDV emission standards in sub-national regions in China:

China IV-V delays

China's regulation GB 17691-2005 specifies the implementation dates for the China III, IV, and V standards. The original implementation dates listed in the standard for China IV were 1/1/2010 for new vehicle type approvals and 1/1/2011 for all vehicle sales and registrations. However, MEP issued two delays to the implementation of the China IV standard, first by one year in December 2010, then by an additional 18 months in January 2012, yielding a new implementation date of 7/1/2013 for all vehicle sales and registrations. The second delay announcement also re-opened type approvals for China III engines. China V implementation, originally scheduled for 2012/2013, has also been delayed, with no new implementation dates yet announced. The stated reason for the delays was the lack of adequate nationwide supply of high quality fuel.

Supplemental test requirement

In January 2014, MEP issued a supplemental standard requiring China IV and V diesel engines for urban buses and service vehicles to be tested over the World Harmonized Transient Cycle. The supplemental standard is intended to prevent excess NOx emissions from China IV and V-certified vehicles.

In 2013, the Beijing EPB released two new supplemental standards for China IV and V heavy-duty vehicles to prevent the excess urban NOx emissions problem.

Limit Values
Emission limits for China III-V are shown in below. Chinese test cycles are based on the European test cycles.

The following provisions apply to emissions of ammonia and nitrogen dioxide:
 * NO2 requirements: OEMs are required to report tailpipe NO2 concentration and NO2 increase level if an oxidation catalyst-based aftertreatment system is used, such as DOC, POC, DPF or NAC.
 * NH3 slip limit: No limit for China IV. For China V, NH3 slip limit is 25 ppm (peak) and 10 ppm (cycle average).

Durability Requirements
Emission durability requirements, including the engine useful life and the minimum aftertreatment testing periods, are shown below. The aftertreatment periods according to HJ 438-2008 are mandatory for type approval and production conformity, while GB 20890-2007 provides a guideline to conduct aftertreatment durability testing during product development.

The GB 20890-2007 standard recommends that after treatment testing be conducted on-vehicle, over the China Heavy-Duty Durability Cycle—Vehicle (C-HDD-V). Alternatively, an engine based durability test can be conducted over the China Heavy-Duty Durability Cycle—Engine (C-HDD-E).

Regulatory Documents
Heavy-duty gasoline vehicles


 * China I/II: GB14762-2002


 * China III/IV: GB14762-2008


 * Crankcase emissions: GB11340-2005


 * Evaporative emissions: GB14763-2005


 * Idling emissions: GB18285-2005


 * Emissions control durability: GB20890-2007 (includes diesel)

Heavy-duty diesel vehicles


 * China I/II: GB17691-2001


 * China III/IV/V: GB17691-2005 (China IV for heavy-duty diesels extended first by one year and then by an additional 18 months)


 * Exhaust smoke: GB3847-2005