Question:
What are the Federal EPA and California C.A.R.B. emissions requirements for small gas engines, specifically small engines used with motorized scooters; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorized_scooter (i.e. GoPed, Bladez, X-Treme Scooters, etc.). I'm looking for the full emissions requirements including the maximum amount of particulates allowed (not sure how that's measured... ppm?) in relation to greenhouse gasses and general pollution and any proposed timeline for heavier restrictions either federally or in California. Any information available to educate motorized scooter consumers about these emissions requirements would also be appreciated.
Answer: I have found a Regulatory Announcment from EPA dated Dec 2003 that I believe contains the answer to your question.
You can access the whole document at http://www.epa.gov/oms/regs/roadbike/420f03044.pdf#search=%22California%20%22Emission%20Standards%22%20scooters%22 I din't provide the California data because as you can see from the comment they are the same. Request for Answer Clarification: Thanks for posting! That's a step in the right direction, but I'm not looking for motorcycle engine emission info. There's a different category for small engines. That's what I need. These small engines are used in lawnmowers, leaf blowers, gas scooters, etc. They are 2stroke or 4stroke and I believe they are designated as 50cc or less in size. The emission requirements are different in California from Federal requirements and I need both. I did some poking around and I believe the greenhouse gasses for which I need emission standards info on are primarily; Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous Oxide (N2O), and secondarily; Hydrofluorocarbons: HFC-23, HFC-125, HFC-134a, HFC-143a, HFC-236fa, and Perfluorocarbons: CF4, C2F6, and Sulfur Hexafluoride. As long as I have the info on the primary gasses... that's fine. If you can find the secondary... more power to ya.I'm also need a couple of other things;
Clarification of Answer : I found the Phase 2 Emission Standards for New Nonroad Spark-Ignition Handheld Engines at or Below 19 Kilowatts and Minor Amendments to Emission Requirements Applicable to Small Spark-Ignition Engines and Marine Spark-Ignition Engines; Final Rule.You can find it at http://epa.gov/otaq/regs/nonroad/equip-ld/hhsfrm/fr24267.pdf I will copy here a summary of the tables,
Request for Answer Clarification Those are good figures. I was hoping for greenhouse gas measurements as well, but I've done some more poking around myself and it looks like greenhouse gas measurements aren't taken on motorized scooters. So, dead end there. Clarification of Answer You can find the categorization of EPA for NonRoad Engines, Equipment and Vehicles at http://epa.gov/otaq/regs/nonroad/
The data I gave you were for the Small Spark-Ignition Engines, you can find the whole list of regulation for Small Ignition Engines at http://epa.gov/otaq/equip-ld.htm Here you will also find a document "Minor Amendments to Emission Requirements Applicable to Small Nonroad Spark-Ignition Engines and Marine Spark-Ignition Engines" http://epa.gov/otaq/regs/nonroad/equip-ld/hhsfrm/f00008.htm In that document there is a section that is titled The weight limit in the definition of "handheld" in the small SI rule I quote from that "Background: Handheld equipment has historically used lightweight two stroke engines which have much higher emissions than the heavier four stroke engines. While the Small SI rule regulates the emissions from both "handheld" and "nonhandheld" engines, it applies less stringent standards to "handheld" engines than to "nonhandheld" engines. To limit the use of two stroke engines to equipment that truly must be "handheld," the Small SI rule provides for equipment weight limits above which a piece of equipment is considered non-handheld and must use an engine which meets the more stringent nonhandheld engine standards. Recently, a manufacturer of handheld equipment pointed out that the current weight limits on handheld equipment prevent the use of lightweight four stroke engines that are intended for handheld equipment and are much cleaner than conventional two stroke engines. Final Rule: We are not changing the weight limits, but in cases where a piece of equipment exceeds the weight limit, the engine will still be eligible for the handheld standards, if the excess weight is directly attributable to the use of a four stroke engine or other clean technology." And in the document http://www.epa.gov/EPA-AIR/1995/July/Day-03/pr-805.txt.html I have found "5. Handheld Engine Qualifications Small SI engines are categorized as either handheld or nonhandheld, depending on the use of the equipment in which the engine is installed. A handheld engine must meet at least one of the following four conditions:
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