THE INFLUENCE OF RENEWAL’S VEHICLE FLEET ON AIR QUALITY IN CURITIBA

Abstract

Vehicles are the main source of air pollutants in urban centers. The most important technologies for the reduction of vehicle pollutants have been the electronic control of fuel injection and the use of catalytic converters in the exhaust system of vehicles. The goal of this work was to evaluate if the renewal of the vehicle fleet altered the air quality in Curitiba. A survey of historical concentrations of air pollutants was performed for the period of 2003 to 2014. It was also carried out the survey of the history of the fleet of vehicles in Curitiba, based on data from the transit department of Paraná (DETRAN-PR). There was a 65% increase in the number of vehicles, which did not result in an increase in the concentration of pollutants. The values of air pollutant concentrations show a decrease over the surveyed period. The conclusion is that the renewal of the fleet provided an improvement of the air quality in Curitiba.