Emissions from in-use lawn-mowers in Australia

Concern over the levels of pollutants emitted from small engines has led to recent legislation in the United States that regulates exhaust emissions from lawn and garden equipment. Particular attention has focused on the high levels of hydrocarbons emitted by these engines. The present study establishes emission factors for lawn-mowers in use in Australia. The estimates were calculated on the basis of a series of controlled emission tests conducted on commonly used lawn-mowers. Ten two-stroke and six four-stroke lawn-mower engines were operated under simulated power requirements while fuel usage and gas emissions were monitored. Fuel consumption rates from the tests were compared to those ascertained under actual mowing conditions in field tests conducted on 19 two-stroke and ten four-stroke lawn-mowers. Basic emission factors were established for CO, CO2, CH4, NMHC and NOx, and combined with data on machine population and annual usage collected in a survey of lawn care practices and lawn-mower usage conducted in the Newcastle area. When compared to transport sources in the Newcastle study region, lawn-mowers contribute 5.2 and 11.6% of CO and NMHC emissions, respectively.