Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Air Filter Contamination on Exhaust Emissions in a Spark-Ignition Internal Combustion Engine

In this study, the effects of air filter contamination levels on exhaust emissions in a spark-ignition internal combustion engine were experimentally investigated. The experiments were conducted under three different air filter conditions: clean, moderately dirty, and dirty, and at engine speeds of approximately 1000, 2000, 3000, and 4000 min-1. As part of the experimental measurements, CO, HC, CO2, and O2 emissions were measured using an exhaust gas analyzer.Experimental results have shown that air filter contamination has a significant effect on emissions, particularly at low engine speeds. Under dirty air filter conditions, CO and HC emissions were found to increase by approximately 10-15% and 20-30%, respectively, at low and medium speeds. As engine speed increased, CO emissions decreased by approximately 45-60% and HC emissions decreased by approximately 40-50%, depending on the filter condition. CO2 emissions were found to increase with speed and reached values approximately 10% higher at 4000 min-1 under clean air filter conditions. In contrast, O2 emissions were found to decrease with increasing engine speed under all filter conditions. This demonstrates that air filter maintenance is a parameter that should be considered in terms of emission control and reducing environmental impacts under real-world operating conditions.