Air Quality

Monitoring

http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/16-254-
XIE/2007000/tablesgraphs/figure3-en.htm

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 Air Quality Monitoring
 Monitoring Considerations
• Manual vs. automated (real-time, continuous) monitoring
• Sampling time
• Federal reference method (FRM) vs. equivalent method (EM)
 Monitoring of Ambient Air Pollutants
• SO2, NOx, CO, O3
• Hydrocarbons
• PM10, PM2.5
 Source Sampling and Monitoring
• Sampling train
• Isokinetic sampling
 Quality Assurance Programs
• Quality Assurance
• Quality Control
 Air Quality Monitoring Network

What’s the use of ambient air quality monitoring data?

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 Monitoring Considerations
• Sampling location: limited number of fixed site
monitors whose locations reflect objectives of air
quality monitoring program
What are the objectives?

Examples of criteria for selecting ambient sampling locations?

• Lower limit of detection (LOD): a sufficient amount
of pollutant must be collected, f(sampling rate,
duration)
– Integrated sampling vs. real-time sampling
– Area sampling vs. personal sampling
• Collection efficiency of the instrument:
– Low flow rate for gas-phase contaminants (< 1 L/min)
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 National Ambient Air Quality Standards
Pollutant Primary Stds. Averaging Times Secondary Stds.
CO 9 ppm (10 mg/m3) 8-hour(1) None

35 ppm (40 mg/m3) 1-hour(1) None

Pb 1.5 µg/m3 Quarterly Ave Same as Primary
NO2 0.053 ppm (100 µg/m3) Annual (Arith. Mean) Same as Primary

PM10 Revoked(2) Annual(2) (Arith. Mean)

150 µg/m3 24-hour(3)
PM2.5 15.0 µg/m3 Annual(4) (Arith. Mean) Same as Primary
35 µg/m3 24-hour(5)
O3 0.08 ppm 8-hour(6) Same as Primary
0.12 ppm 1-hour(7) (Applies only in Same as Primary
limited areas)
SO2 0.03 ppm Annual (Arith. Mean) -------
0.14 ppm 24-hour(1) -------
------- 3-hour(1) 0.5 ppm (1300 µg/m3)

http://www.epa.gov/air/criteria.html
Why different durations?
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 Federal Reference Methods for Criteria Pollutants

Pollutant Reference Method

SO2 Spectrophotometry (pararosanilne method)

NO2 Gas-phase chemiluminescence

CO Nondispersive infrared photometry

O3 Chemiluminescence

NMHCs Gas chromatography – FID (flame ionization detection)

PM10 Performance-approved product

PM2.5 Performance-approved product

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 SO2
EM – UV Fluorescence
1) UV light excites SO2 to a higher energy state
SO2 + hv1  SO2*
2) Decay of the excited SO2*, emitting a characteristic radiation
SO2*  SO2 + hv2

www.cse.polyu.edu.hk/~airlab/so2.jpg

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 NO – NO2 – NOx
FRM – Gas-Phase Chemiluminescence
Chemiluminescence: emission of light
from electronically excited chemical
species formed in chemical reactions.
NO + O3  NO2* + O2
NO2*  NO2 + hv

Measurement of NO2: conversion of NO2 to

NO, and subsequent measurement by
chemiluminescence.
2NO2 + Mo  3 NO + MoO3

Possible interference: N-containing

compounds  higher measured NO2

EM – FT- IR Spectrometry www.k2bw.com/images/chem.gif

Can you design an instrument that can measure the

concentration of both NO and NO2 in the air?
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 CO
FRM – Nondispersive Infrared (NDIR) spectrometry
CO strongly absorbs infrared energy at certain wavelengths.

Detection device: two cylindrical cells, a sample and a reference cell.

Difference in infrared energy in the two cells  concentration of CO

CO

Sample Reference
Cell ~ IR ~ Cell

Detection
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 O3
FRM – Chemiluminescence
Light emissions produced on reaction of O3 with ethylene (C2H4).

C2H4 flammable – replaced by Rhodamine B dye embedded in a disk

Rhodamine B does not attain a stable baseline rapidly after exposure to O3

EM – UV Photometry
Absorption of UV light (254 nm) by O3 and subsequent use of
photometry to measure the reduction of UV energy
O3

UV light (254 nm) Detector

What would cause an

O3
interference on a UV
photometry O3 monitor?
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 NMHCs
FRM – Gas Chromatography - FID

Intensity
Time

Stationary and mobile phases

GC-Detector:
Generate an electronic signal when a gas other than the carrier gas elutes from the column.

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 NMHC
• FID – Flame Ionization Detection:
– Combustion of organic substances
– Positive ions (+) and electrons (-) are formed when
burned – change in current
− Mass sensitive rather than
concentration sensitive

http://teaching.shu.ac.uk/hwb/chemistry/tutorials/chrom/gaschrm.htm
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 Particulate Pollutants
• Impaction and filtration are the
primary PM collection principles
• Measure the weight of exposed
and clean filters
• High-volume sampler (Hi-Vol)
• Typical sampling duration – 24 h
Animation –
PM10 Sampler PM10 Impactor
• Remove particles > 10 µm by
impaction on a greased surface
• Particles < 10 µm collected on a
quartz glass fiber filter
What does the PM10 sampler
PM10 sampler with size-selective inlet measure? Number or mass
http://www.recetox.muni.cz/images/airsag/PM10.jpg concentration of particles?

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 Continuous Emission Monitoring (CEM)
• Certain utilities and industrial sources are required
to measure stack emission continuously
• SO2, NO2, opacity, CO2, TRS, H2S, Hg

Opacity
• Compare plume darkness to
Ringlemann chart by trained
smoke readers
• Averages of measurements of ¼
or ½ minute over an hour
• Simple, low cost, legal
acceptance
Ringlemann chart

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 Calibration
• Often used for adjusting bias-type errors
• Measured values are compared to standard reference
values (for pollutant concentration) or standard airflow
measuring techniques/devices (for volume air flow)
• Primary vs. secondary standard for flow: traceable to
the National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST)
– Primary: bubble meter
– Secondary: wet or dry test meters calibrated by bubble meter
• Gas standards: traceable to a NIST reference material
– CO, SO2, NO2, NO: available in cylinder gas or permeation tubes
– O3: NIST certified O3 generator

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 Air Quality Monitoring Network
State and Local Air Monitoring Stations (SLAMS)
• Highest pollutant concentrations
• Representative concentrations in areas of high population density
• Impact of major emission sources
• Regional background concentrations
• Extent of pollutant transport among populated areas
• Welfare-related impacts in more rural and remote areas

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