MEASUREMENT OF CONCENTRATION OF DIFFERENT AIR POLLUTANTS

The different air pollutants present in air are Sulphur dioxide, suspended particulate matter
(PM10 and PM2.5), Carbon monoxide, NOx , Volatile organic compounds, etc.
They are discussed below.
1) Sulphur Dioxide (SO2)
So2 predominantly from the combustion of sulfur containing fuels. Its atmospheric
distribution and temporal variation is strongly dependent on the nature of the fuel and the
location of combustion. In developed countries, emissions of sulfur dioxide tend to be
predominantly from major point sources such as power stations burning coal or oil,
industrial combustion plants and sulfuric acid works. In less developed countries, much coal
is still burnt in poorly controlled sources, which is major cause of Sulphur dioxide emission.
METHOD TO MEASURE CONCENTRATION OF SO2
By far the most widely used instrumental technique for analysis of sulfur dioxide is the gas
phase fluorescence instrument. Air is drawn continuously through a cell in which it is
irradiated by light of wavelength in the region of 214 nm. This causes fluorescence, the
intensity of which is related to the sulfur dioxide concentration. Potential interference from
quenching of the SO 2 fluorescence by water vapour and from hydro- carbons capable of
fluorescence of the same wavelength as SO 2 is overcome in commercial instruments by
incorporation of diffusion dryers and hydrocarbon scrubbers. The instrument measures
down to 1 ppb or less of sulfur dioxide with a response time of around one minute.

2) Suspended Particulate Matter

a) PM10
This is the fraction of particles passing an inlet with a 50% cut-off efficiency at an aero-
dynamic diameter of 10 µm. The PM10 fraction includes the majority of atmospheric
particles, excluding only the upper end of the coarse range of particles. In some
environments, especially very dusty ones.
the high-volume sampler has been in use for many years for measuring the total suspended
particles. But the latest instruments are now fitted with a size-selective inlet so as to
measure PM10. Particles passing the PM10 inlet are collected on a pre-weighed filter paper,
typically of glass fibre or quartz, which is again weighed after collecting particles for 24
hours at a rate of around 1 m3 per minute. Because of the presence of hygroscopic salts in
the airborne particles, there are protocols requiring equilibration of the filters at constant
temperature and low relative humidity prior to weighing.
Dichotomous samplers are also used widely in north America. Air drawn into these
instruments is divided into two streams at a virtual impactor. One stream of air continues in
a straight line with the incoming air and carries coarse particles by virtue of their inertia
onto the coarse filter. The second stream of air diverts at right angles from the inlet stream
and carries only fine particles, which are collected on the fine particle filter. The coarse
particle filter collects also fine particles at the concentration present in the air, but these can
be subtracted on the basis of measurements from the fine filter.

b) PM2.5
Continuous measurements of PM2.5 mass concentration with a response time of around 15
min can be achieved using the tapered element oscillating microbalance sampler. In this
instrument air is drawn in through PM2.5 inlet and is pre-heated to 50ᵒ C to drive water out
of the particles. The dried particles are collected on a small filter which is attached to the
vibrating element of an oscillating microbalance. The vibrational frequency changes with the
accumulation of particles and is determined continuously. Inter-comparison studies have
shown that the TEOM generally gives lower measurements than the high-volume sampler
due to the loss of semi-volatile materials during the pre-heating stage.

3) Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx)

The measurement of these species is made more complex because they are present in the
atmosphere as both nitric oxide, NO, and nitrogen dioxide, NO 2. The two compounds may
interconvert on a timescale of seconds in response to changes in sunshine or ozone
concentration. Whilst emissions of NO x are predominantly in the form of nitric oxide,
nitrogen dioxide predominates in all but the most polluted environments, and this is the
more toxic compound which is the subject of air quality standards. The main source of
emissions is high-temperature combustion, with nitric oxide being formed predominantly
from combination of atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen.
The universally adopted instrumental method for measuring oxides of nitrogen makes use
of the chemiluminescent analyzer. The method is based on measurement of the light
emission from the chemiluminescent reaction between nitric oxide in the air and ozone
generated within the instrument. A typical instrument for ambient air measurements is
capable of measuring down to 1 ppb with a response time of under a minute. The
instruments typically operate in two modes which may function alternately with one
reaction chamber or simultaneously with two reaction chambers. In one mode ambient air
is passed directly to the reaction chamber for mixture with ozone, and the nitric oxide (NO)
content is measured directly. In the other mode, known as the NOx mode, the air is passed
through a heated stainless steel or molybdenum converter before reaching the reaction
chamber. The converter is designed to convert NO2 to NO, and hence the instrument
measures NOx. Nitrogen dioxide is determined by difference between the readings in the
two modes.
Many nitrogen dioxide measurements are nowadays made using an inexpensive technique
based on the diffusion tube. The apparatus consists of a straight hollow tube of length about
7 cm and internal diameter 1 cm, closed at one end, which is placed vertically upwards with
the open end at the bottom. Inside the closed end is a metal grid coated with
triethanolamine, which acts as an adsorber and perfect sink for nitrogen dioxide. The rate at
which nitrogen dioxide is collected by the triethanolamine is determined by the ambient air
concentration of nitrogen dioxide, which moves through the tube by molecular diffusion. At
the end of the sampling period, typically of 1 or 2 weeks, the collected nitrite is analyzed to
estimate the nitrogen dioxide concentration.

4) Carbon Monoxide