Air Quality Monitoring

Dr Hira Amjad
 INTRODUCTION

Most frequently occurring pollutants in

an urban environment are particulate
matters (suspended particulate matter
i.e. SPM and respirable suspended
particulate matter i.e. RSPM), carbon
monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC),
sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide
(NO2), ozone (O3) and photochemical
oxidants.
 The Atmosphere
3
 Major Sources of Air Pollution

Emissions (106 tonnes / year)

Source CO Particles H/C’s NOx SOx Total %

Transport 40.7 1.4 6.0 8.4 0.9 57.4 44.9
Stationary fuel 7.2 1.8 2.3 10.3 16.4 38.0 29.7
combustion
Industrial 4.7 2.5 8.3 0.6 3.1 19.2 15.0
Processes
Solid waste 1.7 0.3 0.6 0.1 0 2.6 2.0
disposal
Miscellaneous 7.1 1.0 2.4 0.1 0 10.6 8.3
Total 61.4 7.0 19.6 19.5 20.4 127.8

% 48.0 5.5 15.3 15.3 15.9 100

4
 Monitoring of Air pollutants

Source Ambient
As per WHO ambient monitoring
protocol
Point Line SOx Essential
SOX CO NOx
NOX NOx SPM
CO HC HC
PM RPM CO Additional
O3
Source monitoring instruments
Stack sampler (APM 620):
Parameters monitored are
a. Pollutants
b. Velocity (Isokinetic)
c. Temperature
d. Pressure
 Global Emissions form Natural & Man Made Sources

120

100

80
% Emissions from Natural
Sources
%AGE

60
% Emissions from man made
sources
40

20

0
SOx CO NOx NH3 H/C Dust
Pollutant

6
THE RECOMMENDED CRITERIA FOR SITING
THE MONITORING STATIONS
The site is dependent upon the use/purpose of the results
of the monitoring programs.

The monitoring should be carried out with a purpose of

compliance of air quality standards.

Monitoring must be able to evaluate impacts of

new/existing air pollution sources.

Monitoring must be able to evaluate impacts of hazards

due to accidental release of chemicals.

Monitoring data may be used for research purpose.

TYPE OF AMBIENT MONITORING STATIONS
Station type Description
Type A Downtown pedestrian exposure station- In central business districts, in
congested areas, surrounding by buildings, many pedestrians, average traffic flow >
10000 vehicles per day. Location of station- 0.5 m from curve; height 2.5 to 3.5 m
from the ground.
Type B Downtown neighbor hood exposure stations- In central business districts but not
congested areas, less high rise buildings, average vehicles < 500 vehicles per day.
Typical locations like parks, malls, landscapes areas etc.
Location of station- 0.5 m from curve; height 2.5 to 3.5 m from the ground.
Type C Residential population exposure station – In the midst of the residential areas or
sub-urban areas but not in central business districts. The station should be more
than 100 m away from any street.
Location of station- 0.5 m from curve; height 2.5 to 3.5 m from the ground.
Type D Mesoscale stations – At appropriate height to collect meteorological and air quality
data at upper elevation; main purpose to collect the trend of data variations not
human exposure.
Location – roof top of tall buildings or broadcasting towers.
Type E Non-urban stations – In remote non-urban areas, no traffic, no industrial activity.
Main purpose to monitor trend analysis.
Location of station- 0.5 m from curve; height 2.5 to 3.5 m from the ground.
Type F Specialized source survey stations – to determine the impact on air quality at
specified location by an air pollution source under scrutiny.
Location of station- 0.5 m from curve; height 2.5 to 3.5 m from the ground.
FREQUENCY OF DATA COLLECTION

 Gaseous pollutants: continuous monitoring

 Particulates: once every three days
NUMBER OF STATIONS
 Minimum number is three.
 The location is dependent upon the wind rose
diagram that gives predominant wind directions
and speed.
 One station must be at upstream of predominant
wind direction and other two must at downstream
pre dominant wind direction.
 Morethan three stations can also be established
depending upon the area of coverage.
COMPONENTS OF AMBIENT AIR SAMPLING
SYSTEMS
 Four main components are:
 Inlet manifold
 Air mover
 collection medium
 flow measurement device
Inlet manifold transports sampled pollutants from ambient
air to collection medium or analytical device in an
unaltered condition. The manifold should not be very long.
Air mover provides force to create vacuum or lower
pressure at the end of sampling systems. They are pumps.
The collection mediums are liquid or solid sorbent or
dissolving gases or filters or chamber for air analysis
(automatic instruments). The flow device like rotameters
measure the volume of air sampled.
12
CHARACTERISTICS FOR AMBIENT AIR
SAMPLING SYSTEMS
 Five important characteristics are:
 collection efficiency
 sample stability
 recovery
 minimal interference
 understanding the mechanism of collection

The first three must be 100% efficient. For e.g. for SO2, the
sorbent should be such that at ambient temperature it
may remove the SO2 from ambient atmosphere 100%.
Sample must be stabled during the time between
sampling and analysis. Recovery i.e. the analysis of
particular pollutant must be 100% correct.
BASIC CONSIDERATIONS FOR SAMPLING
 Sample must be representative in terms of time,
location, and conditions to be studied.

 Sample must be large enough for accurate analysis.

 The sampling rate must be such as to provide

maximum efficiency of collection.

 Duration of sampling must accurately reflect the

fluctuations in pollution levels i.e. whether 1-hourly,
4-hourly, 6-hourly, 8-hourly, 24-hourly sampling.

 Continuous sampling is preferred.

 Pollutants must not be altered or modified during

collection.
ERRORS IN SAMPLING BY HIGH VOL.
SAMPLERS (HVS)

 Particulates may be lost in sampling manifold

– so not too long or too twisted manifold must
be used.

 If ’isokinetic’ conditions are not maintained,

biased results may be obtained for particulate
matters.
ADVANTAGES OF HVS
High flow rate at low pressure drop

High particulate storage capacity

No moisture regain

high collection efficiency

Low cast

Not appreciable increase in air flow resistance

Filter is 99% efficient and can collect the particles

as fine as 0.3 μm

Absorption principle is 99% efficient in collecting

the gases
 STACK SAMPLING
 The sample collected must be
representative in terms of time
and location.
 The sample volume should be
large enough to permit
accurate analysis.
 The sampling rate must be such
as to provide maximum
efficiency of collection.
 The contaminants must not be
modified or altered in the
process of collection.
SELECTION OF SAMPLING LOCATION

The sampling point should be as far as

possible from any disturbing influence,
such as elbows, bends, transition
pieces, baffles.
The sampling point, wherever possible
should be at a distance of 5-10
diameters down-stream from any
obstruction and 3-5 diameters up-
stream from similar disturbance.
SIZE OF SAMPLING POINT

 The size of the sampling point may be made

in the range of 7-10 cm, in diameter.
TRAVERSE POINTS
 For the sample become representative, it should
be collected at various points across the stack.
 The number of traverse points may be selected
with reference to Table 1.
Table 1: Traverse Points
Cross-section area of stack sq. m No. of points
0.2 4
0.2 to 2.5 12
2.5 and above 20
PRINCIPLES OF SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS
 The components of an air pollution monitoring
system include the
 collection or sampling of pollutants both from the
ambient air and from specific sources,
 the analysis or measurement of the pollutant
concentrations, and
 the reporting and use of the information collected.
 Emissionsdata collected from point sources are
used to determine compliance with air pollution
regulations, determine the effectiveness of air
pollution control technology, evaluate
production efficiencies, and support scientific
research.
CONTI….

 TheEPA has established ambient air monitoring

methods for the criteria pollutants, as well as for toxic
organic (TO) compounds and inorganic (IO)
compounds.
 Themethods specify precise procedures that must
be followed for any monitoring activity related to the
compliance provisions of the Clean Air Act (1970).
 These procedures regulate sampling, analysis,
calibration of instruments, and calculation of
emissions.
 The concentration is expressed in terms of mass per
unit volume, usually micrograms per cubic meter
(µg/m3).
 PARTICULATE MONITORING
 Particulate monitoring is usually accomplished with manual
measurements and subsequent laboratory analysis.
 A particulate matter measurement uses gravimetric
principles. Gravimetric analysis refers to the quantitative
chemical analysis of weighing a sample, usually of a
separated and dried precipitate.
 In this method, a filter-based high-volume sampler (a
vacuum- type device that draws air through a filter or
absorbing substrate) retains atmospheric pollutants for
further laboratory weighing and chemical analysis. Particles
are trapped or collected on filters, and the filters are
weighed to determine the volume of the pollutant. The
weight of the filter with collected pollutants minus the weight
of a clean filter gives the amount of particulate matter in a
given volume of air.
 Chemical analysis can be done by atomic absorption
spectrometry (AAS), atomic fluorescence spectrometry
(AFS), inductively couple plasma (ICP) spectroscopy, and X-
ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy.
GASEOUS POLLUTANT MONITORING

 Gaseous pollutant monitoring can be

accomplished using various measurement
principles.
 Some of the most common techniques to
analyze gaseous pollutants include
 Spectrophotometry,
 Chemiluminescence,
 Gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID),
 Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and
 Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).
 With all sampling and analysis procedures,
the end result is quantitative data.
 The validity of the data depends on the
accuracy and precision of the methods
used in generating the data.
 The primary quality control measure is
calibration.
 Calibration checks the accuracy of a
measurement by establishing the
relationship between the output of a
measurement process and a known input.
Methods of Measuring and Analyzing Air Pollutants
Variable
Method Principle
Measured
Particles are trapped or collected on filters, and
Gravimetric PM10, PM2.5 the filters are weighed to determine the volume of
the pollutant.
more than 60 This technique operates by measuring energy
Atomic absorption metals or metalloid changes in the atomic state of the
spectrometry (AAS) elements (e.g. Pb, analyte. Emitted radiation is a function of atoms
Hg, Zn) present in the sample.
Measure the amount of light that a sample
Spectrophotometry SO2, O3 absorbs. The amount of light absorbed indicates
the amount of analyte present in the sample.
Based upon the emission spectrum of an excited
Chemiluminescence NO2, O3 species that is formed in the course of a chemical
reaction.
Gas chromatography
Responds in proportion to number of carbon
(GC) - flame ionization VOC
atoms in gas sample.
detector (FID)
Gas chromatography- Mass spectrometers use the difference in mass-to-
mass spectrometry VOC charge ratio (m/z) of ionized atoms or molecules to
(GC-MS) separate them from each other.
Fourier Transform
Sample absorbs infrared radiation and difference
Infrared Spectroscopy CO, VOC, CH4
in absorption is measured.
(FTIR)
 NAAQS by USEPA 2006
Pollutant Primary Stds. Averaging Times Secondary Stds.

Carbon Monoxide 9 ppm (10 mg/m3) 8-hour(1) None

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

Lead 1.5 µg/m3 Quarterly Average Same as Primary

Nitrogen Dioxide 0.053 ppm (100 µg/m3) Annual (Arithmetic Mean) Same as Primary
Particulate Matter (PM10) Revoked(2) Annual(2) (Arith. Mean)
150 µg/m3 24-hour(3)
Particulate Matter (PM2.5) 15.0 µg/m3 Annual(4) (Arith. Mean) Same as Primary
35 µg/m3 24-hour(5)
Ozone 0.08 ppm 8-hour(6) Same as Primary
0.12 ppm 1-hour(7) (Applies only in limited areas) Same as Primary
Sulfur Oxides 0.03 ppm Annual (Arith. Mean) -------
0.14 ppm 24-hour(1) -------
------- 3-hour(1) 0.5 ppm (1300 µg/m3)
(1) Not to be exceeded more than once per year.
(2) Due to a lack of evidence linking health problems to long-term exposure to coarse particle pollution, the agency revoked the
annual PM10 standard in 2006 (effective December 17, 2006).
(3) Not to be exceeded more than once per year on average over 3 years.
(4) To attain this standard, the 3-year average of the weighted annual mean PM2.5 concentrations from single or multiple community-
oriented monitors must not exceed 15.0 µg/m3.
(5) To attain this standard, the 3-year average of the 98th percentile of 24-hour concentrations at each population-oriented monitor
within an area must not exceed 35 µg/m3 (effective December 17, 2006).
(6) To attain this standard, the 3-year average of the fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour average ozone concentrations measured at
each monitor within an area over each year must not exceed 0.08 ppm.
(7) (a) The standard is attained when the expected number of days per calendar year with maximum hourly average concentrations
above 0.12 ppm is < 1, as determined by appendix H.
(b) As of June 15, 2005 EPA revoked the 1-hour ozone standard in all areas except the fourteen 8-hour ozone nonattainment Early
Action Compact (EAC) Areas.
WHO AIR QUALITY GUIDELINES VALUE
Pollutant Averaging time AQG value

Particulate matter
PM2.5 1 year 10 µg/m3
24 hour(99th percentile) 25 µg/m3

PM10 1 year 20 µg/m3

24 hour(99th percentile) 50 µg/m3

Ozone, O3 Ozone, O3 100 μg/m3

8 hour, daily maximum
Nitrogen dioxide, NO2
1 year 40 μg/m3
1 hour 200 μg/m3

Sulfur dioxide, SO2 24 hour 20 μg/m3

10 minute 500 μg/m3

Source: WHO, 2005. WHO air quality guidelines global update 2005, WHOLIS number E87950.
REFERENCES

 USEPA, 2007. Online literature from www.epa.gov

 WHO, 2005. WHO air quality guidelines global update
2005, WHOLIS number E87950.