Using a Micro Sampler on a Drone to Extract Organic Vapors-A Case Study of Monitoring Industrial Pollution

• Published in: Aerosol and Air Quality Research 2021-02, Vol.21 (2), p.1-10
• Main Authors: Cheng, Wen-Hsi, Yuan, Chung-Shin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ABS resins; Acrylonitrile; Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene; Adsorbents; Air monitoring; Air pollution; Aircraft; Alkanes; Aromatic compounds; Aromatic hydrocarbons; Carbon; Case studies; Chimneys; Chromatography; Divinylbenzene; Drones; Emissions; Ethylbenzene; Exhausts; Fourier transforms; Gas chromatography; Gases; Incineration; Industrial pollution; Laboratories; Mass spectroscopy; Nitrogen dioxide; Outdoor air quality; Pollutants; Pollution monitoring; Pollution sources; Sampling; Sensors; Solid phase methods; Solid phases; Stainless steel; Stainless steels; Styrene; Telescoping; Terephthalic acid; Toluene; Triacetin; Vapors; VOCs; Volatile organic compounds; Waste disposal
• ISSN: 1680-8584; 2071-1409
• DOI: 10.4209/aaqr.2020.06.0359

Kaohsiung city located in the southern Taiwan is an industrial town and air pollutants were emitted from factories in the adjacent industrial zones. In order to track the pollution emission sources, a needle trap sampler (NTS), which is a micro solid phase microextraction (SPME) sampling device, was carried by a quadrotor drone to extract organic vapors from industries. The NTS was fabricated by packing divinylbenzene (DVB) particles of 60-80 mesh diameters into a 7 cm-long, 22-gauge stainless steel needle. The telescoping sampling device was carried by a DJI Mavic Pro quadrotor drone, and its effectiveness for extracting organic vapors from industrial processing air exhausts from chimneys was studied. The total weight of sampling device, including a NTS, a telescoping shaft, a Li-battery, a mini-air pump and the ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) loading frame, was less than 200 g. The mainly emitted compounds, including aromatic hydrocarbons (toluene of 1,450 ± 650 ppb, ethylbenzene of 34 ± 12 ppb and xylenes of 51 ± 25 ppb), formaldehyde (50 ± 12 ppb), alkanes (propane of 30 ± 10 ppb), triacetin (7,620 ± 1600 ppb) and terephthalic acid (20 ± 5 ppb) were collected and then identified by the off-line gas chromatography (GC)-mass spectroscopy (MS) system in the laboratory. The quadrotor drone successfully monitored air pollution and tracked their emission sources from waste incineration, petroleum refinement, chemical processing and electronic part production.