Field measurement of spatiotemporal distributions of ambient concentrations of volatile organic compounds around a high-tech industrial park using a drone

Abstract

A quadrotor drone, carrying a 3 L Teflon bag and an active sampling pump, collected ambient air samples around a high-tech industrial park to investigate the distribution characteristics of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). A total of 490 air samples were collected in winter, spring, summer and autumn in one year and analyzed. Ambient VOC samples were obtained using a drone on the ground and at the altitude of 50 m which is approximately the heights of chimney outlets of the factories once per month at four sites around the high-tech industrial park. Acetone, toluene, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), p-xylene, m-xylene and ethyl acetate were the most commonly detected VOCs; these are commonly used solvents in semiconductor, LCD panel and optoelectronics manufacturing in the high-tech industrial park. The highest total VOC concentration (TVOC) on the ground was 346.8 μg/m3 (including acetone of 107.9 μg/m3 and m,p-xylenes of 65.4 μg/m3) and that at the altitude of 50 m was 278.3 μg/m3 (including acetone of 104.0 μg/m3 and m,p-xylenes of 36.3 μg/m3) on an August day. Based on the concentration ratios of m,p-xylenes to ethylbenzene, the exhaust of VOCs from neighboring plants affected air quality at the altitude of 50 m. The VOC-rich air affected the ambient air quality that was supplied to clean rooms, increasing the operating cost of the high-tech industrial factories in the park.