Abstract
The objective of this study was to examine the sensor response characteristics of three commercial Internet of Things (IoT) compatible metal oxide (MOx) sensors in preparation for the development of field-scale sensor networks for the real-time monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor environments located in proximity to brownfield sites. Currently, there is limited examination of such sensor responses to relevant mixtures of target VOCs, such as the common petrochemicals benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX), as well as chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbon (CAH) contaminants such as tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE) which are frequently associated with deterioration of indoor air quality. To address this, a study of three commercial metal oxide (MOx) sensors (SGP30, BME680, and CCS811) was undertaken to examine the sensor response characteristics of individual components as well as mixtures of each of the target BTEX and CAH chemicals over relevant indoor air concentrations within the operating range of the MOx sensors (0–6000 ppb). Our investigation revealed similar response patterns to those previously reported for the thick film MOx sensor to most individual target VOCs, however, response trends for mixtures were more difficult to discern. In general, the MOx sensors we examined demonstrated similar magnitude responses to the CAHs as BTEX compounds indicating reliable detection of CAHs.
Highlights
The in situ monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor work environments and residences located in proximity to U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund or Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) brownfield sites is of increasing interest [1,2,3].Southeastern Michigan, and the greater Detroit metropolitan area have observed increasing incidences of weather events resulting in the flooding of both residential and commercial structures by contaminated waters [1], causing the intrusion of VOCs into the occupied built environment with increasing frequency [2]
BME680 measures the sum of VOC contaminants in the surrounding air and the results are displayed on laptop or websites as a time counter, temperature, humidity, pressure, and resistance across the sensor that correlates to air quality
Typical responses for each sensor to increasing benzene concentration demonstrated that overall, the BME680 sensors (Figure 2) responded in an expected manner based on previously reported
Summary
Southeastern Michigan, and the greater Detroit metropolitan area have observed increasing incidences of weather events resulting in the flooding of both residential and commercial structures by contaminated waters [1], causing the intrusion of VOCs into the occupied built environment with increasing frequency [2]. Such local flooding events typically leave residual contaminated water, and moisture, in structures that provides an ongoing source of hazardous VOCs typically associated. Reducing the cost and increasing the portability of monitoring technologies is essential to realizing the objective of assessing real-time exposure based monitoring of target VOCs with useful spatial resolution
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