Abstract
Currently, low-cost, sensor-based fine dust measurement devices are commercially available in South Korea. This study evaluated the reliability of three such devices—Yi Shan A4, Plantower PMS7003, and Plantower PMS7003—in comparison to long-term consecutive monitoring systems for discharge and prevention facilities regarding fine dust control. The performance of these devices for concentration intervals over time was examined through real-time comparison using a GRIMM (Model: 11-A, dust spectrometer from Grimm Technologies) as a reference; this included a correction factor (C-Factor), calculated by a gravimetric method and an equivalence test. For comparison, the reference and target devices were installed in a chamber with fine dust concentrations of 2 µg/m3, with temperature and humidity maintained at 20 °C and 40%, respectively. The fine particulate matter (PM)2.5 concentrations were classified into five intervals: ≤40 µg/m3, 40–80 µg/m3, 80–120 µg/m3, 120–160 µg/m3, and 200–230 µg/m3. Statistical analysis was performed using data obtained from national stations for monitoring and controlling fine dust released from facilities under high fine dust loading conditions. The results showed that the measurements of all target devices, which were corrected according to the reference device, provided accurate values at PM2.5 concentrations of ≥40 µg/m3. The statistical analysis results suggest that the evaluated devices are more reliable than the conventional numerical-analysis-based monitoring system
Highlights
Both human life and the environment are significantly affected by air quality
The comparison test between the reference device and the target measurement devices using cost-effective particle sensors was performed in the following procedure: The chamber was ventilated using clean air generated by removing particles through a HEPA filter (SK techx, Seoul, Korea)
The output values of the reference device were higher than those of the target devices. This indicates that, if the target devices were used without correcting their output values, environmental pollution by PM2.5 could be underestimated
Summary
Both human life and the environment are significantly affected by air quality. Numerous studies have attempted to reveal the relationship between air pollution and the quality of life and health. Air pollutants show strong spatial variability; their concentrations vary according to region, and the variability of each pollutant is very high because of diverse factors, such as pollutant type and atmospheric conditions [4,5,6,7] For this reason, the reliability of data obtained from the current air pollution networks for air quality monitoring in local areas is debatable [8]. As a part of the Environmental Policy-Based Public Technology Development Project executed by the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute of the Ministry of Environment, a 32-month research project, which started in November 2016 and will end in June 2019, is underway to set up a smart management support system using sensor technology for pollutant discharge and prevention facilities For this purpose, this study attempted to solve limitations of the existing method using data from current air pollution monitoring stations for both monitoring air quality and managing discharge and prevention facilities.
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