Abstract
Air Pollution Monitoring Using Nanotechnology Based Solid State Gas Sensors and GIS Modeling
O Pummakarnchana
School of Advanced Technologies, Space Technology Applications and Research Program
Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand
Email: [email protected]
Nitin Kumar Tripathi, Joydeep Dutta
Abstract
Air pollution is a serious problem in many heavily populated and industrialized areas in Thailand, especially in Bangkok. The air pollution problem in Bangkok is vital, especially in areas where pollution sources and the human population are concentrated. Economic growth and industrialization are proceeding at a rapid pace, accompanied by increasing emissions of air pollution. Furthermore, since the kinds and quantities of pollution sources have also increased dramatically, the development of a method for monitoring the pollution causing sources has become even more important. To prevent or minimize the damage caused by atmospheric pollution, suitable monitoring systems are needed that can rapidly and reliably detect and quantify pollution sources for monitoring by regulating authorities. Consequently, it is important than the current real-time air quality (AQ) monitoring system, controlled by the Pollution Control Department (PCD), should be adapted or extended to aid in alleviating this problem.
Unfortunately, the cost of establishing and implementing standard monitoring systems is extremely high. In the past, the establishment of air quality monitoring systems in Thailand needed technical assistance from international agencies or governments and the investments made in these systems are extremely high running to several millions of Baht.
Analytic instruments such gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, and the like can give a precise analysis, nevertheless they are time-consuming, expensive, and can seldom be used in real-time in the field. To substitute the standard analytical tools with a new generation of detectors, metal oxide semiconductors is an alternative used as sensing. The solid state gas sensors offer an excellent alternative to implement for environmental monitoring due to its light weight, extremely small size and also due to the reason that they can be fitted anywhere so as to receive data that can eventually be transmit through Wireless GIS network system to general public. They are also more rugged, robust and low cost alternative.
The PCD has been forecasting and reporting real time AQ levels through Internet in form of maps. However the AQ index of each monitoring site is just shown by rather course, which means differently levels; good, moderate, unhealthy, very unhealthy and harzardous. The AQ report should be more in details including information such as interpolated maps of air pollution overlaying with base maps (administrative boundaries, roads, urban settlement, population, etc) and attribute data, historical AQ GIS database and the like.
For these reasons, this study is aimed to develop a cost-effective air pollution monitoring system. In order to carry out air pollution monitoring over an extensive area, a combination of ground measurements through inexpensive sensors “solid state gas sensors” and
wireless GIS will be used for this purpose. Therefore this study is purposed to develop a portable device, composed of the solid-state gas sensor linked to a PDA and through blue-tooth communication, tie it up to Global Positioning System (GPS). The AQ report generated can be then published using Internet GIS for real-time information service for the PCD
and public participation. Moreover in this study, different interpolation means will be compared and find out the most suitable method for studying air pollution, observed at each monitoring site.
