As the harmful effects of low-level exposure to hazardous organic air pollutants become more evident, there is constant pressure to improve the detection limits of indoor and ambient air monitoring methods, for example, by collecting larger air volumes and by optimising the sensitivity of the analytical detector. However, at the other end of the scale, rapid industrialisation in the developing world and growing pressure to reclaim derelict industrial land for house building is driving the need for air monitoring methods that can reliably accommodate very-high-concentration samples in potentially aggressive matrices. This paper investigates the potential of a combination of two powerful gas chromatography&#8212;based analytical enhancements&#8212;sample preconcentration/thermal desorption and time-of-flight mass spectrometry&#8212;to improve quantitative and qualitative measurement of very-low-(ppt) level organic chemicals, even in the most complex air samples. It also describes new, practical monitoring options for addressing equally challenging high-concentration industrial samples.

Nicola Watson

Stephen Davies

David Wevill

Air Monitoring: New Advances in Sampling and Detection

Ki-Hyun Kim

Richard J. C. Brown

Emerging Measurement Techniques for Airborne Pollutants

Spatial monitoring campaigns of volatile organic compounds were carried out in two similarly sized urban industrial cities, Windsor and Sarnia, ON, Canada. For Windsor, data were obtained for all four seasons at approximately 50 sites in each season (winter, spring, summer, and fall) over a three-year period (2004, 2005, and 2006) for a total of 12 sampling sessions. Sampling in Sarnia took place at 37 monitoring sites in fall 2005. In both cities, passive sampling was done using 3M 3500 organic vapor samplers. This paper characterizes benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o, and (m + p)-xylene (BTEX) concentrations and relationships among BTEX species in the two cities during the fall sampling periods. BTEX concentration levels and rank order among the species were similar between the two cities. In Sarnia, the relationships between the BTEX species varied depending on location. Correlation analysis between land use and concentration ratios showed a strong influence from local industries. Use one of the ratios between the BTEX species to diagnose photochemical age may be biased due to point source emissions, for example, 53 tonnes of benzene and 86 tonnes of toluene in Sarnia. However, considering multiple ratios leads to better conclusions regarding photochemical aging. Ratios obtained in the sampling campaigns showed significant deviation from those obtained at central monitoring stations, with less difference in the (m + p)/E ratio but better overall agreement in Windsor than in Sarnia.

Lindsay Miller

Xiaohong Xu

Amanda Wheeler

Dominic Odwa Atari

Alice Grgicak-Mannion

Isaac Luginaah

Spatial Variability and Application of Ratios between BTEX in Two Canadian Cities

The challenge for instrument manufacturers is to continuously improve and evolve their instrumentation to keep pace with scientific research. One field where this is evident is atmospheric aerosol research. The variety in aerosol size, shape, chemical composition, and their ability to change properties under varying atmospheric conditions creates many challenges in quantifying their impact on the global energy balance. As such a wide variety of instrumentation from a selection of manufacturers are used for analysing aerosols, all of which provide a little extra information for deciphering the puzzle. Recent advancements in commercial nephelometers by Australian manufacturer Ecotech have helped to piece some more of this puzzle together. This paper will detail these advances.

Steve Chamberlain-Ward

Felicity Sharp

Advances in Nephelometry through the Ecotech Aurora Nephelometer

The measurement of total mercury in flue gas based on an economical aluminum matrix sorbent was developed in this paper. A sorbent trap consisted of three tubes was employed to capture Hg from flue gas. Hg trapped on sorbent was transferred into solution by acid leaching and then detected by CVAAS. Hg adsorbed on sorbent was recovered completely by leaching process. The 87.7&#x25; recovery of Hg in flue gas by tube 1 and tube 2 was obtained on the equipment of coal combustion and sampling in lab. In order to evaluate the ability to recover and accurately quantify Hg0 on the sorbent media, the analytical bias test on tube 3 spiked with Hg0 was also performed and got the average recovery of 97.1&#x25;. Mercury measurements based on this method were conducted for three coal-fired power plants in China. The mercury in coal is distributed into bottom ash, electrostatic precipitator (ESP) ash, wet flue gas desulfurization (WFGD) reactant, and flue gas, and the relative distribution varied depending on factors such as the coal type and the operation conditions of plants. The mercury mass balances of three plants were also calculated which were 91.6&#x25;, 77.1&#x25;, and 118&#x25;, respectively. The reliability of this method was verified by the Ontario Hydro (OH) method either in lab or in field.

Juan Wang

Wei Xu

Xiaohao Wang

Wenhua Wang

Measurement of Mercury in Flue Gas Based on an Aluminum Matrix Sorbent

This paper presents the monitoring of acid deposition in Flanders (Belgium) and the change of the measurement objectives, recently towards measurement of ammonia. The monitoring network on acidification has provided results for 10 years. Analysis of acidifying pollutants between 2005 and 2010 shows decreasing concentrations throughout the whole period. NO2 has no significant trend, although the average total deposition in 2010 (2027&#x2009;Eq/ha.y) is still higher than the objectives of the Flemish environmental policy plan for 2015 (1800&#x2009;Eq/ha.y). Given the contribution of ammonia, the Flemish Environmental Agency has the aim to develop a policy-oriented monitoring network on ammonia. Studies on this subject have already been extensively conducted.

Bo Van den Bril

Dominique Meremans

Edward Roekens

A Monitoring Network on Acidification in  Flanders, Belgium

A chemical factory, using a production technology of acetaldehyde with mercury catalysis, was located southeast of Qingzhen City in Guizhou Province, China. Previous research showed heavy mercury pollution through an extensive downstream area. A current investigation of the mercury distribution in ambient air, soils, and plants suggests that mobile mercury species in soils created elevated mercury concentrations in ambient air and vegetation. Mercury concentrations of up to 600&#x2009;ng/m3 in air over the contaminated area provided evidence of the mercury transformation to volatile Hg(0). Mercury analysis of soil and plant samples demonstrated that the mercury concentrations in soil with vaporized and plant-absorbable forms were higher in the southern area, which was closer to the factory. Our results suggest that air monitoring using a portable mercury analyzer can be a convenient and useful method for the rapid detection and mapping of mercury pollution in advanced field surveys.

Akira Yasutake

Jin Ping Cheng

Masako Kiyono

Shimpei Uraguchi

Xiaojie Liu

Kyoko Miura

Yoshiaki Yasuda

Nikolay Mashyanov

Rapid Monitoring of Mercury in Air from an Organic Chemical Factory in China Using a Portable Mercury Analyzer

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The Scientific World Journal | Hindawi

The Scientific World Journal

This Issue is now open for submissions.
Papers are published upon acceptance, regardless of the Special Issue publication date.

The Scientific World Journal

Emerging Measurement Techniques for Airborne Pollutants

Emerging Measurement Techniques for Airborne Pollutants

Articles

Air Monitoring: New Advances in Sampling and Detection

Emerging Measurement Techniques for Airborne Pollutants

Spatial Variability and Application of Ratios between BTEX in Two Canadian Cities

Advances in Nephelometry through the Ecotech Aurora Nephelometer

Measurement of Mercury in Flue Gas Based on an Aluminum Matrix Sorbent

A Monitoring Network on Acidification in Flanders, Belgium

Rapid Monitoring of Mercury in Air from an Organic Chemical Factory in China Using a Portable Mercury Analyzer