Prototype design of urban monitoring on several gaseous pollutants using low-cost electrochemical sensors

Abstract

Monitoring atmospheric gaseous pollutants in urban areas is increasingly essential to anticipate poor urban air quality and the increasing number of acute respiratory infections caused by air pollution. Usually, the monitoring of air pollution is conducted by the government and scientists by using accurate and expensive instruments. However, this instrument's high-cost installation and maintenance limited the number of monitoring stations that can be placed. It makes it hard to identify the pollutant's local source, especially on an urban scale. Hence, this study designed alternative techniques to monitor several gaseous pollutants using the Low-cost Air Quality System (LAQS). LAQS has enormous potential to be a reference station's supporting tool and increase the resolution of air pollution monitoring systems. A custom-made low-cost electrochemical sensor was used in this study to detect several gaseous pollutants, including ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and carbon monoxide (CO), together with temperature and relative humidity measurements. The system was also equipped with a data logger and 4G module for data storage and transmission, respectively. In the first stage, two scenarios were employed, including its examination inside and outside the room before co-location.