Articles | Volume 12, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1441-2019
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1441-2019
Research article
 | 
05 Mar 2019
Research article |  | 05 Mar 2019

Understanding the ability of low-cost MOx sensors to quantify ambient VOCs

Ashley M. Collier-Oxandale, Jacob Thorson, Hannah Halliday, Jana Milford, and Michael Hannigan

Related authors

Evaluating and improving the reliability of gas-phase sensor system calibrations across new locations for ambient measurements and personal exposure monitoring
Sharad Vikram, Ashley Collier-Oxandale, Michael H. Ostertag, Massimiliano Menarini, Camron Chermak, Sanjoy Dasgupta, Tajana Rosing, Michael Hannigan, and William G. Griswold
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 4211–4239, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4211-2019,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4211-2019, 2019
Short summary
Assessing a low-cost methane sensor quantification system for use in complex rural and urban environments
Ashley Collier-Oxandale, Joanna Gordon Casey, Ricardo Piedrahita, John Ortega, Hannah Halliday, Jill Johnston, and Michael P. Hannigan
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 3569–3594, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3569-2018,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3569-2018, 2018
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Gases | Technique: In Situ Measurement | Topic: Instruments and Platforms
Performance characterization of a laminar gas inlet
Da Yang, Margarita Reza, Roy Mauldin, Rainer Volkamer, and Suresh Dhaniyala
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1463–1474, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1463-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1463-2024, 2024
Short summary
Validation and field application of a low-cost device to measure CO2 and evapotranspiration (ET) fluxes
Reena Macagga, Michael Asante, Geoffroy Sossa, Danica Antonijević, Maren Dubbert, and Mathias Hoffmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1317–1332, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1317-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1317-2024, 2024
Short summary
Identifying and correcting interferences to PTR-ToF-MS measurements of isoprene and other urban volatile organic compounds
Matthew M. Coggon, Chelsea E. Stockwell, Megan S. Claflin, Eva Y. Pfannerstill, Lu Xu, Jessica B. Gilman, Julia Marcantonio, Cong Cao, Kelvin Bates, Georgios I. Gkatzelis, Aaron Lamplugh, Erin F. Katz, Caleb Arata, Eric C. Apel, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Felix Piel, Francesca Majluf, Donald R. Blake, Armin Wisthaler, Manjula Canagaratna, Brian M. Lerner, Allen H. Goldstein, John E. Mak, and Carsten Warneke
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 801–825, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-801-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-801-2024, 2024
Short summary
Development of a continuous UAV-mounted air sampler and application to the quantification of CO2 and CH4 emissions from a major coking plant
Tianran Han, Conghui Xie, Yayong Liu, Yanrong Yang, Yuheng Zhang, Yufei Huang, Xiangyu Gao, Xiaohua Zhang, Fangmin Bao, and Shao-Meng Li
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 677–691, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-677-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-677-2024, 2024
Short summary
Uptake behavior of polycyclic aromatic compounds during field calibrations of the XAD-based passive air sampler across seasons and locations
Yuening Li, Faqiang Zhan, Yushan Su, Ying Duan Lei, Chubashini Shunthirasingham, Zilin Zhou, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, Hayley Hung, and Frank Wania
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 715–729, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-715-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-715-2024, 2024
Short summary

Cited articles

Adgate, J. L., Goldstein, B. D., and McKenzie, L. M.: Potential public health hazards, exposures and health effects from unconventional natural gas development. Environ. Sci. Technol., 48, 8307–8320, https://doi.org/10.1021/es404621d, 2014. 
Beloff, B. R., Beaver, E. R., and Massin, H.: Assessing societal costs associated with environmental impacts, Environmental Quality Management, 10, 67–82, https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6483(200024)10:2<67::AID-TQEM8>3.0.CO;2-B, 2000. 
Borbon, A., Gilman, J. B., Kuster, W. C., Grand, N., Chevaillier, S., Colomb, A., Dolgorouky, C., Gros, V., Lopez, M., Sarda-Esteve, R., Holloway, J., Stutz, J., Petetin, H., McKeen, S., Beekmann, M., Warneke, C., Parrish, D. D., and De Gouw, J. A.: Emission ratios of anthropogenic volatile organic compounds in northern mid-latitude megacities: Observations versus emission inventories in Los Angeles and Paris, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 118, 2041–2057, https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrd.50059, 2013. 
Casey, J. G. and Hannigan, M. P.: Testing the performance of field calibration techniques for low-cost gas sensors in new deployment locations: across a county line and across Colorado, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 6351–6378, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-6351-2018, 2018. 
Casey, J. G., Collier-Oxandale, A., and Hannigan, M.: Performance of artificial neural networks and linear models to quantify 4 trace gas species in an oil and gas production region with low-cost sensors, Sensor Actuat. B-Chem., 283, 504–514, https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SNB.2018.12.049, 2019. 
Download
Short summary
Airborne pollutants, such as volatile organic compounds, can present a danger to public and environmental health. We explored the potential for low-cost air quality sensors to help measure these compounds. From our deployment and the subsequent analysis, it seems these sensors can be calibrated to provide estimates of the levels of some individual and some groups of VOCs. This is promising as more cost-effective ways to measure VOCs could inform actions to reduce exposure.