Using Low Cost Sensors to Measure Ambient Particulate Matter Concentrations and On-Road Emissions Factors

Abstract. Air quality is a growing public concern in both developed and developing countries, as is the public interest in having information on air pollutant concentrations within their communities. Quantifying the spatial and temporal variability of ambient fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) is of particular importance due to the well-defined health impacts associated with PM_2.5. This work evaluates a number of select PM sensors (Shinyei: models PPD42NS, PPD20V, PPD60PV) under a variety of ambient conditions and locations including urban background and roadside sites in Atlanta, GA, as well as a location with substantially higher ambient concentrations in Hyderabad, India. Low cost sensor measurements were compared against reference monitors at all locations. On-road emissions factors were calculated at the Atlanta site by pairing PM_2.5 and separately determined black carbon (BC) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) measurements. On-road emission factors can vary in different locations and over time for a number of reasons, including vehicle fleet composition and driving patterns and behaviors, and current environmental policy. Emission factors can provide valuable information to inform researchers, citizens, and policy makers. The PPD20V sensors had the highest correlation with the reference environmental beta attenuation monitor (E-BAM) with R² values above 0.80 at the India site while at the urban background site, the PPD60PV had the highest correlation with the tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM) with an R² value of 0.30. At the roadside site, only the PPD20V was used, with an R² value against the TEOM of 0.18. Emissions factors at the roadside site were calculated as 0.39 ± 0.10 g PM_2.5 per kg fuel and 0.11 ± 0.01g BC per kg fuel, which compare well with other studies and estimates based on other instruments. The results of this work show the potential usefulness of these sensors for high concentration applications in developing countries and for their use in generating emissions factors.