Study on the efficient investigation method for sources of odor-inducing substances and volatile organic compounds using drones and real-time air quality monitoring equipments
The concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and odor-inducing substances were measured using selected ion flow tube mass spectrometers (SIFT-MS) and a drone equipped with an air quality monitoring system. SIFT-MS can continuously measure the concentration of VOCs and odor-inducing substances in realtime without any pre-treating steps for the sample. The vehicle with SIFT-MS was used for real-time measurement of VOC concentration at the site boundaries of pollution sources. It is possible to directly analyze VOCs concentration generated at the outlets by capturing air from the pollution sources with a drone. VOCs concentrations of nine spots from Banwol National Industrial Complex were measured by a vehicle equipped with SIFT-MS and were compared with the background concentration measured inside the Metropolitan Air Quality Management Office. In three out of the nine spots, the concentration of toluene, xylene, hydrogen sulfide, and methyl ethyl ketone was shown to be much higher than the background concentration. The VOCs concentrations obtained using drones for high-concentration suspected areas showed similar tendencies as those measured using the vehicle with SIFTMS at the site boundary. We showed that if both the drone and real-time air quality monitoring equipment are used to measure VOCs concentration, it is possible to identify the pollutant sources at the industrial complex quickly and efficiently check sites with high concentrations of VOCs.