Validation of Low-Cost Sensors in Measuring Real-Time PM10 Concentrations at Two Sites in Delhi National Capital Region

Abstract

In the present study, we assessed for the first time the performance of our custom-designed low-cost Particulate Matter (PM) monitoring devices (Atmos) in measuring PM 10 concentrations. We examined the ambient PM 10 levels during an intense measurement campaign at two sites in the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), India. In this study, we validated the un-calibrated Atmos for measuring ambient PM 10 concentrations at highly polluted monitoring sites. PM 10 concentration from Atmos, containing laser scattering-based Plantower PM sensor, was comparable with that measured from research-grade scanning mobility particle sizers (SMPS) in combination with optical particle sizers (OPS) and aerodynamic particle sizers (APS). The un-calibrated sensors often provided accurate PM 10 measurements, particularly in capturing real-time hourly concentrations variations. Quantile-Quantile plots (QQ-plots) for data collected during the selected deployment period showed positively skewed PM 10 datasets. Strong Spearman's rank-order correlations (r s = 0.64-0.83) between the studied instruments indicated the utility of low-cost Plantower PM sensors in measuring PM 10 in the real-world context. Additionally, the heat map for weekly datasets demonstrated high R 2 values, establishing the efficacy of PM sensor in PM 10 measurement in highly polluted environmental conditions.

Field Evaluation of Low-Cost PM Sensors (Purple Air PA-II) Under Variable Urban Air Quality Conditions, in Greece

“…Moreover, because aerosol chemical composition drives the optical and hygroscopic properties [29,34], we made a fist attempt to examine the associations of errors with concentrations of major aerosol components. The second key issue in PA-II calibration is related to the sensor's geometry that restricts its ability to accurately track supermicron particles [35,36], which, under special conditions, can amount to a significant fraction of actual PM 2. 5 .…”

Tackling Data Quality When Using Low-Cost Air Quality Sensors in Citizen Science Projects

“…To obtain the highest possible data quality, the LCS performance assessment can be used to develop post-processing correction algorithms Zimmerman et al, 2018;Lindén et al, 2020;Peltier et al, 2021). Sahu et al (2020) show that post-processing algorithms are diversity sensitive, where e.g. algorithms developed based on summer conditions did not perform as well when applied on autumn data.…”

Establishing A Sustainable Low-Cost Air Quality Monitoring Setup: A Survey of the State-of-the-Art

“…We conclude from the existing studies that evaluation should be made in three scenarios to ensure the sensors data accuracy and reliability. (1) Evaluation of the sensors against reference station for accuracy (sensor vs. reference) [ 20 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 27 , 79 , 84 , 93 , 94 , 100 , 120 , 123 , 125 , 135 , 153 ]. (2) Evaluation of sensor against the same type of sensor for precision (sensor vs. sensor) [ 49 , 93 , 95 , 100 , 133 , 154 ].…”

“…Sensor boxes/nodes/motes are constructed by integrating LCS with microcontroller and additional components (Global positioning system (GPS), Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) etc.). Real-time affordable multi-pollutant monitor (RAMP) [ 20 ], AirU pollution monitor [ 21 ], Particulate monitor devices (Atmos) [ 22 ], ARISense [ 23 ] and captor nodes [ 24 ] are examples of such sensor boxes/nodes constructed for air quality measurement. Several researchers assessed the feasibility of air pollution measurement with LCS in long-term deployments with larger area coverage.…”