Evaluation of a low-cost optical particle counter (Alphasense OPC-N2) for ambient air monitoring
Leigh R. Crilley,Marvin D. Shaw,Ryan Pound,Louisa Kramer,Robin Price,Stuart Young,Alastair C. Lewis,Francis D. Pope +7 more
TL;DR: Alphasense OPC-N2 as mentioned in this paper is a low-cost miniature optical particle counter for monitoring ambient airborne particles at typical urban background sites in the UK, which is evaluated by co-locating 14 sensors at a site to investigate the variation in measured concentrations.
read more
Abstract: . A fast-growing area of research is the development of low-cost sensors for
measuring air pollutants. The affordability and size of low-cost particle
sensors makes them an attractive option for use in experiments requiring a
number of instruments such as high-density spatial mapping. However, for
these low-cost sensors to be useful for these types of studies their accuracy
and precision need to be quantified. We evaluated the Alphasense OPC-N2, a
promising low-cost miniature optical particle counter, for monitoring ambient
airborne particles at typical urban background sites in the UK. The precision
of the OPC-N2 was assessed by co-locating 14 instruments at a site to
investigate the variation in measured concentrations. Comparison to two
different reference optical particle counters as well as a TEOM-FDMS enabled
the accuracy of the OPC-N2 to be evaluated. Comparison of the OPC-N2 to the
reference optical instruments shows some limitations for measuring mass
concentrations of PM 1 , PM 2.5 and PM 10 . The OPC-N2 demonstrated
a significant positive artefact in measured particle mass during times of
high ambient RH (> 85 %) and a calibration factor was
developed based upon κ -Kohler theory, using average bulk particle
aerosol hygroscopicity. Application of this RH correction factor resulted in
the OPC-N2 measurements being within 33 % of the TEOM-FDMS, comparable to
the agreement between a reference optical particle counter and the TEOM-FDMS
(20 %). Inter-unit precision for the 14 OPC-N2 sensors of
22 ± 13 % for PM 10 mass concentrations was observed. Overall,
the OPC-N2 was found to accurately measure ambient airborne particle mass
concentration provided they are (i) correctly calibrated and (ii) corrected
for ambient RH. The level of precision demonstrated between multiple
OPC-N2s suggests that they would be
suitable devices for applications
where the spatial variability in particle concentration was to be determined.
read more
Chat with Paper
AI Agents for this Paper
Find similar papers on Google Scholar, PubMed and Arxiv
Write a critical review of this paper
Analyze citations of this paper to find unaddressed research gaps
Citations
The rise of low-cost sensing for managing air pollution in cities
Prashant Kumar,Lidia Morawska,Claudio Martani,George Biskos,George Biskos,George Biskos,Marina Neophytou,Silvana Di Sabatino,Margaret Bell,Leslie Norford,Rex Britter +10 more
- 01 Feb 2015
TL;DR: In this article, the authors illustrate the drivers behind current rises in the use of low-cost sensors for air pollution management in cities, whilst addressing the major challenges for their effective implementation.
503
Field evaluation of low-cost particulate matter sensors in high- and low-concentration environments
Tongshu Zheng,Michael H. Bergin,Karoline K. Johnson,Sachchida Nand Tripathi,Shilpa Shirodkar,Matthew S. Landis,Ronak Sutaria,David E. Carlson +7 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the performance of low-cost PM sensors under field conditions is not well understood, and the authors characterized the capabilities of a new low cost PM sensor model (Plantower modelPMS3003) for measuring PM 2.5 at 1min, 1h, 6h, 12h and 24h integration times.
The influence of humidity on the performance of a low-cost air particle mass sensor and the effect of atmospheric fog
TL;DR: In this article, the authors carried out a detailed study using a Plantower PMS1003 low-cost particle sensor, both in the laboratory and under actual ambient field conditions, to investigate its response to increasing humidity and the presence of fog in the air.
309
From low-cost sensors to high-quality data: A summary of challenges and best practices for effectively calibrating low-cost particulate matter mass sensors
Michael R. Giordano,Carl Malings,Spyros N. Pandis,Albert A. Presto,V. F. McNeill,Daniel M. Westervelt,Daniel M. Westervelt,Matthias Beekmann,R. Subramanian +8 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors review the needs and challenges when trying to get high-quality data from low-cost sensors and present a set of best practices to follow to obtain high quality data from these sensors.
281
Review of the Performance of Low-Cost Sensors for Air Quality Monitoring
Federico Karagulian,Maurizio Barbiere,Alexander Kotsev,Laurent Spinelle,Michel Gerboles,Friedrich Lagler,Nathalie Redon,Sabine Crunaire,Annette Borowiak +8 more
TL;DR: In this article, quantitative data regarding the performance of low-cost sensors (LCS) against reference measurement are presented. And the authors highlight the possibility to have versatile LCS able to operate with multiple pollutants and preferably with transparent LCS data treatment.
266
References
A single parameter representation of hygroscopic growth and cloud condensation nucleus activity
TL;DR: In this paper, a method to describe the relationship between particle dry diameter and cloud condensation activity using a single hygroscopicity parameter is presented. But this method is limited to single and multi-component particles with varying amounts of inorganic, organic and surface active compounds.
Atmospheric aerosols: composition, transformation, climate and health effects.
TL;DR: The current state of knowledge, major open questions, and research perspectives on the properties and interactions of atmospheric aerosols and their effects on climate and human health are outlined.
2.4K
Aerosol cloud precipitation interactions. Part 1. The nature and sources of cloud-active aerosols
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the role of chemical composition and particle size in cloud condensation nucleation processes, and the role that the chemical composition plays in the process of cloud droplet and ice nucleation.
The Changing Paradigm of Air Pollution Monitoring
Emily Gibb Snyder,Timothy H. Watkins,Paul A. Solomon,Eben D. Thoma,Ronald Williams,Gayle S.W. Hagler,David Shelow,David A. Hindin,Vasu Kilaru,Peter W. Preuss +9 more
TL;DR: Air pollution monitoring paradigm is rapidly changing due to recent advances in the development of portable, lower-cost air pollution sensors reporting data in near-real time at a high-time resolution, increased computational and visualization capabilities, and wireless communication/infrastructure.
849
The rise of low-cost sensing for managing air pollution in cities.
Prashant Kumar,Lidia Morawska,Claudio Martani,George Biskos,George Biskos,George Biskos,Marina Neophytou,Silvana Di Sabatino,Margaret Bell,Leslie Norford,Rex Britter +10 more
TL;DR: The drivers behind current rises in the use of low-cost sensors for air pollution management in cities are illustrated, while addressing the major challenges for their effective implementation.
835