Comparison of NO2 and SO2 Measurements Using Different Passive Samplers in Tropical Environment

Jun  He; Honghui  Xu; Rajasekhar  Balasubramanian; Chuen Yu  Chan; Chengjun  Wang

doi:10.4209/aaqr.2013.02.0055

Comparison of NO2 and SO2 Measurements Using Different Passive Samplers in Tropical Environment

Jun He ¹^,3, Honghui Xu², Rajasekhar Balasubramanian³, Chuen Yu Chan¹, Chengjun Wang⁴

¹Division of Engineering, The University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province 315100, China
²Zhejiang Meteorological Science Institute, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, 310008, China
³Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, Singapore
⁴College of Chemical and Material Engineering, Wenzhou University, Zhejiang Province, 325035, China

Received: February 22, 2013
Revised: June 12, 2013
Accepted: June 12, 2013
Download Citation: ||https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2013.02.0055

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Cite this article:
He, J., Xu, H., Balasubramanian, R., Chan, C.Y. and Wang, C. (2014). Comparison of NO2 and SO2 Measurements Using Different Passive Samplers in Tropical Environment. Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 14: 355-363. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2013.02.0055

ABSTRACT

This report describes the results of an inter-comparison study conducted for the sampling and analysis of NO₂ and SO₂ by using different type of passive samplers in tropical urban environment. For this purpose, field experiments were proposed to be conducted by two round robin tests from Sept. 2007 to Aug. 2008 in Singapore. A set of different types of passive samplers have been exposed to ambient air at atmospheric research station in National University of Singapore along with suitable active samplers (as reference method) for a sufficient period of time (3–4 weeks). Annular denuder system (ADS) active sampling data showed that NO₂ concentration level (23.8–28.1 ppb) in Singapore was slightly higher than the WHO guideline but SO₂ concentration (12.5–14.9 ppb) was approximately twice the value of WHO guideline. For the two round robin tests, accuracy analysis by using active sampling data as reference demonstrated that grand mean values from passive air sampling (PAS) and active sampler average concentrations, for both NO₂ and SO₂, are in close agreement with each other. Precision evaluation based on the triplicate samplers co-located at the same sampling site - Singapore showed that most of the passive samplers applied here had repeatability. ANOVA statistical analysis also showed no significant difference between the measurement data obtained by different type of passive samplers for both round robin tests in Singapore.

Keywords: Passive sampling; Nitrogen dioxide; Sulfur dioxide; Inter-comparison study