AAAR 36th Annual Conference October 16 - October 20, 2017 Raleigh Convention Center Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Abstract View
The Application of Low-cost Air Quality Sensors to Monitor Portable Air Filtration Device Performance and Personal Exposure in Beijing, China
KAROLINE JOHNSON, Michael Bergin, Christina Norris, Junfeng Zhang, Yinping Zhang, James Schauer, Duke University
Abstract Number: 586 Working Group: Indoor Aerosols
Abstract Portable air filtration devices are popular in China due to the severe air quality problems that exist in many urban areas. However, the effectiveness of these devices is largely unknown, without any standardized measurement methods available to monitor indoor air quality. Low cost, light scattering PM sensors are one possible solution. Twenty-three real-time sensor packages were deployed at homes and base stations around Beijing, China during a 3-week study. These air quality sensor packages were designed at Duke University and included a Plantower PM2.5 sensor, temperature and relative humidity sensors, and a number of gas phase sensors. Seven participants were recruited from around Beijing. Participants randomly received true filtration in their homes for 1 week and sham filtration for the other week of this study. Each home had an indoor and outdoor sensor and the participant carried a personal sensor for 48 hours to determine the effects of indoor filtration on personal exposure. Calibrations were generated for the sensors by locating them on a roof a few kilometers from the US embassy and by comparing sensor data to the embassy PM2.5 data. Indoor, outdoor, personal, and base station measurements were also evaluated against Teflon filters samples with good correlation (R2 =0.8). Preliminary analysis shows that when windows were kept closed, the portable air filtration devices were effective at dropping indoor PM2.5 concentrations by 75% on average as compared to the sham period. During sham periods, indoor concentrations were on average 75% of outdoor concentrations. During true filtration, indoor concentrations were only 20% of outdoor concentrations. The performance of these sensors during this pilot study indicates they are effective both as personal exposure monitors and for monitoring the performance of air purifiers.