scholarly journals Air Quality Measurements and Education: Improving Environmental Awareness of High School Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Höfner ◽  
Andreas Schütze
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Gas Sensors ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Environmental Awareness ◽  
Oxide Semiconductor ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Measurement Results

Indoor air quality (IAQ) has gained renewed importance in public awareness, especially in times of the corona pandemic. In classrooms in particular, regular ventilation is essential to keep the potential viral load in the air as low as possible and thus reduce the likelihood of infection with the corona virus. But also the concentration of other pollutants, such as particulate matter (PM) or volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are responsible for symptoms such as concentration disorders, headaches and dizziness can be reduced. In addition to the direct measurement of VOC pollutants using metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) gas sensors, CO2 is also measured as an indicator gas for monitoring IAQ. However, young people in particular have only a diffuse idea of air pollutants. This can be explained by the fact that many of these air pollutants are both odorless and colorless and are only detectable using suitable sensors. In order to provide students with a comprehensive picture of the topic of air quality and thus strengthen their environmental awareness, declarative, conceptual and procedural knowledge needs to be combined. This includes knowledge about different sensor principles, pollutant types, their limits, health effects on humans and strategies to maintain good air quality, both indoors and outdoors. To ensure that this knowledge does not remain inert, authentic learning scenarios with a direct relevance to everyday life must be provided. Measuring pollutants in indoor air in particular offers the opportunity to apply what has been learned in a context-oriented manner. By linking the performance of measurements with sensors and the subsequent interpretation of measurement results, environmental awareness can be sharpened with regard to IAQ. This can be achieved by measuring pollutants with sensors and then interpreting and classifying the measurement results. In this paper, various student experiments with gas sensors are presented that introduce the function principles of different sensor types, record air quality data and provide meaningful interpretation. Based on these experiences, students are encouraged to develop their own research questions on air quality.

scholarly journals Field Study of Metal Oxide Semiconductor Gas Sensors in Temperature Cycled Operation for Selective VOC Monitoring in Indoor Air

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 647
Author(s):  
Tobias Baur ◽  
Johannes Amann ◽  
Caroline Schultealbert ◽  
Andreas Schütze
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Metal Oxide ◽  
Gas Sensor ◽  
Gas Sensors ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Quantitative Agreement ◽  
Metal Oxide Semiconductor ◽  
Oxide Semiconductor ◽  
High Temporal Resolution

More and more metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) gas sensors with digital interfaces are entering the market for indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring. These sensors are intended to measure volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor air, an important air quality factor. However, their standard operating mode often does not make full use of their true capabilities. More sophisticated operation modes, extensive calibration and advanced data evaluation can significantly improve VOC measurements and, furthermore, achieve selective measurements of single gases or at least types of VOCs. This study provides an overview of the potential and limits of MOS gas sensors for IAQ monitoring using temperature cycled operation (TCO), calibration with randomized exposure and data-based models trained with advanced machine learning. After lab calibration, a commercial digital gas sensor with four different gas-sensitive layers was tested in the field over several weeks. In addition to monitoring normal ambient air, release tests were performed with compounds that were included in the lab calibration, but also with additional VOCs. The tests were accompanied by different analytical systems (GC-MS with Tenax sampling, mobile GC-PID and GC-RCP). The results show quantitative agreement between analytical systems and the MOS gas sensor system. The study shows that MOS sensors are highly suitable for determining the overall VOC concentrations with high temporal resolution and, with some restrictions, also for selective measurements of individual components.

scholarly journals Calibration of Metal Oxide Semiconductor Gas Sensors by High School Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (04) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Sebastian Höfner ◽  
Andreas Schütze ◽  
Michael Hirth ◽  
Jochen Kuhn ◽  
Benjamin Brück
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Metal Oxide ◽  
Gas Sensor ◽  
Gas Sensors ◽  
Objective Assessment ◽  
Metal Oxide Semiconductor ◽  
Oxide Semiconductor ◽  
Calibration Process ◽  
Wide Range

A wide range of pollutants cannot be perceived with human senses, which is why the use of gas sensors is indispensable for an objective assessment of air quality. Since many pollutants are both odorless and colorless, there is a lack of awareness, in particular among students. The project SUSmobil (funded by DBU – Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt) aims to change this. In three modules on the topic of gas sensors and air quality, the students (a) learn the functionality of a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) gas sensor, (b) perform a calibration process and (c) carry out environmental measurements with calibrated sensors. Based on these introductory experiments, the students are encouraged to develop their own environmental questions. In this paper, the student experiment for the calibration of a MOS gas sensor for ethanol is discussed. The experiment, designed as an HTML-based learning, addresses both theoretical and practical aspects of a typical sensor calibration process, consisting of data acquisition, feature extraction and model generation. In this example, machine learning is used for generating the evaluation model as existing physical models are not sufficiently exact.

scholarly journals ENHANCING COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS THROUGH INDOOR AIR QUALITY WORKSHOP

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-175
Author(s):  
R.A Vesitara Kencanasari ◽  
Usep Surahman ◽  
Asep Yudi Permana ◽  
Hari Din Nugraha
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Environmental Awareness ◽  
Sick Building Syndrome ◽  
Moderate Increase ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Sick Building

Abstract - This research is motivated by the poor air quality in the room at home that can cause Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). The purpose of this research is to increase public awareness of the environment through indoor air quality workshops, with a Pre-Experimental method and One Group Pre-Test Post-Test research design. The sample in this study was Pasteur RW6, Sukajadi District at Bandung City, which was selected based on criteria including non slum areas, as well as high community participation. The results showed that the level of public awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and actions on air quality in the room before the Workshop was in the medium category. Then it increased after the Workshop, which was on a relatively moderate increase in knowledge. This can be seen from the majority of people who already know the importance of indoor air quality, but the knowledge of specific components that affect indoor air quality is still not understood. Whereas attitudes and actions experienced a relatively small increase due to the knowledge gained in the Workshop not being implemented in the form of real attitudes and actions in daily life because people's habits are difficult to change. Keywords – Environmental Awareness, Indoor Air Quality, Workshop, Community Awareness 

scholarly journals Modeling of the Function Principle of Semiconductor Gas Sensors for High School Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (03) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Sebastian Höfner ◽  
Michael Hirth ◽  
Jochen Kuhn ◽  
Benjamin Brück ◽  
Andreas Schütze
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Gas Sensor ◽  
Gas Sensors ◽  
Objective Assessment ◽  
Oxide Semiconductor ◽  
Sensor Calibration ◽  
School Students ◽  
Wide Range

A wide range of pollutants cannot be perceived with human senses, which is why theuse of gas sensors is indispensable for an objective assessment of air quality. Sincemany pollutants are both odorless and colorless, there is a lack of awareness, inparticular among high school students. The project SUSmobil (funded by DBU –Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt) aims to change this. In three modules on the topic ofgas sensors and air quality, the students (1) are familiarized with the functionality of ametal oxide semiconductor (MOS) gas sensor, (2) perform a sensor calibration and (3)carry out environmental measurements with calibrated sensors. Based on theseintroductory experiments, the students are encouraged to develop their ownenvironmental questions. In this contribution, we focus on the experimental andmodeling approach which explains the function principle of a MOS gas sensor in a waysuitable for high school students. This includes a qualitative and quantitativedescription of a simplified sensor model explaining the main processes on the sensorsurface. In addition, an HTML-based self-learning course is presented in which thestudents investigate the sensor behavior in the presence of different substancesdepending on the sensor temperature.

scholarly journals Understanding “Atmosome”, the Personal Atmospheric Exposome: Comprehensive Approach

10.2196/28920 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. e28920
Author(s):  
Hari Bhimaraju ◽  
Nitish Nag ◽  
Vaibhav Pandey ◽  
Ramesh Jain
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
The Impact

Background Modern environmental health research extensively focuses on outdoor air pollutants and their effects on public health. However, research on monitoring and enhancing individual indoor air quality is lacking. The field of exposomics encompasses the totality of human environmental exposures and its effects on health. A subset of this exposome deals with atmospheric exposure, termed the “atmosome.” The atmosome plays a pivotal role in health and has significant effects on DNA, metabolism, skin integrity, and lung health. Objective The aim of this work is to develop a low-cost, comprehensive measurement system for collecting and analyzing atmosomic factors. The research explores the significance of the atmosome in personalized and preventive care for public health. Methods An internet of things microcontroller-based system is introduced and demonstrated. The system collects real-time indoor air quality data and posts it to the cloud for immediate access. Results The experimental results yield air quality measurements with an accuracy of 90% when compared with precalibrated commercial devices and demonstrate a direct correlation between lifestyle and air quality. Conclusions Quantifying the individual atmosome is a monumental step in advancing personalized health, medical research, and epidemiological research. The 2 main goals in this work are to present the atmosome as a measurable concept and to demonstrate how to implement it using low-cost electronics. By enabling atmosome measurements at a communal scale, this work also opens up potential new directions for public health research. Researchers will now have the data to model the impact of indoor air pollutants on the health of individuals, communities, and specific demographics, leading to novel approaches for predicting and preventing diseases.

scholarly journals Understanding “Atmosome”, the Personal Atmospheric Exposome: Comprehensive Approach (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hari Bhimaraju ◽  
Nitish Nag ◽  
Vaibhav Pandey ◽  
Ramesh Jain
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND Modern environmental health research extensively focuses on outdoor air pollutants and their effects on public health. However, research on monitoring and enhancing individual indoor air quality is lacking. The field of exposomics encompasses the totality of human environmental exposures and its effects on health. A subset of this exposome deals with atmospheric exposure, termed the “atmosome.” The atmosome plays a pivotal role in health and has significant effects on DNA, metabolism, skin integrity, and lung health. OBJECTIVE The aim of this work is to develop a low-cost, comprehensive measurement system for collecting and analyzing atmosomic factors. The research explores the significance of the atmosome in personalized and preventive care for public health. METHODS An internet of things microcontroller-based system is introduced and demonstrated. The system collects real-time indoor air quality data and posts it to the cloud for immediate access. RESULTS The experimental results yield air quality measurements with an accuracy of 90% when compared with precalibrated commercial devices and demonstrate a direct correlation between lifestyle and air quality. CONCLUSIONS Quantifying the individual atmosome is a monumental step in advancing personalized health, medical research, and epidemiological research. The 2 main goals in this work are to present the atmosome as a measurable concept and to demonstrate how to implement it using low-cost electronics. By enabling atmosome measurements at a communal scale, this work also opens up potential new directions for public health research. Researchers will now have the data to model the impact of indoor air pollutants on the health of individuals, communities, and specific demographics, leading to novel approaches for predicting and preventing diseases.

scholarly journals Selective detection of hazardous VOCs for indoor air quality applications using a virtual gas sensor array

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Leidinger ◽  
T. Sauerwald ◽  
W. Reimringer ◽  
G. Ventura ◽  
A. Schütze
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Sensor Fusion ◽  
Gas Sensors ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Oxide Semiconductor ◽  
Sensor Data ◽  
Limit Values ◽  
Linear Discriminant ◽  
Combining Data

Abstract. An approach for detecting hazardous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in ppb and sub-ppb concentrations is presented. Using three types of metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) gas sensors in temperature cycled operation, formaldehyde, benzene and naphthalene in trace concentrations, reflecting threshold limit values as proposed by the WHO and European national health institutions, are successfully identified against a varying ethanol background of up to 2 ppm. For signal processing, linear discriminant analysis is applied to single sensor data and sensor fusion data. Integrated field test sensor systems for monitoring of indoor air quality (IAQ) using the same types of gas sensors were characterized using the same gas measurement setup and data processing. Performance of the systems is reduced due to gas emissions from the hardware components. These contaminations have been investigated using analytical methods. Despite the reduced sensitivity, concentrations of the target VOCs in the ppb range (100 ppb of formaldehyde; 5 ppb of benzene; 20 ppb of naphthalene) are still clearly detectable with the systems, especially when using the sensor fusion method for combining data of the different MOS sensor types.

scholarly journals 3D Correlation IAQ in a Conference Room

Proceedings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Gładyszewska-Fiedoruk
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Concentration ◽  
Conference Room ◽  
Sources Of Pollution ◽  
Measurement Results

The work presents an attempt to understand how three basic air pollutants in a room have an influence on indoor air quality. The aim of the study is to analyze the air quality in a conference room, determining whether (and if so, which) correlations occur among air pollutants in a room where the only sources of pollution is people. The air temperature, relative humidity and carbon dioxide concentration in the air in the room were analyzed. When analyzing the correlation among the measurement results, it should be clearly stated that the impurities that come only from people are correlated with each other.

(Invited) Development of Pulse-Heated Diaphragm Type MEMS Gas Sensors for Indoor Air Quality Measurement

2021 ◽  
Vol MA2021-01 (56) ◽  
pp. 1504-1504
Author(s):  
Tomohiro Kawaguchi ◽  
Hirofumi Inoue ◽  
Akiko Omori ◽  
Masakazu Sai ◽  
Kuniyuki Izawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Gas Sensors ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Quality Measurement

scholarly journals 06 - Gas Sensors for Indoor Air Quality

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Puglisi ◽  
J. Eriksson ◽  
M. Bastuck ◽  
M. Andersson ◽  
A. Lloyd Spetz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Gas Sensors ◽  
Indoor Air
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