Industrial SO2 emission monitoring through a portable multichannel gas analyzer with an optimized retrieval algorithm

SO2 variability over a large concentration range and interferences from other gases have been major limitations in industrial SO2 emission monitoring. This study demonstrates accurate industrial SO2 emission monitoring through a portable multichannel gas analyzer with an optimized retrieval algorithm. The proposed analyzer features a large dynamic measurement range and correction of interferences from other coexisting infrared absorbers such as NO, CO, CO2, NO2, CH4, HC, N2O, and H2O. The multichannel gas analyzer measures 11 different wavelength channels simultaneously to correct several major problems of an infrared gas analyzer including system drift, conflict of sensitivity, interferences among different infrared absorbers, and limitation of measurement range. The optimized algorithm uses a third polynomial instead of a constant factor to quantify gas-to-gas interference. Measurement results show good performance in the linear and nonlinear ranges, thereby solving the problem that the conventional interference correction is restricted by the linearity of the intended and interfering channels. The results imply that the measurement range of the developed multichannel analyzer can be extended to the nonlinear absorption region. The measurement range and accuracy are evaluated through experimental laboratory calibration. Excellent agreement was achieved, with a Pearson correlation coefficient (r(2)) of 0.99977 with a measurement range from approximately 5 to 10 000 ppmv and a measurement error of less than 2 %. The instrument was also deployed for field measurement. Emissions from three different factories were measured. The emissions of these factories have been characterized by different coexisting infrared absorbers, covering a wide range of concentration levels. We compared our measurements with commercial SO2 analyzers. Overall, good agreement was achieved

Intercomparison of nitrous acid (HONO) measurement techniques in a megacity (Beijing)

Nitrous acid (HONO) is a key determinant of the daytime radical budget in the daytime boundary layer, with quantitative measurement required to understand OH radical abundance. Accurate and precise measurements of HONO are therefore needed; however HONO is a challenging compound to measure in the field, in particular in a chemically complex and highly polluted environment. Here we report an intercomparison exercise between HONO measurements performed by two wet chemical techniques (the commercially available a long-path absorption photometer (LOPAP) and a custom-built instrument) and two broadband cavity-enhanced absorption spectrophotometer (BBCEAS) instruments at an urban location in Beijing. In addition, we report a comparison of HONO measurements performed by a time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometer (ToF-CIMS) and a selected ion flow tube mass spectrometer (SIFT-MS) to the more established techniques (wet chemical and BBCEAS). The key finding from the current work was that all instruments agree on the temporal trends and variability in HONO (r2 > 0.97), yet they displayed some divergence in absolute concentrations, with the wet chemical methods consistently higher overall than the BBCEAS systems by between 12 % and 39 %. We found no evidence for any systematic bias in any of the instruments, with the exception of measurements near instrument detection limits. The causes of the divergence in absolute HONO concentrations were unclear, and may in part have been due to spatial variability, i.e. differences in instrument location and/or inlet position, but this observation may have been more associative than casual

Atmospheric pollution and human health in a Chinese megacity (APHH-Beijing) programme. Final report

In 2016, over 150 UK and Chinese scientists joined forces to understand the causes and impacts - emission sources, atmospheric processes and health effects - of air pollution in Beijing, with the ultimate aim of informing air pollution solutions and thus improving public health. The Atmospheric Pollution and Human Health in a Chinese Megacity (APHH-Beijing) research programme succeeded in delivering its objectives and significant additional science, through a large-scale, coordinated multidisciplinary collaboration. In this report are highlighted some of the research outcomes that have potential implications for policymaking

Frontispiece: Merging Visible‐Light Photocatalysis and Palladium Catalysis for C−H Acylation of Azo‐ and Azoxybenzenes with α‐Keto Acids

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137545/1/chem201680761.pd

Frontispiece: Merging Visible-Light Photocatalysis and Palladium Catalysis for C−H Acylation of Azo- and Azoxybenzenes with α-Keto Acids

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137545/1/chem201680761.pd

Observation of Nitrate Radical in the Nocturnal Boundary Layer During a Summer Field Campaign in Pearl River Delta, China

From July 4 to 11, 2006 at Back Garden site (23°28’86”N; 113°02’91”E), nighttime nitrate radical (NO3) was measured with a long path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) during an intensive field campaign in the Pearl River Delta of China. The NO3 concentration in polluted air masses varied from 3.6 to 82.5 ppt with an average level of 21.8 ± 1.8 ppt. NO3 at these levels can play a significant role in oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The calculated production rate of nitrate radical ranged from 8 × 105 to 2.98 × 107 cm-3 s-1, while its lifetimes spanned from between just several seconds to 650 seconds, with an average of 89 seconds. N2O5 levels were calculated with the average of 620 ± 93 ppt during this campaign. The possible scavenging processes for the nitrate radical were obtained by using a statistical analysis of the correlation between NO3 and NO levels, NO3 concentration and its production rate, and the NO3 lifetime and NO2 levels, respectively. Results showed that the direct losses were of importance at Back Garden in summer Pearl River Delta, China