Hefei Research Institute launches urban atmospheric navigation observation and emission source tracking experimental research

[ Instrument network instrument research and development ] Recently, the research team of Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry of the Medical Physics Technology Center, Institute of Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, used the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) travel monitoring mass spectrometer independently developed in the early stage to carry out urban atmospheric VOCs travel observations and emission sources Follow up the experimental research, and the results are published in the journal Environmental Pollution.

VOCs are important precursors of atmospheric ozone, photochemical smog, secondary organic aerosols and PM2.5. Some VOCs are also a direct threat to human health due to carcinogenesis. With the implementation of my country's blue sky defense action plan, various localities have gradually increased the control of VOCs pollution. However, urban atmospheric VOCs have the characteristics of polydispersity of emission points, variable emission time, and complex species. Therefore, it is difficult to trace the source of atmospheric VOCs only by relying on routine laboratory testing equipment or portable sensors. To this end, the research team of Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry has developed a low-power, earthquake-resistant vehicle-mounted mobile proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) technology in the early stage. Through the integration with electronic map geographic information systems, it is the first to propose atmospheric VOCs in the world. Innovative solution for monitoring mass spectrometer (M-PTR-MS). The vehicle-mounted mass spectrometer has achieved rapid inspection of urban or regional atmospheric VOCs emission sources through "walking and measurement", and is an important scientific weapon for environmental protection departments to carry out VOCs prevention and control and win the blue sky defense war.

Since 2017, the atmospheric VOCs on-the-fly monitoring mass spectrometer developed by the research team of Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry has been used in dozens of provinces/special zones such as Fujian, Shanghai, Sichuan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hebei, Macau, etc. with its high sensitivity and good stability. The mass spectrometer was used in several cities and counties; during the epidemic, the mass spectrometer also participated in the Wuhan VOCs monitoring study, providing reference data for the atmospheric risk assessment of the epidemic area.

The research has been supported by the National Key Research and Development Program, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Youth Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The related technologies of atmospheric VOCs navigation monitoring mass spectrometry have applied for national patents.