RAPID SAMPLE COLLECTION SYSTEM FOR ACTIVE MONITORING OF ATMOSPHERIC CONTAMINANTS IN AGRICULTURAL REGIONS
RAPID SAMPLE COLLECTION SYSTEM FOR ACTIVE MONITORING OF ATMOSPHERIC CONTAMINANTS IN AGRICULTURAL REGIONS
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.3174212406087
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Palavras-chave: Speed, detection, atmospheric pollutants, agricultural region.
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Keywords: Speed, detection, atmospheric pollutants, agricultural region.
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Abstract:
Air pollution is one of the main environmental and public health problems worldwide. In order to measure and evaluate air quality in a region, it is essential to have appropriate systems, networks and programs for this task.
The province of Córdoba, Argentina, has a high agricultural/livestock production capacity and agrochemicals are one of its main inputs. Among them, pesticides, which are characterized by presenting a certain degree of toxicity, can contaminate the atmosphere; for this reason, their use must be controlled. Active monitoring systems for atmospheric pollutants currently used in agricultural applications require a sample collection time of 24 hours. The rapid sample collection prototype developed at LIADE uses a brushless motor mounted on a convergent-divergent nozzle to pump, at high speed, a known volume of air through an activated carbon adsorption filter that retains the contaminants present in the circulated air. The qualitative determination of the contaminants retained in the filter is carried out by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry. For sampling times of 5 minutes, the results of the tests carried out with chlorpyrifos indicated a 70% coincidence with the standard spectrum of the NIST library. The developed system allows to significantly reduce the sample collection time for active monitoring of atmospheric contaminants and makes it possible, for example, to carry out aerial observations in a particular agricultural area to detect the presence of unwanted pesticides in it.
- Oscar Rodolfo Vanella
- Silvina Mabel Faillaci
- Edgar Lautaro Prados
- Abel Gerardo López
- Ana Laura de la Vega