Aerial Mapping of Odorous Gases in a Wastewater Treatment Plant Using a Small Drone
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are sources of greenhouse gases, hazardous air pollutants and offensive odors. These emissions can have negative repercussions in and around the plant, degrading the quality of life of surrounding neighborhoods, damaging the environment, and reducing employee’s ov...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-04-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/9/1757 |
| _version_ | 1827693593803882496 |
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| author | Javier Burgués María Deseada Esclapez Silvia Doñate Laura Pastor Santiago Marco |
| author_facet | Javier Burgués María Deseada Esclapez Silvia Doñate Laura Pastor Santiago Marco |
| author_sort | Javier Burgués |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are sources of greenhouse gases, hazardous air pollutants and offensive odors. These emissions can have negative repercussions in and around the plant, degrading the quality of life of surrounding neighborhoods, damaging the environment, and reducing employee’s overall job satisfaction. Current monitoring methodologies based on fixed gas detectors and sporadic olfactometric measurements (human panels) do not allow for an accurate spatial representation of such emissions. In this paper we use a small drone equipped with an array of electrochemical and metal oxide (MOX) sensors for mapping odorous gases in a mid-sized WWTP. An innovative sampling system based on two (10 m long) flexible tubes hanging from the drone allowed near-source sampling from a safe distance with negligible influence from the downwash of the drone’s propellers. The proposed platform is very convenient for monitoring hard-to-reach emission sources, such as the plant’s deodorization chimney, which turned out to be responsible for the strongest odor emissions. The geo-localized measurements visualized in the form of a two-dimensional (2D) gas concentration map revealed the main emission hotspots where abatement solutions were needed. A principal component analysis (PCA) of the multivariate sensor signals suggests that the proposed system can also be used to trace which emission source is responsible for a certain measurement. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:46:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e5c1026515d74f14845d02307304e7b2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:46:42Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-e5c1026515d74f14845d02307304e7b22023-11-21T18:02:50ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922021-04-01139175710.3390/rs13091757Aerial Mapping of Odorous Gases in a Wastewater Treatment Plant Using a Small DroneJavier Burgués0María Deseada Esclapez1Silvia Doñate2Laura Pastor3Santiago Marco4Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), Baldiri Reixac 10-12, 08028 Barcelona, SpainDepuración de Aguas del Mediterráneo (DAM), Avenida Benjamín Franklin 21, Parque Tecnológico, 46980 Paterna, SpainDepuración de Aguas del Mediterráneo (DAM), Avenida Benjamín Franklin 21, Parque Tecnológico, 46980 Paterna, SpainDepuración de Aguas del Mediterráneo (DAM), Avenida Benjamín Franklin 21, Parque Tecnológico, 46980 Paterna, SpainInstitute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), Baldiri Reixac 10-12, 08028 Barcelona, SpainWastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are sources of greenhouse gases, hazardous air pollutants and offensive odors. These emissions can have negative repercussions in and around the plant, degrading the quality of life of surrounding neighborhoods, damaging the environment, and reducing employee’s overall job satisfaction. Current monitoring methodologies based on fixed gas detectors and sporadic olfactometric measurements (human panels) do not allow for an accurate spatial representation of such emissions. In this paper we use a small drone equipped with an array of electrochemical and metal oxide (MOX) sensors for mapping odorous gases in a mid-sized WWTP. An innovative sampling system based on two (10 m long) flexible tubes hanging from the drone allowed near-source sampling from a safe distance with negligible influence from the downwash of the drone’s propellers. The proposed platform is very convenient for monitoring hard-to-reach emission sources, such as the plant’s deodorization chimney, which turned out to be responsible for the strongest odor emissions. The geo-localized measurements visualized in the form of a two-dimensional (2D) gas concentration map revealed the main emission hotspots where abatement solutions were needed. A principal component analysis (PCA) of the multivariate sensor signals suggests that the proposed system can also be used to trace which emission source is responsible for a certain measurement.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/9/1757droneUAVgas sensorsodourair pollutionindustrial emissions |
| spellingShingle | Javier Burgués María Deseada Esclapez Silvia Doñate Laura Pastor Santiago Marco Aerial Mapping of Odorous Gases in a Wastewater Treatment Plant Using a Small Drone Remote Sensing drone UAV gas sensors odour air pollution industrial emissions |
| title | Aerial Mapping of Odorous Gases in a Wastewater Treatment Plant Using a Small Drone |
| title_full | Aerial Mapping of Odorous Gases in a Wastewater Treatment Plant Using a Small Drone |
| title_fullStr | Aerial Mapping of Odorous Gases in a Wastewater Treatment Plant Using a Small Drone |
| title_full_unstemmed | Aerial Mapping of Odorous Gases in a Wastewater Treatment Plant Using a Small Drone |
| title_short | Aerial Mapping of Odorous Gases in a Wastewater Treatment Plant Using a Small Drone |
| title_sort | aerial mapping of odorous gases in a wastewater treatment plant using a small drone |
| topic | drone UAV gas sensors odour air pollution industrial emissions |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/9/1757 |
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