New air quality monitoring system introduced into South African industry

International environmental air quality monitoring specialist Aeroqual has launched its AQM 60 air quality station in South Africa. The unit introduces 
compact and cost-effective air quality monitoring for industries and urban areas.

Aeroqual business development manager Paul Pickering tells Mining Weekly that one of the system’s many advantages is that it acquires high-quality data for key airborne pollutants at lower capital and operational 
costs than those of reference stations and data can be relayed back to the user in real time.

“Traditionally, small passive samplers and large reference monitoring stations are used to measure ambient air quality. Although passive samplers are a low-cost method, the information received from these samples is time-averaged and historical data,” he says.

Reference stations play a role in air quality monitoring but, owing to size, cost and opera-
tional requirements, they are sparsely located and, in many instances, poorly maintained. Being able to obtain accurate 
data in real time, in higher densities and at a lower total cost is a 
significant advancement in technology and a step forward for air-
quality management and monitoring in the microenvironment.

The AQM 60 uses high-performance gas-sensitive semi-
conductor technology and other continuous measurement 
methods, including photo-
ionisation detector and nondispersive infrared technology.

Using smart measurement techniques coupled with a comprehensive understanding of material properties and operating conditions, Aeroqual has
achieved instrument stability, 
including compensation for drift components (temperature, 
humidity and interferences). Data quality is similar to that of large, high-priced reference stations. 
The unit provides comparable 
results, but is more compact, can be mounted on poles and buildings and comes at a much lower price.

Other features of the system include a large data capacity, full remote diagnostics and condition monitoring capabilities; it is compact and housed in a thermally controlled and weatherproof enclosure and is equipped with an optional modem or Ethernet connection.

The lower capital expenditure and operational cost of the system enable higher-density monitoring and provide local 
information as opposed to 
national air pollution indexes, which, in turn, allow identification of hot spots and provide quantitative data for deciding mitigation strategies. The unit is also used to monitor the effectiveness of environment management strategies and contributes to pollution dispersion models. That information is then used in environmental-impact assessments and various other studies.

Owing to the new and advanced 
technology that the system uses, it offers a flexible platform and can operate with any number of external sensors and interfaces 
for measuring air quality in urban 
areas, high traffic areas and many other industries.

Mining and heavy pollution generating industries are monitored by means of perimeter or fence-line monitoring. This enables the effects of air pollution emissions on the surrounding 
environment to be monitored and certain hot spots to be targeted so that the appropriate 
action can be taken to counter the negative outcomes.

Pickering says that, worldwide, the major areas of concern that need air-quality assessment and monitoring include transportation areas such as highway routes and main roads, urban areas, municipalities and local community exposure.

Environmental instrumentation specialist and South African distributor of Aeroqual products Envirocon director Howard Palmer says that, because of the high costs involved in the use of reference instrumentation for air quality management, companies, municipalities and governments tend to cut back on these as 
priorities and eliminate them from budgets as they are expensive to buy, manage and service.

“The product and the system can only run well if it is maintained, so one of the challenges that we face is the lack of skills to maintain and service them. The AQM 60 comes with a modular design for easy maintenance by trained distributors,” he says.

The Aeroqual AQM 60 is currently being used in a municipality within South Africa and Palmer reports that interest in the product is growing.