science in ACTION INNOVATIVE RESEARCH FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE &EPA www.epa.gov/research KOLIBRI SYSTEM ENABLES MOBILE MEASUREMENT OF AIR EMISSIONS AT THE SOURCE Kolibri Researchers at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are developing and demonstrating the Kolibri, an air emission sensor/sampler instrument, for use on small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) and ground- mobile applications. The instrument can remotely and safely sample emissions from a variety of open area sources such as wildland fires and industrial plumes. Instrument Measurement Capabilities The Kolibri sensor/sampler instrument is a shoebox-sized, lightweight system that weighs up to eight pounds. It can be used to sample a comprehensive suite of gas and particle emissions, including: • Carbon dioxide (CO2), • Carbon monoxide (CO), • Nitrogen and sulfur oxides (NOx/SOx), • Volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs, VOCs), • Polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), • Particulate matter (PM), • Bioaerosols, • PM metals, and more. Features • The Kolibri includes an array of air sensors and other miniature measurement instruments that provide real-time and cumulative data. The types of samplers used on the platform can be customized for specific measurement needs. • The Kolibri is self-powered and has a microcontroller that operates the sampling pumps, records data, and Top : Kolibri sampling system attached to sUAS Bottom: Kolibri sampling system transmits data to the ground operator through a telemetry system. • Data can be viewed by the operator in real time and batch samples can be sent to the laboratory for further analysis. • The Kolibri can be placed on an sUAS owned and operated by other parties, or placed on ground-based vehicles, enabling sampling at the emission source and in the immediate area surrounding the source. 1 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development ------- Applications in the Field The Kolibri is being used in multiple applications in the field to characterize the chemical and biological composition of emissions. The Kolibri can be applied to various challenging open area scenarios such as fires, lagoons, flares, and landfills as well as forest and agricultural burns and industrial plumes. The novel air sampling instrument offers the capability to obtain a comprehensive suite of emissions data from sources where data do not previously exist because of accessibility limitations and/or safety issues for personnel. The system further provides a significant tool to characterize emergency situations for air emissions. In 2020, researchers plan to use Kolibri to study emissions during wildfire-like prescribed burns with the U.S. Forest Service; emissions of oil burns on water with the U.S. Department of Interior; and emissions with open detonation demilitarization operations with the U.S. Department of Defense. The system is operated by EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) and has been deployed on 11 campaigns since 2016. HIGHLIGHTED REFERENCES: Aurell, J., Mitchell, W., Chirayath, V., Jonsson, J., Tabor, D., & Gullett, B. (2017). Field determination of multipollutant, open area combustion source emission factors with a hexacopter unmanned aerial vehicle. Atmospheric Environment, 166, 433-440. Zhou, X., Aurell, J., Mitchell, W., Tabor, D., & Gullett, B. (2017). A small, lightweight multipollutant sensor system for ground-mobile and aerial emission sampling from open area sources. Atmospheric Environment, 154, 31-41. CONTACT: Brian Gullett, Office of Research and Development, gullett.brianV7cpa.gov March 2020 2 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development ------- |