Sensors aid air quality mission

Since 2016, the APB (Balearic Port Authority) has been working to assess the level of air quality in the Balearic Islands ports, as well as the possible relationship with port activities, in alignment with the environmental policy of the APB.

To this end, 25 air quality and noise monitoring devices are located in the five ports of the Balearic Islands managed by the APB. These monitoring networks in Palma, Alcúdia, Eivissa, La Savina and Maó aim to assess the impact of air quality in urban areas near the ports of the Balearic Islands, and to have an early warning system for pollution to enable timely decisions and actions.

Studying pollution

One of the most important aspects of the project, in addition to real-time monitoring of air quality, is the study of pollution episodes in the ports. The objective is to evaluate the potential emission sources and make proposals for improvements that reduce air pollution and noise.

The data is integrated into an information management platform that allows the APB to access data in real time, create reports and obtain aggregated information through air quality indices. Analysis is then carried out through the monitoring data.

As well as contributing to reducing emissions, analysing the scale of of the polluting sources and studying proposals for improvement, can improve the quality of life of workers in the port and citizens of nearby neighbourhoods.

Kunak AIR equipment is capable of monitoring air quality with high precision data. Air quality monitoring stations include sensors for measuring CO, O3, NO, NO2, SO2, a particle counter (PM1, PM2.5, PM10) and noise sensor – Type 2 sound level meter (LAeq, Ld, Le, Ln). An anemometer probe is also incorporated in some of the stations.

The sensors, which measure in low concentrations (ppb), have been configured to integrate the values every 10 minutes and communicate every 30 minutes.