SMART SEWAGE MONITORING SYSTEM

A PROJECT REPORT

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirement for Project Based Component (Embedded)
of
TECHNICAL ANSWERS FOR REAL WORLD PROBLEMS (MEE3999)

By

ANIRUDDH JASTA - 16BEM0017

DIVESH SHARMA - 16BEM0082
VIBHUTI YADAV - 16BEM0050
ADITYA MENON - 16BEM0030
SAURAV SUBHASH - 16BEM0087

SCHOOL OF MECHANICAL ENGINNERING

VIT UNIVESITY
NOV, 2019
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION
2. WHY DO WE NEED A SMART SEWAGE MONITORING SYSTEM?
3. OUR SOLUTION
4. CODE
5. COMPONENTS REQUIRED
6. MODEL
7. TYPES OF POLLUTANTS
8. AIR QUALITY MONITORING
9. REGULATORY HURDLES
10. REFERENCES
 1. INTRODUCTION
Air pollution is probably one of the most serious environmental problems confronting our
civilization today. Most often, it is caused by human activities such as mining, construction,
transportation, industrial work, agriculture, smelting, etc. However, natural processes such as
volcanic eruptions and wildfires may also pollute the air, but their occurrence is rare and they usually
have a local effect, unlike human activities that are ubiquitous causes of air pollution and contribute
to the global pollution of the air every single day.

Air pollution is one such form that refers to the contamination of the air, irrespective of indoors or
outside. A physical, biological or chemical alteration to the air in the atmosphere can be termed as
pollution. It occurs when any harmful gases, dust, smoke enters into the atmosphere and makes it
difficult for plants, animals and humans to survive as the air becomes dirty.

Air pollution can further be classified into two sections- Visible air pollution and invisible air
pollution. Another way of looking at Air pollution could be any substance that holds the potential to
hinder the atmosphere or the well being of the living beings surviving in it. The sustainment of all
things living is due to a combination of gases that collectively form the atmosphere; the imbalance
caused by the increase or decrease of the percentage of these gases can be harmful for survival.

The Ozone layer considered crucial for the existence of the ecosystems on the planet is depleting due
to increased pollution. Global warming, a direct result of the increased imbalance of gases in the
atmosphere has come to be known as the biggest threat and challenge that the contemporary world
has to overcome in a bid for survival.
 2. WHY DO WE NEED A SMART SEWAGE MONITORING SYSTEM?

• At least one Indian worker has died while cleaning sewers or septic tanks every five
days since the beginning of 2017
• From 2017, more than 300 cleaners had died due to inhalation of toxic gases inside
the sewer
• Cleaning of sewage and drainage lines is a tedious and a time-consuming process
• While repairing due to blockage or Leakage in the drainage line cost a huge amount of
money
• Digging for the repairing of these lines causes road jams and create problems for the
local people
• Leakage of these lines let the water and other waste material to come in open and
become a breeding ground for the flies which can spread life threating disease

3. OUR SOLUTION

• A Sensor based Smart Sewage Monitoring System

• It will Monitor the level of all the toxic gases and oxygen in the manholes and sewage
lines
• Before the worker goes inside the manhole or sewage line the officials can check the
level of gases inside it
• While Cleaning it if the oxygen amounts drop suddenly or the level of toxic gases
increases it will raise the alarm warning the worker to return immediately
• Apart from installing it in the Manholes only, it will be installed in the sewage line
nodes at a distances
• This will help us to continuously monitor the level of gases in the sewage line if the
level of gases increases it will indicate that there is a blockage and if the decrease in
the level will tell us about the leakage
• The data will be sent to the municipality which can check the levels anytime they want
• If the deviation is found between any to nodes only the pipes between that line will be
repaired without digging the hole road and causing problem to others and saving huge
amount of money as well.
 4. CODE

• #include <ESP8266WiFi.h>
• String apiKey = "LNSYHI98VGZBAV45"; // Enter your Write API key from
ThingSpeak
• const char *ssid = "qwe"; // replace with your wifi ssid and wpa2 key
• const char *pass = "q1w2e3r4";
• const char* server = "api.thingspeak.com";
• WiFiClient client;
• void setup(){
• Serial.begin(9600);
• delay(10);
• Serial.println("Connecting to ");
• Serial.println(ssid);
• WiFi.begin(ssid, pass);
• while (WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED){
• delay(500);
• Serial.print(".");}
• Serial.println("");
• Serial.println("WiFi connected");}
• void loop(){
• float h = analogRead(A0);
• if (isnan(h)){
• Serial.println("Failed to read from MQ-135 sensor!");
• return;}
• if (client.connect(server, 80)) // "184.106.153.149" or api.thingspeak.com
• {
• String postStr = apiKey;
• postStr += "&field1=";
• postStr += String(h/1023*100);
• postStr += "r\n";
• client.print("POST /update HTTP/1.1\n");
• client.print("Host: api.thingspeak.com\n");
• client.print("Connection: close\n");
• client.print("X-THINGSPEAKAPIKEY: " + apiKey + "\n");
• client.print("Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded\n");
• client.print("Content-Length: ");
• client.print(postStr.length());
• client.print("\n\n");
• client.print(postStr);
• Serial.print("Oxygen Level: ");
• Serial.println(h/1023*100);
• //Serial.println(h);
• Serial.println("Data Send to Thingspeak");}
• client.stop();
• Serial.println("Waiting...");
• // thingspeak needs minimum 15 sec delay between updates.
• delay(1500);}
 5. COMPONENTS REQUIRED

• Node MCU ESP8266(Microcontroller)

• MQ 135 (Gas sensor)

• Batteries(Power Source

• Wires(Connectors)
6. WORKING MODEL
 7. TYPES OF POLLUTANTS
In order to understand the causes of Air pollution, several divisions can be made. Primarily air
pollutants can be caused by primary sources or secondary sources. The pollutants that are a direct
result of the process can be called primary pollutants. A classic example of a primary pollutant
would be the sulfur-dioxide emitted from factories.
Secondary pollutants are the ones that are caused by the inter mingling and reactions of primary
pollutants. Smog created by the interactions of several primary pollutants is known to be as
secondary pollutant.

A large number of contaminants may pollute the air in a large variety of forms. Almost any toxic
chemical could make its way into the atmosphere to pollute the air that we breathe. Aerosol particles
(clouds of liquid and solid particles in a gas) that are found in the air may also contain pollutants.

The chemical compounds that lower the air quality are usually referred to as air pollutants. These
compounds may be found in the air in two major forms:

 in a gaseous form (as gases),

 in a solid form (as particulate matter suspended in the air).

Sulfur Oxides Poisoning

Sulfur oxides are all around us. Some of them are naturally occurring (for instance in volcanic
eruptions), and relatively harmless; some, however, can be man-made as a byproduct of industrial
processing, and are extremely toxic.

Nitrogen Oxides Poisoning

Nitrogen oxides are present all around us, as a mostly unfortunate byproduct of industrial civilization.
While they have many beneficial uses, they can also be heavy pollutants.

Nitrogen oxides are polluting the air through car exhaust, electric power plants, the burning of
various fuels, cigarette smoking, electroplating, welding etc. When combined with volatile organic
compounds, nitrogen oxides form smog; when combined with sulfur dioxides, they form acid rain.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Carbon monoxide is a known pollutant, almost omnipresent in present-day cities around the world. It
is produced during the process of burning fuel (gasoline, oil, diesel, wood, charcoal etc.). This means
it’s present in vehicle exhaust and tobacco smoke, as well as unvented spaces where fuel is being
burned.
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Pollution
Volatile organic compounds are compounds that contain carbon and can quickly turn into vapors or
gases. These VOCs can be released by a number of products or items in contemporary life, from
burning gasoline or coal to solvents, glues, dry-cleaning products etc., and they contribute to air
pollution and serious health conditions.
Particulate Matter Pollution
Particulate matter is the generic name used for the particles that exist in the air around us. Some
particles are microscopic, others are big enough to be seen with the naked eye. Some are benign,
others are highly toxic.

PM, or particulate matter, can be of various sizes. The Environmental Protection Agency uses two:
PM-10 (10 micrometers or less) and PM-2.5 (2.5 micrometers or less). The main source of
particulate matter is burning fuels, meaning anything from diesel and gasoline to wood and leaves.
Construction sites, roadwork, factories and quarries are other sources of particulate matter.

Gaseous Hg Poisoning
Mercury is known to be extremely harmful to human health in any form, a strong neurotoxin that can
occur naturally or be released from power plants and many other sources and spread across land,
soil, air and water.

Mercury is a heavy metal that, at room temperature, occurs in liquid form, but with an already high
vapor pressure.

Radioactive Pollution
Radioactive Pollution is defined as the increase in the natural radiation levels caused by human
activities. It is estimated that about 20% of radiation we are exposed to is due to human activities.
The human activities that can release radiation involve activities with radioactive materials such as
mining, handling and processing of radioactive materials, handling and storage of radioactive waste,
as well as the use of radioactive reactions to generate energy (nuclear power plants), along with the
use of radiation in medicine (e.g. X-rays) and research.

Effect on Wildlife: Just like humans, animals also face some devastating affects of air pollution.
Toxic chemicals present in the air can force wildlife species to move to new place and change their
habitat. The toxic pollutants deposit over the surface of the water and can also affect sea animals.

Depletion of Ozone layer: Ozone exists in earth’s stratosphere and is responsible for protecting humans
from harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. Earth’s ozone layer is depleting due to the presence of
chlorofluorocarbons, hydro chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere. As ozone layer will go thin, it will
emit harmful rays back on earth and can cause skin and eye related problems. UV rays also have the
capability to affect crops.

When you try to study the sources of Air pollution, you enlist a series of activities and interactions
that create these pollutants. There are two types of sources that we will take a look at: Natural
sources and Man-made sources.

Natural sources of pollution include dust carried by the wind from locations with very little or no
green cover, gases released from the body processes of living beings (Carbon dioxide from humans
during respiration, Methane from cattle during digestion, Oxygen from plants during
Photosynthesis). Smoke from the combustion of various inflammable objects, volcanic eruptions etc
along with the emission of polluted gases also make it to the list of Natural sources of Pollution.

While looking at the man-made contributions towards air pollution, smoke again features as a
prominent component. The smoke emitted from various forms of combustion like in bio mass,
factories, vehicles, furnaces etc. Waste used to create landfills generate methane, that is harmful in
several ways. The reactions of certain gases and chemicals also form harmful fumes that can be
dangerous to the well being of living creatures.
 8. AIR QUALITY MONITORING
The starting point of air quality monitoring is to first study if an area has an air pollution problem.
Monitoring helps in assessing the level of pollution in relation to the ambient air quality standards.
Standards are a regulatory measure to set the target for pollution reduction and achieve clean air.
Robust monitoring helps to guard against extreme events by alerting people and initiate action. We
regulate a total of 12 pollutants, including SO2, NO2, PM10, PM2.5 (particulate matter of up to 10
micron and up to 2.5 micron size), ozone, lead, arsenic, nickel, CO, NH3, benzene, and BaP
(particulate phase). Across cities, only SO2, NO2 and RSPM / PM10 are monitored regularly. Other
pollutants, such as PM2.5, O3, CO, BTX, heavy metals are monitored in select cities as capacity is
still being built. India has set a target for states to meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards
(NAAQS) in urban areas by 2017.

Ambient air monitoring is an integral part of an effective air quality management system.

Reasons to collect such data include to:

• assess the extent of pollution;

• provide air pollution data to the general public in a timely manner;
• support implementation of air quality goals or standards;
• evaluate the effectiveness of emissions control strategies;
• provide information on air quality trends;
• provide data for the evaluation of air quality models; and
• Support research (e.g., long-term studies of the health effects of air pollution).

There are different methods to measure any given pollutant. A developer of a monitoring strategy
should examine the options to determine which methods are most appropriate, taking into account
the main uses of the data, initial investment costs for equipment, operating costs, reliability of
systems, and ease of operation.

The locations for monitoring stations depend on the purpose of the monitoring. Most air quality
monitoring networks are designed to support human health objectives, and monitoring stations are
established in population centers. They may be near busy roads, in city centers, or at locations of
particular concern (e.g., a school, hospital, particular emissions sources). Monitoring stations also
may be established to determine background pollution levels, away from urban areas and emissions
sources. Systems are needed to ensure that data are of acceptable quality, to record and store the
data, and to analyze the data and present results.

The ambient air quality in India is monitored collectively by CPCB, state pollution control boards (SPCBs),
pollution control committees (PCCs), and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in
cities, and covers 215 cities and towns. A total of 523 manual monitoring stations are being operated across
states. Some states have set up additional monitoring stations in cities. However, there is a
shortfall in operation as about 1,000 stations with additional continuous ambient air quality monitoring
(CAAQM) stations, that report data real time, are required. As per 2011 census, 46 cities have million-
plus population and in 16 cities CAAQMS have already been installed and commissioned. The CAAQM
stations collect the data of 8 pollutants, except metals and BaP.

Ambient Monitoring
For air pollution measurements, ambient is all the air under 10m (roughly); at which point the vertical
mixing is homogeneous and representative of all the sources in the vicinity (including pollution coming
from long distance – neighboring village, city, state, or even country). This is a proxy for the general
level of air pollution for an area. Referring to the ambient monitoring protocols proposed by the Central
Pollution Control Board (CPCB, New Delhi, India), a station is to be located 3-10m from the ground
and not at “ground zero”. This is to represent all source contributions at that point and not be biased
by a source (at ground zero e.g., vehicle exhaust) that can influence the monitoring results – in this
example case, overestimation of the pollution levels due to direct vehicle exhaust emissions.

There can also be biases associated with site selection that can influence measurements – a site that
is too close to the industrial estate, or site is in the middle of the residential area, or site is obstructed
by surrounding trees, or site is too close to the traffic junction, or site is in the middle of a park. To
minimize these biases, the proper protocol for installing monitoring stations is that they should be off
the ground (between 3 and 10 meters) and there should be multiple monitors at different sites,
representing all areas of a city.

Mobile Monitoring
When this term is used, especially by pollution control boards (PCBs), this is referring to a van
equipped with the same instruments as a regulatory-grade ambient monitoring station, which when
needed, is taken out, parked at the site under audit, and run for a day or a week or more, to collect
ambient monitoring data for all the criteria pollutants. The flexibility of the station to relocate
between sites is what makes it mobile, but the measurements taken from the unit are considered
ambient, since the unit stays put, at a pre-selected spot, to take long-term measurements.

On-road Monitoring
Often in the literature, words like “on-road” and “mobile” are discussed interchangeably, referring to
the fact that the measurements are conducted when the instruments are in motion. In this case, all the
instruments are strapped inside (or on) the vehicle and driven to measure on-road pollution levels.
If this exercise is repeated for long periods and in multiple modes (cars, buses, cycle, motorcycle,
and walking), we can establish a heat map of pollution on the roads. It is very important to note that
measurements collected from this exercise are biased towards sources on the road and one land use
(roads) in the city, which by design cannot be compared to the data from the ambient monitoring
stations or to the ambient standards. However, this exercise is complementary, which can help create
a better understanding of how much pollution travelers are exposed to.
Satellite Monitoring
Satellite monitoring is a multiple step procedure that involves estimating pollution levels using a
modelling exercise based on multiple assumptions. The assumptions include on-ground
measurements from ambient air monitoring stations, and results of a global chemical transport model
that itself is based on estimated emission inventories. Hence for accurate estimates from satellite
monitoring, data from on-ground monitoring stations are crucial.

Emissions Monitoring
Ambient pollution is what we breathe and this should not be confused with emissions at the sources.
When we stick a probe into a tailpipe or into a stack and start taking measurements, the monitor will
say that the emission rate is xx g/m3 – this is an instantaneous value of emissions out of the tail pipe
or the stack. Only after this amount disperses and mixes with other sources, we have an ambient air
pollution value.
 9. Regulatory Hurdles
To ensure the quality of data, analytical quality control and for following guidelines for monitoring
and calibration, repair of instruments and evaluation of ambient air quality monitoring stations are
must. But there are certain limitations to manual monitoring. Different measuring techniques and
instruments give varying results on ambient concentration in the same location. Studies have found
that average error ranges from 10 to 26 per cent for PM monitoring, primarily because of incorrect
flow measurement and calibration. Moreover, inconsistent power supply and voltage fluctuation
affect monitoring. In case of gaseous pollutants, duration of sampling, sample dilution and
temperature controls are essential to ensure that tests are done properly. Monitoring of benzene and
O3 by manual method has been found to be very difficult.

CAAQM’s sophistication deals with these issues, as it is a compact set up of different pollutant
analysers and even calibration units. CAAQMS are equipped with UPS along with backup capacity.
But it costs quite a lot. The set of analysers, calibrations systems, meteorological instrumentation,
sensors, sampling lines and display systems, among others, cost about Rs 90 lakh. Overhead and
maintenance costs go up to Rs 10 lakh a year.

Opinions differ on an appropriate grid density for capturing air quality profile. Most experts agree
that the current grid density is inadequate. The criteria followed in India requires that class I cities
(cities with 100,000 population or more) should have a minimum of three stations each; mega cities
nine each; industrial areas should have about six and capital cities, six each. An analysis of the
National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP) data shows that 82 cities have only
one station and 66 have two stations and about 80 class I cities do not meet the criteria for
monitoring stations. Big cities fare better. But do we increase the numbers with high investments?
Given the resource crunch and limited technical skills in this field, many experts advise against
setting up elaborate monitoring systems. They suggest acting on the information currently available
from the present network, instead. Setting up more stations should be considered based on where
most people live, the pollutants they are exposed to and the need for a daily alert system.

Satellite data can fill the coverage gaps in the existing network to support routine monitoring. They
could also be used to identify potential air quality hot spots. It has been found that using satellite data
is more economical than setting up and operating a number of fixed stations. For instance, most of
the NO2 in the atmosphere is contained within 1 km from the surface of the earth. That makes
satellite measurements a useful representation of surface NO2 concentrations. For PM assessment,
too, satellite based assessment of aerosol optical depth is used. In summary, both magnitude and
spatial extent of sources can be determined and exposure can be assessed with the help of satellites.

In India, a recent satellite-based study indicated that contrary to the decreasing trend of SO2
concentrations reported by ground based monitors across cities, the SO2 concentrations in coal-fired
power plant regions actually increased by >60 per cent during 2005–2012, implying the air
quality monitoring network needs to be optimised to reflect the true SO2 situation in India.

The risks to public health and the environment from climate change are substantial and far-
reaching. Scientists warn that carbon pollution and resulting climate change are expected to
lead to more intense hurricanes and storms, heavier and more frequent flooding, increased
drought, and more severe wildfires - events that can cause deaths, injuries, and billions of
dollars of damage to property and the nation’s infrastructure.

Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas pollution leads to more frequent and intense heat
waves that increase mortality, especially among the poor and elderly. Other climate change
public health concerns raised in the scientific literature include anticipated increases in
ground-level ozone pollution, the potential for enhanced spread of some waterborne and pest-
related diseases, and evidence for increased production or dispersion of airborne allergens.
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