LAUSR

A quadrotor drone was equipped with an active solid phase microextraction (SPME) sampling device, known as a needle trap sampler (NTS), for extracting airborne volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The NTS, which has a 22-gauge stainless steel needle that is manually packed with 60–80-mesh adsorbent divinylbenzene (DVB) particles, was attached to a telescoping shaft to extend the sampling range beyond the strong downward stream that flows across the propellers of a hovering drone. The end of the NTS inlet was positioned below the head of the drone, which was the optimal location determined by using the flow simulation software SolidWorks. Our results confirm the feasibility of collecting toluene, ethylbenzene, and p-xylene matrix vapor with a telescoping SPME sampling device on a quadrotor drone using a pilot VOC exhaustion system. Therefore, we recommend this mobile system for sampling polluted air emitted by industrial factories.