Air is a mixture of various mechanically arranged gases, consisting of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor and organic substances. Apart from that, air is also an important component that forms the earth’s atmosphere. Air quality can be said to be good if it has an ISPU (Air Pollution Standard Index) value of 0-100, and if the ISPU value is more than 100 then the air quality is classified as bad or polluted.
The air quality in each country is of course different, depending on the level of pollution. Indonesia is one of the Southeast Asian countries that experiences a very significant increase in air pollution from year to year. In 1998 Indonesia was included in the category of the cleanest country in the world, because it had a good air quality index.
However, this cannot be maintained, because in 2016 Indonesia became one of twenty countries that had a poor or polluted air quality index. This occurred due to a spike in air pollution concentrations caused by the increase in the number of motorized vehicles, factories, and the reduction in forest area in Indonesia.
The number of motorized vehicles in Indonesia experiences a drastic increase every year. Motorized vehicles have become a means of supporting human activities in traveling. However, this also has a large negative impact on the environment, especially the reduction in air quality caused by motor vehicle fumes. Motor vehicle exhaust contains a lot of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur and hydrocarbon compounds which are of course very dangerous for humans.
This dangerous gas should be absorbed by trees, so that they can produce oxygen. Meanwhile, on the other hand, Indonesia is also experiencing a significant reduction in forest area. This occurs due to the conversion of forests into factories, settlements, toll roads, and so on.
These two problems are the main factors in poor air quality in Indonesia. Apart from that, these two factors are also supported by the attitude of the majority of people who do not care about their environment. In fact, many of them do not know that in Indonesia there have been significant changes in air quality. If some of these problems are not addressed immediately, they will threaten human survival. Because, in the future, humans will no longer breathe air that is rich in oxygen, but breathe air that is full of toxins and is certainly not good for health.
Based on this problem, the author wrote an essay entitled “Internet of Things (IOT) Based Air Quality Detection Tool in Efforts to Minimize the Clean Air Crisis in Indonesia.” Through this technology, people can easily find out the air quality in their environment. Because, this tool will be equipped with a pollution measuring sensor which will later be connected directly to an Android smartphone. If the level of air pollution in the surrounding environment exceeds safe limits, the sensor will send a warning signal to the smartphone.
In the past, Indonesia was known as a country with the largest tropical forests in the world, so it is not surprising that Indonesia was nicknamed the lungs of the world. Tropical forests in Indonesia in 1998 had an area of around 125.2 million hectares, therefore Indonesia could be the country with the cleanest air quality in the world. Because forests are an important complement in maintaining air quality so that it is not polluted.
As in general, trees will absorb carbon dioxide and then process it into oxygen. However, the area of forest in Indonesia is decreasing from year to year. The reduction in forest area in Indonesia is caused by many factors, some of which are the increase in the use of motorized vehicles, the conversion of forests into factories, settlements, toll roads, and the large-scale exploitation of forests which is motivated by meeting human needs. However, over time humans have not paid attention to the balance of the ecosystem and the environmental condition is becoming more and more polluted day by day.
Therefore, the author innovated to create an Internet of Things (IOT)-based Air Quality Detection Tool, in order to minimize the clean air crisis that is occurring in Indonesia. Later this tool will be connected to an application on an Android smartphone. This application has several functions including the following:
1. Provide information about differences in air quality in Indonesia from year to year in general as well as the main causes that support the increase in pollution. So that users can find out the level of pollution that has occurred in Indonesia, apart from that, this application will also be equipped with information related to the main factors in increasing air pollution in Indonesia. With comparative data on air quality and the factors causing increased pollution, it is hoped that it will raise awareness among the public about the importance of maintaining air quality.
2. Know any changes in air quality that occur in the surrounding environment. This Air Quality Detection Device will be equipped with sensors that can detect levels of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and ammonia. In making this tool, the author chose to use the MQ-135 sensor as a detector for the levels of these three gases. Because the MQ-135 sensor has a relatively high sensitivity to carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and ammonia gases.
This sensor is also connected to an application on a smartphone which will always send signals about the air quality in the environment, including good, medium and bad depending on the levels of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and ammonia. The way the sensor works in sending signals to the application on the smartphone is as follows: (1) The MQ-135 sensor works to measure the levels of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and ammonia gases in the air, (2) Then the microcontroller (IMC) is in charge to read the results of measuring carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and ammonia gas levels which have been carried out by the MQ-135, (3) The reading results from the microcontroller (IMC) will then be monitored online via the application on the Android smartphone.
The application of Internet of Things (IOT)-based Air Quality Detection Tools in efforts to minimize the air crisis in Indonesia is quite efficient. Because, this detection tool has a size that is relatively easy to carry anywhere. Apart from that, by knowing the quality of air in the environment, it is hoped that it can increase public awareness to maintain environmental balance by reducing exploitation of natural resources, especially trees and being wise in using motorized vehicles.
By: Nadilla Putri Luthfiana Nur Azizah
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