Review of the Environmental Monitoring Industry in 2021 and Prospects for 2022

I. Development Review for 2021

1. Key Policy Standards

In January, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the “Notice on Coordinating and Strengthening Responses to Climate Change and…” Ecological and environmental protection Guiding Opinions on Relevant Work. It encourages key sectors such as energy, industry, transportation, and construction to formulate specific action plans for peaking emissions. In conjunction with existing… Pollution Source Monitoring The system conducts monitoring of greenhouse gas emission sources at key emitting entities, establishes a management and technical framework for such monitoring, and strengthens source‑level, systemic, and holistic governance. This approach aims to achieve synergistic benefits in pollution reduction and carbon mitigation, thereby providing robust support for attaining the carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals.

On October 24, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the “Opinions on Fully, Accurately, and Comprehensively Implementing the New Development Philosophy and Doing a Good Job in Peaking Carbon Emissions and Achieving Carbon Neutrality,” providing top-level design for China’s carbon‑peaking and carbon‑neutrality efforts and setting out specific goals and measures. On the 26th, the State Council released the “Action Plan for Peaking Carbon Emissions Before 2030,” focusing on the 2030 carbon‑peaking target and laying out an overall framework for advancing this work. On the 27th, the State Council Information Office published the white paper “China’s Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change,” which outlines China’s progress in tackling climate change, shares its practices and experiences, and introduces a new concept of synergistic efficiency in pollution reduction and carbon mitigation. By prioritizing structural adjustments and optimized spatial planning, and leveraging policy coordination and institutional innovation, the plan calls for the coordinated control of atmospheric pollutants—including particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and ammonia—as well as greenhouse gases, thereby providing a solid policy foundation.

In November, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council reviewed and adopted the “Opinions on Winning the Tough Battle Against Pollution.” The document emphasizes the need to thoroughly implement Xi Jinping’s Thought on Ecological Civilization, taking the synergistic enhancement of pollution reduction and carbon mitigation as the overarching approach, with improving ecological and environmental quality at its core. Guided by the principles of precise, scientific, and law-based pollution control, it calls for coordinated efforts across pollution prevention, ecological conservation, and climate change response—maintaining unwavering commitment, deepening impact, and broadening scope—so as to fight the battles to safeguard blue skies, clean waters, and uncontaminated land to even higher standards. By advancing high‑level protection, the document seeks to drive high‑quality development and foster a high‑quality life, striving to build a beautiful China where humanity and nature coexist in harmony.

In 2021, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued nine national ecological and environmental standards: “Technical Guidelines for Environmental Impact Assessment of Industrial Parks” (HJ 131-2021), “Determination of Color in Water—Dilution‑Multiple Method” (HJ 1182-2021), “Determination of Omethoate, Methamidophos, Acephate, and Phoxim in Water—Liquid Chromatography–Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry” (HJ 1183-2021), “Determination of Six Phthalate Ester Compounds in Soil and Sediments—Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry” (HJ 1184-2021), “Determination of 28 Organophosphorus Pesticides in Water—Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry” (HJ 1189-2021), “Identification of Sterilization Biological Indicators (Bacillus subtilis var. niger) in Water—Biological Testing Method” (HJ 1190-2021), “Determination of Azides in Water—Spectrophotometric Method” (HJ 1191-2021), “Determination of Nine Alkylphenol Compounds and Bisphenol A in Water—Solid‑Phase Extraction/High‑Performance Liquid Chromatography” (HJ 1192-2021), and “Determination of Indium in Water—Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry” (HJ 1193-2021). All nine standards were published for the first time and primarily address industrial parks, surface water, groundwater, domestic sewage, industrial wastewater, and biological monitoring of sterilization efficacy in microbial laboratory effluents, thereby providing technical support for the campaigns to safeguard blue skies and clean waters.

2. Industry Development

(1) Atmospheric Environmental Monitoring

In recent years, with the widespread adoption of ultra‑low emission standards and the effective implementation of emission reduction and pollution control measures, China’s ambient air quality has improved markedly. Concentrations of PM2.5 and major primary pollutants have declined to some extent; however, particulate matter levels remain elevated, and ozone exceedances are increasingly evident. The co‑occurrence of PM2.5 and ozone pollution is particularly pronounced. Consequently, strengthening the coordinated control of fine particulate matter and ozone pollution will continue to be a key market trend in 2022. Guided by relevant policies, monitoring of VOCs—key ozone precursors—and photochemical pollution surveillance in most prefecture‑level cities have both seen significant growth in this year’s environmental monitoring sector.

On the other hand, China’s air pollution is primarily driven by an energy structure dominated by fossil fuels, which both emits atmospheric pollutants and releases carbon. As efforts to tackle air pollution deepen, reducing pollutant emissions is becoming increasingly challenging. Integrating carbon dioxide reduction into ecological and environmental protection, promoting source‑level control of pollution, and leveraging carbon‑reduction measures to continuously improve air quality will enable synergistic management of air pollution prevention and carbon mitigation. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China’s ecological and environmental protection will enter a new phase of coordinated pollution and carbon reduction governance.

As ambient air pollutant concentrations have declined significantly, market demand has grown for greater diversity in pollutant monitoring and higher precision in component‑specific measurements. Accordingly, national environmental monitoring stations and local environmental protection agencies have been progressively drafting and revising equipment‑testing standards to align with market needs, while accelerating the development of testing laboratories. Examples include standards for greenhouse gas monitoring at stationary pollution sources, ambient air greenhouse gas monitoring, ambient air total non‑methane hydrocarbons monitoring, and ambient air hydrogen sulfide and ammonia monitoring.

(2) Water Environment Monitoring

In response to the “three‑water integrated management” approach—covering water pollution control, aquatic ecological restoration, and water resource protection—efforts will be coordinated across river basins and regions, between aquatic and terrestrial domains, and among species and their habitats, gradually shifting from water quality monitoring to aquatic ecological monitoring. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, national surface water monitoring will be conducted using a “9+N” framework: the nine core parameters are water temperature, turbidity, electrical conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen, permanganate index, ammonia nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total nitrogen; the N additional parameters include chemical oxygen demand, five‑day biochemical oxygen demand, major cations and anions, heavy metals, organic compounds, and comprehensive aquatic ecological toxicity, among others—while further expanding both the range of automated monitoring indicators and the geographic coverage.

To further enhance the water‑environment quality at national surface‑water monitoring sections in prefecture‑level and above cities, the state has continuously strengthened monitoring and assessment at key cross‑sections. Guided by the overarching principles of “scientific evaluation, clear assignment of responsibilities, and integrated management of water resources,” it has systematically optimized the national surface‑water monitoring network, achieving full coverage of the mainstreams and major tributaries of the ten major river basins, prefecture‑level and above cities, provincial–municipal boundaries of significant water bodies, and key water‑function zones, while expanding the number of monitoring sites. Outdoor compact water‑quality stations, which employ monitoring methods consistent with national standard stations and are unaffected by land acquisition and construction of fixed station buildings, have been widely adopted.

As water‑environment management is strengthened, higher standards are being set for the accuracy of water‑quality monitoring equipment and the reliability of data; in some regions, validation of new indicator systems has already been initiated.

(3) Issues with Environmental Monitoring Instruments

In the field of atmospheric monitoring instruments, several challenges remain to be addressed: 1) the development of on-site quality-control devices for particulate matter monitoring; 2) insufficient intelligence in photochemical monitoring, with mass spectrometry-based methods still facing common issues such as signal decay, unstable internal standards, and residual contamination; and 3) the need to refine and完善 technical and methodological standards for automated monitoring of atmospheric pollutants.

The main issues with water-quality monitoring instruments are as follows: 1) They predominantly rely on chemical–optical detection technologies, leaving secondary pollution—such as waste effluent—unaddressed; 2) These instruments primarily measure conventional pollutant concentrations, failing to provide a comprehensive assessment of the overall condition of the aquatic ecosystem; and 3) They do not constitute true online monitoring.

3. Key Technologies

(1) Key Technologies for Atmospheric Environmental Monitoring

1) Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Technologies: Achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality are current and future priorities in the development of ecological civilization. Direct measurement of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, emitted from the environment and pollution sources serves as the foundational data for accounting and assessment efforts. Commonly used monitoring methods include non-dispersive infrared, tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and infrared gas filter correlation techniques.

2) Ammonia monitoring technology: Ammonia is the only high-concentration alkaline gas in the atmosphere. When ammonia escapes into the atmosphere, it reacts with acidic gases such as nitric acid or sulfuric acid to form secondary particulate matter like sulfates and nitrates, serving as a key driver in the transformation of gaseous pollutants into solid-phase pollutants. Due to its low concentration in ambient air, its high water solubility, and its tendency to adsorb onto surfaces, monitoring ammonia presents certain challenges in terms of both methodology and accuracy. Currently, commonly used techniques include tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy and differential optical absorption spectroscopy.

3) Atmospheric VOCs Monitoring Technology: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the atmosphere have diverse sources and a complex composition; they can undergo photochemical reactions with nitrogen oxides (NOX) to form secondary pollutants such as ozone (O3) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Accurate, continuous monitoring of atmospheric VOCs is an essential prerequisite for implementing national VOC pollution prevention and control plans and programs. Given the large number of target VOC species, substantial variations in their concentrations, and stringent requirements for analytical sensitivity, a range of challenges remain in terms of monitoring sensitivity, accuracy, data validity, and comparability. Currently, commonly used methods include gas chromatography–flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

4) Numerical simulation and inversion studies of regional carbon sinks: Strengthen research on assimilation‑based inversion models that link greenhouse gas concentrations to emission estimates, elucidate the temporal dynamics and spatial patterns of carbon sources and sinks, and quantify their regional contributions; scientifically project future trends in carbon sources and sinks; promote the operational application of monitoring data; and promptly support efforts to achieve peak carbon emissions.

(2) Key Technologies for Water Environment Monitoring

1) High‑frequency flux and miniature spectroscopic sensor monitoring technology refers to the development, dissemination, and application of miniature spectroscopic measurement techniques capable of performing high‑frequency (sub‑second) measurements, enabling high‑frequency monitoring of water‑environmental constituents and flux monitoring across water cross‑sections. This technology can quantify the concentrations of various substances in water, such as suspended sediments, chlorophyll, and pollutants, while tracking the spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of key optical properties. It provides a reliable basis for environmental monitoring and offers rapid emergency‑response capabilities for detecting phenomena like red tides, thereby meeting the stringent technical requirements of water‑resource monitoring and management—namely, high precision, large spatial scale, and real‑time operation.

2) Aquatic biodiversity monitoring based on environmental DNA (eDNA) technology: eDNA techniques can determine the presence of a particular species by detecting specific DNA sequences in water samples, thereby transforming what was once a complex and time‑consuming task into a more efficient and labor‑saving process. When applied to biodiversity monitoring, eDNA offers the following advantages: (1) High sensitivity: it enables qualitative detection of rare and endangered species even at very low population densities; (2) Efficiency and time‑saving: compared with traditional monitoring methods, it requires fewer human resources, materials, and less time; (3) Reduced personnel requirements: species identification can be performed using molecular biology techniques, making the procedure more convenient; (4) Minimal sampling constraints: only a small volume of water needs to be collected, with relatively little influence from external factors; (5) Minimal disturbance to the ecosystem.

3) Continuous automated monitoring technology for trace and ultra-trace harmful substances: Trace harmful substances exhibit high toxicity, bioaccumulative potential, and long-term persistence; their presence in aquatic environments can pose severe risks to human health and the ecological environment. Chromatographic techniques play a pivotal role in the monitoring of organic contaminants in water, with methods such as capillary gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography being widely employed.

4) High-throughput integrated bio-toxicity monitoring technology: Bioassay-based monitoring has become an indispensable component of water quality early-warning systems for various drinking water sources.

4. Challenges and Opportunities Faced

In 2021, the COVID‑19 pandemic continued to spread, exerting a profound impact on the overall development of the environmental monitoring sector while also creating new opportunities for growth.

(1) Facing Challenges

1. Affected by the pandemic, industry enterprises have experienced a significant decline in management efficiency, delays in scheduled procurement projects, a forced slowdown in marketing activities, a sharp drop in market sales, postponements of ongoing or newly launched projects, rising raw material prices, and increased operating costs—resulting in heightened pressure on cash flow. The pandemic’s impact on environmental monitoring is expected to persist in the short term.

2. The traditional operational‑maintenance approaches—such as the monitoring depth and breadth of environmental monitoring instruments, equipment maintenance, and on-site quality control—are being challenged. Emerging monitoring parameters and intelligent O&M solutions are poised to unlock substantial business opportunities for the environmental monitoring instrument industry, while the COVID‑19 pandemic is accelerating market consolidation, with stronger players emerging at the expense of weaker ones.

(2) Development Opportunities

1. Continuously pursue technological breakthroughs and innovation, placing great emphasis on the business applications of new technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence, and adopting a multi‑pronged strategic approach. Under the pandemic, traditional methods of equipment manufacturing and operations have been constrained. Advances in 5G, artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, and other technologies are raising new requirements for investments in intelligent production equipment, as well as for the smartification of environmental monitoring instruments, near‑field communication, and remote interaction, thereby driving the evolution of instrumentation toward “autonomous operation, autonomous or remote quality control, and autonomous or remote maintenance.”

2. Enhance efficient production‑sales collaboration, closely monitor changes on the demand side, and accelerate the recovery of environmental monitoring capacity. The pandemic has shifted ecological and environmental monitoring from routine physicochemical indicator assessments to a focus on ecological safety and rapid emergency response, with new application scenarios generating fresh monitoring needs. As a result, the depth and breadth of environmental monitoring will continue to expand.

II. Development Outlook for 2022

In 2022, we will gain a deep understanding of the new circumstances and characteristics of pollution prevention and control in the new stage, with the sustained improvement of ecological and environmental quality as the core. We will remain steadfast in our course and maintain unwavering efforts, further deepening our work and broadening its scope. We will ensure coordinated efforts to address particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3) pollution, integrate greenhouse gas emissions control with atmospheric pollutant reduction, and promote both local and regional collaborative governance. By comprehensively implementing all measures, we will effectively enhance our governance capacity.

In the realm of air quality, with key regions such as the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei area and its surrounding regions, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Fenwei Plain serving as priority battlegrounds, efforts will focus on adjusting and optimizing industrial, energy, transportation, and land-use structures; strengthening regional joint prevention and control mechanisms and responses to severe pollution episodes; and further achieving substantial reductions in PM2.5 concentrations, a marked decline in the number of heavily polluted days, and a significant improvement in overall air quality.

Strengthen joint prevention, control, and treatment efforts in key regions, and implement coordinated management of ozone (O3) and fine particulate matter to effectively reduce pollution levels. Conduct photochemical component monitoring in priority areas for air pollution control, cities with high VOC emissions, and cities where ozone concentrations exceed standards; carry out monitoring of particulate matter composition, ammonia, and the vertical distribution of aerosols in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region and its surrounding areas, as well as in the Fenwei Plain; conduct particulate matter composition monitoring in cities where annual average PM2.5 concentrations fail to meet national standards; and perform particulate matter composition monitoring in industrial clusters and parks involving VOCs and nitrogen oxides, such as petrochemicals, industrial coatings, and packaging printing. Additionally, initiate pilot monitoring of ozone-depleting substances (ODS) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in areas with high concentrations of these substances.

Strengthen the management of fugitive emissions from industrial enterprises, advance comprehensive remediation of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, launch pilot projects for controlling atmospheric ammonia emissions, and promote ultra‑low emission upgrades in industries such as steel. For mobile emission sources at transportation hubs—including expressways, ports, airports, and railway freight yards—conduct necessary ambient air quality monitoring and establish a road‑traffic monitoring network. Achieve full‑coverage monitoring of pollution sources at the enterprise, city, and regional levels, employing both ground‑based and near‑ground three‑dimensional remote sensing to provide robust data on pollutant distribution and transport pathways, thereby supporting effective source tracing and precision pollution control.

Against the backdrop of the “dual carbon” goals—peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality—China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment has been actively advancing the development of a carbon monitoring and assessment system to further enhance its capacity for greenhouse gas monitoring and evaluation, ensuring that greenhouse gas emissions are measurable, reportable, and verifiable. To date, pilot projects for online carbon‑emission monitoring have been launched in ten key sectors, including power generation and steel. In the future, online monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions could extend to hundreds of thousands of major enterprises across priority industries, encompassing source‑level monitoring, urban environmental monitoring, and background‑site monitoring, all of which hold significant market potential.

On the other hand, the instruments at national and local urban air‑quality monitoring stations are gradually entering a replacement cycle. Localities are optimizing their air‑quality monitoring networks in light of regional conditions, employing a mix of standard stations, miniature stations, single‑parameter stations, and mobile stations to achieve full coverage of county seats and heavily polluted townships. At the same time, areas with the necessary resources are encouraged to orient their monitoring site placement and parameter selection toward safeguarding public health, progressively expanding monitoring to include toxic and hazardous pollutants such as lead, mercury, and benzo[a]pyrene. As ambient air quality continues to improve and pollutant concentrations decline markedly, the requirements for monitoring equipment—particularly in terms of measurement range, detection limits, and precision—have risen substantially. Consequently, enhancing the performance metrics of conventional monitoring instruments and even pioneering breakthroughs through new technologies and methodologies will become key competitive priorities for manufacturers of environmental monitoring equipment.

In the realm of water resources, with aquatic ecology at its core, we will coordinate water resource utilization, aquatic ecosystem protection, and water environment management, thereby advancing water‑environment monitoring from routine status‑quo assessment to early‑warning surveillance, and shifting water‑quality monitoring toward a focus on aquatic ecological health.

Surface water quality monitoring will advance in greater depth. First, the scope of monitoring continues to expand, shifting from water‑environment monitoring toward an integrated approach that encompasses water resources, the water environment, and aquatic ecosystems—the “three waters.” Second, monitoring methods are being continuously upgraded, moving from traditional manual on‑site sampling to intelligent, space–ground integrated systems. Finally, the depth of monitoring will also keep broadening, evolving from routine assessments of current water‑quality conditions at specific cross‑sections to pollution‑source tracing, as well as real‑time monitoring and early‑warning systems.

Increase efforts in the research, development, and application of monitoring technologies and equipment, including automated sampling, fully automated sample preparation, trace‑ and ultra‑trace‑level detection and analysis, online monitoring, and instrument verification and calibration. Promote the R&D of high‑end monitoring instruments and core components with independent intellectual property rights, and advance high‑level protection of aquatic ecosystems. Introduce unmanned vessels and drones for sampling, and deploy fully automated analytical instruments for laboratory analysis to enhance monitoring efficiency; incorporate environmental DNA and hydroacoustic technologies to achieve more comprehensive monitoring. Furthermore, it is essential to conduct efficient data mining and application. Leverage geographic information systems, remote sensing, and the Internet of Things to enable real‑time monitoring, and employ artificial intelligence and big‑data analytics to support evidence‑based scientific analysis. Finally, establish high‑standard evaluation methods and frameworks. Develop multidimensional ecological and environmental assessment indicators to ensure more robust environmental evaluations, and construct an assessment system grounded in water quality, aquatic ecology, and water resources to facilitate more precise environmental decision‑making.

A water‑environment quality monitoring system that prioritizes automated monitoring while supplementing it with manual monitoring has been essentially established, with significant improvements in the automation, standardization, and informatization of such monitoring. A preliminary technical framework for aquatic ecological monitoring has also been developed, paving the way for a shift from conventional physicochemical‑based assessments to comprehensive evaluations of the aquatic ecological environment.

In the areas of soil and groundwater, leveraging ecological monitoring as a key leverage point, we will advance the transition from quality‑based to ecological‑biological monitoring, expand the scope of monitoring, and increase the number of monitoring parameters, thereby better meeting the needs for assessing, evaluating, and issuing early warnings regarding soil and groundwater quality, and providing refined support for the battle against pollution.

During soil‑contamination enforcement and emergency monitoring of pollution incidents, fully automated sample‑preparation systems that can replicate manual procedures, along with compact, portable gas chromatographs and other analytical instruments capable of precisely quantifying specific contaminants, enable automatic identification and removal of non‑soil matrix components. These systems also perform stepwise grinding, ensuring the required particle size and uniformity of the prepared soil samples.

Groundwater monitoring networks span the entire country, and during the remediation or management of certain contaminated sites, long-term, continuous monitoring is required. However, existing online monitoring systems still face a range of challenges in terms of monitored parameters and measurement accuracy. Meanwhile, to ensure the timeliness of routine groundwater monitoring and enable rapid assessments, mobile groundwater monitoring systems are likely to emerge as a new market demand.

Source: China Environmental Protection Industry Association