American Association for Aerosol Research - Abstract Submission

AAAR 31st Annual Conference
October 8-12, 2012
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

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Field and Laboratory Evaluation of a Sequential Time Resolved Aerosol Composition Measurement Instrument

ARSINEH HECOBIAN, Arantzazu Eiguren-Fernandez, Amy P. Sullivan, Gregory Lewis, Susanne Hering, Charles Henry, Jeffrey L. Collett, Colorado State University

Abstract Number: 405
Working Group: Instrumentation and Methods

Abstract
The presence of continuous data sets on chemical composition of aerosols is essential in presenting a complete picture of their spatial and temporal distributions. Such data are necessary in studying effects of aerosols on human health, visibility degradation, and other issues. A simple, compact, robust and low maintenance system for the time resolved measurement of ambient aerosol chemical composition is needed to facilitate the collection of data for use in such studies. To this end, Aerosol Dynamics Inc. developed a system where a condensation growth tube was used to collect ambient PM 2.5 aerosols. The dried particles are deposited into specialized well plates which are subsequently detached from the system, placed in an automated sampler where ion chromatography is used to measure various anion (fluoride, chloride, nitrate, phosphate and nitrate) or cation (sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium) components of the collected aerosols. A newly improved prototype of this instrument was evaluated in this study. Various plate materials were assessed for use with this sampler. The aerosol collection efficiency, possible interferences from ambient gaseous compounds, associated uncertainties and limits of detection of this system were measured in the laboratory. Additionally, ambient measurements of the anion component of the aerosols were performed where the new instrument was compared with data from a particle into liquid sampler coupled with an ion chromatograph (PILS-IC) in laboratory and field settings. The data from the system evaluation analysis and measurements are presented here.