TY - JOUR A1 - Horender, S. A1 - Auderset, K. A1 - Quincey, P. A1 - Seeger, Stefan A1 - Skov, S. N. A1 - Dierschel, K. A1 - Smith, T. O.M. A1 - Williams, K. A1 - Aegerter, C. C. A1 - Kalbermatter, D. M. A1 - Gaie-Levrel, F. A1 - Vasilatou, K. T1 - Facility for production of ambient-like model aerosols (PALMA) inthe laboratory: application in the intercomparison of automated PMmonitors with the reference gravimetric method JF - Atmospheric Measurement Techniques N2 - A new facility has been developed which allows for a stable and reproducible production of ambient-like model aerosols (PALMA) in the laboratory. The set-up consists of multiple aerosol generators, a custom-made flow tube homogeniser, isokinetic sampling probes, and a system to control aerosol temperature and humidity. Model aerosols containing elemental carbon, secondary organic matter from the ozonolysis of α-pinene, inorganic salts such as ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate, mineral dust particles,and water were generated under different environmental conditions and at different number and mass concentrations. The aerosol physical and chemical properties were characterised with an array of experimental methods, including scanning mobility particle sizing, ion chromatography, total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and thermo-optical analysis. The facility is very versatile and can find applications in the calibration and performance characterisation of aerosol instruments monitoring ambient air. In this study, we performed, as proof of concept, an intercomparison of three different commercial PM (particulate matter) monitors (TEOM1405, DustTrak DRX 8533 and Fidas Frog) with the gravimetric reference method under three simulated environmental scenarios. The results are presented and compared to previous field studies. We believe that the laboratory-based method for simulating ambient aerosols presented here could provide in the future a useful alternative to time-consuming and expensive field campaigns, which are often required for instrument certification and calibration. KW - Model aerosols KW - Intercomparison KW - PM monitors KW - Aerosol gravimetry PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-521342 DO - https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1225-2021 VL - 14 IS - 2 SP - 1225 EP - 1238 PB - Copernicus Publications AN - OPUS4-52134 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Seeger, Stefan A1 - Osan, J. A1 - Czömpöly, O. A1 - Gross, A. A1 - Stosnach, H. A1 - Stabile, L. A1 - Ochsenkuehn-Petropoulou, M. A1 - Tsakanika, L. A1 - Lymperopoulou, T. A1 - Goddard, S. A1 - Fiebig, M. A1 - Gaie-Levrel, F. A1 - Kayser, Y. A1 - Beckhoff, B. T1 - Quantification of Element Mass Concentrations in Ambient Aerosols by Combination of Cascade Impactor Sampling and Mobile Total Reflection X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy JF - Atmosphere N2 - Quantitative chemical analysis of airborne particulate matter (PM) is vital for the understanding of health effects in indoor and outdoor environments, as well as for enforcing EU air quality regulations. Typically, airborne particles are sampled over long time periods on filters, followed by lab-based analysis, e.g., with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). During the EURAMET EMPIR AEROMET project, cascade impactor aerosol sampling is combined for the first time with on-site total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) spectroscopy to develop a tool for quantifying particle element compositions within short time intervals and even on-site. This makes variations of aerosol chemistry observable with time resolution only a few hours and with good size resolution in the PM10 range. The study investigates the proof of principles of this methodological approach. Acrylic discs and silicon wafers are shown to be suitable impactor carriers with sufficiently smooth and clean surfaces, and a non-destructive elemental mass concentration measurement with a lower limit of detection around 10 pg/m3 could be achieved. We demonstrate the traceability of field TXRF measurements to a radiometrically calibrated TXRF reference, and the results from both analytical methods correspond satisfactorily. KW - TXRF KW - Reference method KW - Cascade impactor KW - Ambient aerosols KW - Particles KW - Air quality monitoring KW - Element mass concentration KW - Size resolved chemical composition KW - Time resolved chemical composition KW - ICP-MS PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-521860 UR - http://www.aerometproject.com/ DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12030309 SN - 2073-4433 VL - 12 IS - 3 SP - 309 EP - 337 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Schweiz AN - OPUS4-52186 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -