Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-2023-11
https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-2023-11
01 Sep 2023
 | 01 Sep 2023
Status: a revised version of this preprint was accepted for the journal AR and is expected to appear here in due course.

A novel measurement system for unattended, in-situ characterisation of carbonaceous aerosols

Alejandro Keller, Patrick Specht, Peter Steigmeier, and Ernest Weingartner

Abstract. Carbonaceous aerosol is a relevant constituent of the atmosphere in terms of climate and health impacts. Nevertheless, measuring this component poses many challenges. There is currently no simple and sensitive commercial technique that can reliably capture its totality in an unattended manner, with minimal user intervention, for extended periods of time. To address this issue we have developed the fast thermal carbon totalizator (FATCAT). Our system captures an aerosol sample on a rigid metallic filter and subsequently analyses it by rapidly heating the filter directly, through induction, to a temperature around 800 °C. The carbon in the filter is oxidized and quantified as CO2 in order to establish the total carbon (TC) content of the sample. The metallic filter is robust, which solve filter displacement or leakage problems, and does not require a frequent replacement like other measurement techniques. The limit of detection of our system using the 3σ criterion is TC = 0.19 µg-C (micrograms of carbon). This translates to an average ambient concentration of TC = 0.32 µg-C/m3 and TC = 0.16 µg-C/m3 for sampling interval of one hour or two hours respectively using a sampling flowrate of 10 lpm. We present a series of measurements using a controlled, well defined, propane flame aerosol as well as wood burning emissions using two different logwood stoves. Furthermore, we complement these measurements by coating the particles with secondary organic matter by means of an oxidation flow reactor. Our device shows a good correlation (correlation coefficient, R2 > 0.99) with well-established techniques, like mass measurements by means of a tapered element oscillating microbalance and TC measurements by means of thermal optical transmittance analysis. Furthermore, the homogeneous fast-heating of the filter produces fast thermograms. This is a new feature that, to our knowledge, is exclusive of our system. The fast thermograms contain information regarding the volatility and refractoriness of the sample without imposing an artificial fraction separation like other measurement methods. Different aerosol components, like wood burning emissions, soot from the propane flame and secondary organic matter, create diverse identifiable patterns.

Alejandro Keller et al.

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Review of ar-2023-11 (Keller et al., 2023)', Anonymous Referee #1, 13 Oct 2023
  • RC2: 'Comment on ar-2023-11', Anonymous Referee #2, 05 Nov 2023
  • AC1: 'Comment on ar-2023-11', A. Keller, 06 Dec 2023

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Review of ar-2023-11 (Keller et al., 2023)', Anonymous Referee #1, 13 Oct 2023
  • RC2: 'Comment on ar-2023-11', Anonymous Referee #2, 05 Nov 2023
  • AC1: 'Comment on ar-2023-11', A. Keller, 06 Dec 2023

Alejandro Keller et al.

Alejandro Keller et al.

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Short summary
Minuscule airborne carbon particles impact climate and health, but measuring them poses many challenges. We developed FATCAT to fill this gap. FATCAT measures carbon particles continuously and unattended over extended periods of time. We detail FATCAT's performance, demonstrate its agreement with established methods and introduce a novel and unique aspect: fast thermograms. These thermograms are related to particle composition and can potentially be used to identify pollution sources.
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