A comparison of measurements of atmospheric ammonia by filter packs, transition-flow reactors, simple and annular denuders and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Abstract

Using data obtained during the 1985 Nitrogen Species Methods Comparison Study (1988, Atmospheric Environment 22, 1517), several measurement methods for sampling ambient NH 3 are compared. Eight days of continuous measurements at Pomona College, a smog receptor site in Los Angeles, provided an extensive data base for comparing the following methods: Fourier transform i.r. spectroscopy (FTIR), three filter pack configurations, a simple and an annular denuder, and the transition flow reactor. FTIR was defined as the reference method and it reported hourly NH 3 concentrations ranging from > 60 to 2280 nmol m −3 (1.5−57ppb) during the course of the study, the highest values coming from the influence of nearby livestock operations. Although only limited quality assurance procedures were carried out, the following conclusions can, nevertheless, be drawn: most of the methods correlated highly with the FTIR method (correlation coefficient r > 0.96); generally, the linear regression slopes were close to unity and the intercepts were insignificantly different from zero at the 95% confidence level); relative to the FTIR average values, (1) for 4–6 h sampling periods, the averages of the three filter packs from three research groups were 83–130% and the annular denuder average was 87%, and (2) for 10–12 h sampling periods, the simple denuder averaged 90% and the two transition flow reactors were 77–98%. Possible reasons for the reported systematic biases are presented, but these are not able to fully explain the large range of differences reported by the various methods.