Abstract
Abstract. 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 (TEOM 1405, 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.
Highlights
Atmospheric pollution by airborne particles significantly contributes to climate change and has been linked to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer (Fuzzi et al, 2015; Kim et al, 2015; WHO, 2013)
The reference method used in this study for determining the PM10 or PM2.5 mass concentrations of particulate matter in the synthetic ambient aerosols is similar to the method described in the standard EN 12341:2014 (CEN/TC 264/WG15, 2014); i.e. particulate matter was sampled on filters and weighed by means of a balance
– The model aerosols are complex, consisting of elemental carbon, soot coated with secondary organic aerosol (SOA), inorganic ions and mineral dust particles
Summary
Atmospheric pollution by airborne particles significantly contributes to climate change and has been linked to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer (Fuzzi et al, 2015; Kim et al, 2015; WHO, 2013). Portable and cost-effective PM monitors, such as the DustTrak (TSI Inc., USA) and Fidas Frog (Palas, Germany), which are mostly employed for industrial or occupational hygiene surveys (Asbach et al, 2018; Davison et al, 2019; Grzyb and LenartBoron, 2019), outdoor (Kingham et al, 2006; Viana et al., 2015; Wallace et al, 2011) and indoor (Chowdhury et al, 2013; Manibusan and Mainelis, 2020; Zhou et al, 2016) air quality investigations, process or emissions monitoring (AlAttabi et al, 2017; Crilley et al, 2012; Grall et al, 2018; McNamara et al, 2011), and aerosol research studies, do not necessarily go through equivalence testing Instead, they are often calibrated in the laboratory with simple model aerosols, e.g. with dust or salt particles (Hogrefe et al, 2004; Liu et al, 2017; Papapostolou et al, 2017; Schwab et al, 2004) or dried organic particles, such as sucrose and adipic acid (Zhang et al, 2018). The facility for generating ambientlike model aerosols presented in this study is relevant for the calibration of PM monitors but can find applications in the performance evaluation and quality assurance of other aerosol instruments meant for monitoring ambient, indoor and workplace air as well as in controlled health studies and in vitro toxicology
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