On-Line Measurements of Beryllium, Chromium, and Mercury by Using Aerosol Beam Focused Laser-Induced Plasma Spectrometer and Time-Integrated Filter Sampling Reference Method

Abstract

A novel real-time monitor for aerosol particles has been developed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The instrument is designed to perform in-situ measurement for the elemental composition of aerosol particles in flue gas. We had tested this monitor at the Eastman Chemical Company in July 2001 taking advantage of the emissions from a waste incinerator operated by the company as the background. To investigate the behavior and response of the monitor under simulated/known conditions, stock solutions of prepared metal concentration(s) were nebulized to provide spikes for the instrument testing. Strengths of the solutions were designed such that a reference method (RM) was able to collect sufficient material on filter samples that were subsequently analyzed in a laboratory to produce 30-minute average data points. Parallel aerosol measurements were performed by using the ORNL instrument. Recorded signal of an individual element was processed and the concentration calculated from a calibration curve established prior to the campaign. RM data were able to reflect the loads simulated in the spiked waste stream. However, it missed one beryllium sample. The possibility of bias exists in the RM determination of chromium that could lead to erroneous comparison between the RM and the real-time monitoring data. With the real-time detection capability, the ORNL instrument was able to reveal the emission variation by making seven measurements within a 30-minute cycle. The ability of the instrument also enables the reconstruction of the baseline chromium emission concentration. The measurements for mercury by both methods are in good agreement.