Particulates submicrometer aerosol

Aerosol mass spectrometry (AMS) is used to monitor the chemical composition of particulate matter in the atmosphere. Commercial AMS instruments can provide size and chemical mass loading data on aerosol particles in real time [176]. Such instruments integrate sampling and MS analysis sub-systems. They can be installed permanently or used as components of mobile laboratories [176]. Both quadrupole and TOF AMS devices can provide quantitative data on the chemical composition of volatile/semi-volatile submicrometer aerosols [177]. Importantly, AMS can provide non-refractory aerosol mass... 

An aerosol is a suspension of either a solid or a liquid in a gas. Fog, for example, is a suspension of small liquid water droplets in air, and smoke is a suspension of small solid particulates in combustion gases. In both cases the liquid or solid particulates must be small enough to remain suspended in the gas for an extended time. Solid aerosol particulates, which are the focus of this problem, usually have micrometer or submicrometer diameters. Over time, solid particulates settle out from the gas, falling to the Earth s surface as dry deposition. 

Porstendorfer, J. Mercer, T.T. (1978) Adsorption probability of atoms and ions on particulate surfaces in submicrometer size range. Journal of Aerosol Science, 9, 469-74. 

The Fundamentals of Acoustic Agglomeration of Small Particulates. Let us consider a polydisperse aerosol consisting of submicrometer and micron sized particles. The mean separation distance between particles would typically be about 100 micrometers. Brownian movement of the particles is caused by the collision of the thermally agitated air molecules with the particles. Also any convection currents or turbulence in the carrier gas will of course cause the particles to be partially entrained and moved in the air. If we next impose an acoustic field of acoustic pressure p, the acoustic velocity u will be given by... 

High efficiency denuders that concentrate atmospheric S02 were coupled to an ion chromatograph to yield detection limits on the order of 0.5 ppt (106). A newer approach has been introduced for the quantitative collection of aerosol particles to the submicrometer size (107). When interfaced to an inexpensive ion chromatograph for downstream analysis, the detection limit of the overall system for particulate sulfate, nitrite, and nitrate are 2.2,0.6, and 5.1 ng/m3, respectively, for an 8-min sample. A two-stage membrane sampling system coupled with an ion trap spectrometer has been utilized for the direct analysis of volatile compounds in air, with quantitation limits to low ppt levels (108). Toluene, carbon tetrachloride, tricholoroethane, and benzene were used in these studies. The measurement of nitrogen dioxide at ppb level in a liquid film droplet has been described (109) (see Air pollution). A number of elements in environmental samples have been determined by thermal ionization ms (Table 6). The detection limit for Pu was as low as 4 fg. 

Urban aerosols are mixtures of primary particulate emissions from industries, transportation, power generation, and natural sources and secondary material formed by gas-to-particle conversion mechanisms. The number distribution is dominated by particles smaller than 0.1 pm, while most of the surface area is in the 0.1-0.5 pm size range. On the contrary, the aerosol mass distribution usually has two distinct modes, one in the submicrometer regime (referred to as the accumulation mode ) and the other in the coarse-particle regime (Figure 8.11). 

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