Pyrolytic production of elemental

The correction for the pyrolytic production of elemental carbon is accomplished by measuring the amount of elemental carbon oxidation necessary to return the filter reflectance to its initial value. This is facilitated by the three-step elemental carbon oxidation which produces a relatively slow initial rise in the reflectance. A typical output is shown in Figure 3. The pyrolysis correction corresponds to the shaded area which is added to peaks 1 and 2 to give the corrected value for organic carbon. This procedure assumes that the mass absorption coefficient of the pyrolytically produced elemental carbon is the same as that of the original elemental carbon. Research to test this assumption is continuing. 

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