title: Laboratory characterization of modified tapered element oscillating microbalance samplers.
abstract: Laboratory tests with generated aerosols were conducted to test the efficacy of two recent design modifications to the well-established tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM) continuous particulate matter (PM) mass monitor. The two systems tested were the sample equilibration system-equipped TEOM monitor operating at 30 degrees C, which uses a Nafion dryer as part of the sample inlet, and the differential TEOM monitor, which adds a switched electrostatic precipitator and uses a self-referencing algorithm to determine "true PM mass." Test aerosols included ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, sodium chloride, copper (II) sulfate, and mixed aerosols. Aerosols were generated with an atomizer or a vibrating orifice generator and were equilibrated in a 450-L slow flow chamber before being sampled. Relative humidity in the chamber was varied between 10 and 90%, and step changes in humidity were executed while generating aerosol to test the response of the instruments. The sample equilibration system-equipped TEOM monitor does reduce, but not totally eliminate, the sensitivity of the TEOM mass monitor to changes in humidity. The differential TEOM monitor gives every indication of being a very robust technique for the continuous real-time measurement of ambient aerosol mass, even in the presence of semi-volatile particles and condensable gases.
authors.affiliation: Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY 12203, USA. schwab@asrc.cestm.albany.edu
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Schwab
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hogrefe
authors.forename: Kenneth L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Demerjian
authors.forename: Jeffrey L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Ambs
mesh_terms: D000392:Air Movements; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010316:Particle Size
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants