Fractionation of trace elements in total atmospheric deposition by filtrating-bulk passive sampling.
We have developed and validated a new simple and effective methodology for fractionation of soluble and insoluble forms of trace elements in total atmospheric deposition. The proposed methodology is based on the modification of a standard total deposition passive sampler by integrating a quartz fiber filter that retains the insoluble material, allowing the soluble fraction to pass through and flow to a receiving bottle. The quartz filter containing the insoluble fraction and the liquid containing the soluble fraction are then separately assayed by standardized ICP-MS protocols. The proposed atmospheric elemental fractionation sampler (AEFS) was validated by analyzing a Coal Fly Ash reference material with proper recoveries, and tested for field fractionation of a set of 10 key trace elements in total atmospheric deposition at the industrial area of Puchuncaví-Ventanas, Chile. The AEFS was proven useful for pollution assessment and also to identify variability of the soluble and insoluble fractions of the selected elements within the study area, improving the analytical information attainable by standard passive samplers for total deposition without the need of using sophisticated and high cost wet-only/dry only collectors.
Departamento de Química Analítica, Universidad de Extremadura, Av. de Elvas, s/n 06006, Badajoz, Spain. Electronic address: fernandorh@unex.es.
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Rueda-Holgado
Departamento de Química Analítica, Universidad de Extremadura, Av. de Elvas, s/n 06006, Badajoz, Spain.
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Palomo-Marín
Departamento de Química Analítica, Universidad de Extremadura, Av. de Elvas, s/n 06006, Badajoz, Spain.
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Calvo-Blázquez
Centro de Tecnologías Ambientales, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Av. de España, Valparaíso, Chile.
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Cereceda-Balic
Departamento de Química Analítica, Universidad de Extremadura, Av. de Elvas, s/n 06006, Badajoz, Spain.
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Pinilla-Gil
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D001272:Atmosphere; D002677:Chile; D003031:Coal; D060729:Coal Ash; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation; D004867:Equipment Design; D005374:Filtration; D005843:Geography; D007220:Industrial Waste; D007221:Industry; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012995:Solubility; D014131:Trace Elements / Q000032:analysis*
D000393:Air Pollutants; D003031:Coal; D060729:Coal Ash; D007220:Industrial Waste; D014131:Trace Elements
Atmospheric deposition; Atmospheric pollution assessment; Atmospheric sampling; Elemental fractionation; Inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry