Derivation of flow rate and calibration method for high-volume air samplers

Abstract

Abstract. Sampling the atmosphere to analyze contaminants is different from other environmental matrices because measuring the volume of air collected requires a mechanical flow-through device to draw the air and measure its flow rate. The device used must have the capability of concentrating the analytes of interest onto a different substrate because the volumes of air needed are often on the order of hundreds of cubic meters. The use of high-volume air samplers has grown since 1967, when recommended limits of a large number of organic contaminants in air were developed. Equations used for calculating the air flow through the device over time have similarly been developed. However, the complete derivation of those equations has never appeared in the scientific literature. Here a thorough derivation of those equations is provided with definitions of the mechanical systems that are used in the process, along with the method of calibrating and calculating air flow.

Evaluation of the Sources, Precursors, and Processing of Aerosols at a High-Altitude Tropical Site

“…A total of 32 pure quartz fiber filters were collected over the campaign period for an overall duration of 10–12 h each during the night (9 p.m. to 8 a.m. local time (LT)) and daytime (from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. LT). Filters were sampled from March 8 to April 4 using a PM 10 high-volume impact sampler (Digitel DA80 48 ). Prior to use, the filters were heated to 500 °C for 12 h to avoid organic contamination.…”