Determination of 1-nitropyrene in low volume ambient air samples by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

To measure the actual exposure of a person to 1-nitropyrene (1-NP) in airborne particulate matter, it is considered more accurate to collect air samples with a portable air sampler than to sample at a fixed location. However, because the portable samplers can sample only small volumes, a sensitive method is needed to analyze the compounds that are collected on a filter. Here we describe a high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with fluorescence detection that is sensitive and precise enough for use with portable air samplers. The developed column-switching system successfully removed the interfering substances in the samples with only a simple pretreatment. To improve the precision of the measurement, deuterated 1-NP was used as an internal standard, and it eluted immediately prior to 1-NP with sufficient resolution (R_s, 1.50). The detection limit was 0.32 fmol/injection, and the calibration range was from 2 to 100 fmol. The proposed method was applied to determining 1-NP in fine airborne particulate matter (PM_2.5) at two sites with low pollution levels. 1-NP was detected in all samples at concentrations in the low fmol/m³ range. The proposed method has enough sensitivity and precision to determine 1-NP in the limited air volume of the portable sampler.     

Determination of water-soluble and insoluble compounds in size classified airborne particulate matter

The elemental composition of water soluble and acid soluble size-fractionated airborne particulate matter (APM) was investigated. PM2.5 and PM2.5-10 samples were collected every three days from October 2006 to October 2007 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The collection was performed on Nucleopore® filters using a GENT sampler. Samples containing fine and coarse particles were subjected to an aqueous leaching to obtain information on the dissolution behaviors of ions, metal and metalloids. Key elements namely, Al, Ba, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Pb, Se, Ti and Zn were determined in each fraction by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). In the aqueous fractions, Cl⁻, SO₄²⁻, Na⁺ and NH₄⁺ were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A (6:2:5) mixture of nitric, hydrochloric and perchloric acids was used for leaching metals from the residual filters. For validation of the extraction procedure, the ICP OES measurements the Standard Reference Material NIST 1648 (Urban particulate matter) was subjected to the same analytical procedure that the samples loaded with APM. Total analyte concentration varied from 333.2 μg g^− 1 (equivalent to 3.7 ng m^− 3) for Ti to 692 mg g^− 1 (equivalent to 2.47 μg m^− 3) for Ca.     

Optimization and validation of a low temperature microwave-assisted extraction method for analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in airborne particulate matter

A low temperature microwave-assisted extraction method (MAE) is reported for the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in airborne particulate matter (PM). The main parameters affecting the extraction efficiency (choice of extractants, microwave power, and extraction time) were investigated and optimized. The optimized procedure requires a 20 ml mixture of acetone:n-hexane (1:1) for extraction of PAHs in PM at 150 W of microwave energy (20 min extraction time). Clean-up of MAE extracts was not found to be necessary. The optimized method was validated using two different SRM (1648-urban particulate matter and 1649a, urban dust). The results obtained are in good agreement with certified values. PAHs recoveries for both reference materials were between 79 and 122% with relative standard deviation ranging from 3 to 21%. Detection limits were determined based on blank determination using two kinds of quartz filter substrates (n = 10), which ranged from 0.001 (0.03) ng m⁻³ (pg/μg) for B(k)Ft to 1.119 (37.3) for Naph in ng m⁻³ (pg/μg), respectively. The repeatability and day-to-day reproducibility obtained in this study were in the range of 4-16 and 3-25% for spiked standards and SRM 1649, respectively. The optimized and validated MAE technique was applied to the extraction of PAHs from a set of real world PM samples collected in Singapore. The sum of particulate-bound PAHs in outdoor PM ranged from 1.05 to 3.45 ng m⁻³ while that in indoor PM (cooking emissions) ranged from 27.6 to 75.7 ng m⁻³, respectively.     

Clean-up methods for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons analyses by capillary gas chromatography

Summary Comparative results of pre-treatment methods for the extracts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from airborne particulate matter for quantitative determination by gas chromatography (GC) are presented. The first method included liquid-liquid extraction and column liquid adsorption chromatography. In the second procedure the extract was fractionated by liquid-liquid chromatography and liquid adsorption chromatography. In the last procedure two different solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridges examined makes it possible to separate PAHs and remove paraffinic compounds which is very important for the quantitative GC analysis of the PAHs. Recoveries of PAH standards and some their derivatives were determined and the contents of 15 of the most important PAHs, were compared. Presented at the 21^st ISC held in Stuttgart, Germany, 15^th–20^th September, 1996     

Some aspects on the sampling efficiency of microbial impaction air samplers

Indoor microbial monitoring is an important health issue in many sectors of society. In particular, it is important to monitor microbial concentrations in environments dealing with bio-susceptible products. Many human diseases are related to high, undesired microbial airborne concentrations. However, the lack of a standardized and well-accepted methodology for testing and ranking the performance of microbial air samplers is a source of uncertainty in such measurements. Several works clearly show that results obtained from microbial air sampling depend largely on measuring techniques, especially the air samplers’ physical parameters, such as d₅₀, as well as environmental conditions, sources, and concentrations of microbial organisms in the environment. Furthermore, personnel using cleanroom clothing can reduce the microbial burden within a clean environment. To evaluate this effect, we carried out experimental comparison tests in a cleanroom of class ISO 5 with different air samplers under various microbial concentration levels, generated by a human source dressed in different quality cleanroom clothing. Our results confirm that in addition to the measuring technique, cleanroom clothing does influence microbial contamination, affecting air sampler measurements.     

The use of in-situ test method EN 1793-6 for measuring the airborne sound insulation of noise barriers

The in situ measurement of the airborne sound insulation, as outlined in EN 1793-6:2012, is becoming a common means of quantifying the performance of road traffic noise reducing devices. Newly installed products can be tested to reveal any construction defects and periodic testing can help to identify long term weaknesses in a design. The method permits measurements to be conducted in the presence of background noise from traffic, through the use of impulse response measurement techniques, and is sensitive to sound leakage. Factors influencing the measured airborne sound insulation are discussed, with reference to measurements conducted on a range of traffic noise barriers located around Auckland, New Zealand. These include the influence of sound leakage in the form of hidden defects and visible air gaps, signal-to-noise ratio, and noise barrier height. The measurement results are found to be influenced by the presence of hidden defects and small air gaps, with larger air gaps making the choice of measurement position critical. A signal-to-noise ratio calculation method is proposed, and is used to show how the calculated airborne sound insulation varies with signal-to-noise ratio. It is shown that the measurement results are influenced by barrier height, through the need for reduced length Adrienne temporal windows to remove the diffraction components, prohibiting the direct comparison of results from noise barriers with differing heights.     

基于机载光电平台的双机交会定位方法

根据现有无人机光电定位方法对动态目标定位的局限性,借鉴光电经纬仪角度交会定位方法,提出改进的基于机载光电平台的双机交会定位系统.介绍了交会定位系统的构成及其工作原理,构建辅助坐标系,对视轴向量进行齐次坐标转换,建立双机交会定位模型.研究了交会定位中载机相对目标位置对定位精度的影响,给出了理想的测量位置,得到最优定位位置,最优交会角为69.984°.最优位置下,当目标距离双机基线20km时,定位均方根误差为38.043 4m.分析了卡尔曼滤波对定位结果的影响,建立合适的滤波模型,滤波后的定位均方根误差减小到13.584 2m.     

空气及水汽的激光诱导击穿光谱特性实验研究

以大气颗粒物测量为目标,实验研究了作为背景的空气分子的激光诱导击穿光谱(laser induced breakdown spectrometry, LIBS),以NIST原子发射谱线数据库为参考,对其中的O,N,H等主要元素的特征谱线进行了标识。研究了CCD光谱仪实验参数对空气等离子体发射谱线的影响,得出积分延时大于7 μs时可以较好地减小空气分子所产生的干扰谱线,积分时间宽度大于仪器最小值(1. 1 ms)时对谱线信号强度影响较小等结论。还研究了水汽的激光诱导击穿光谱,分析了O,N,H等元素的发射谱线信号强度的变化,发现H的发射谱线信号强度与水汽含量之间具有很好的线性关系。这些结果对于在大气环境条件下,对大气颗粒物的识别具有重要的指导意义。     

基于SVM方法的赤潮生物优势种航空高光谱识别

赤潮生物优势种的航空高光谱识别可为快速鉴别赤潮及其毒性提供技术基础,为赤潮灾害程度的定级提供支持。文章提出了基于支持向量机(SVM)的赤潮生物优势种航空高光谱识别模型,并以2001年7月16日,2001年8月19日和8月25日的赤潮高光谱数据为例,开展了识别模型的实验应用。识别结果表明：在参考光谱具有较大动态范围的前提下,发展的赤潮生物优势种航空高光谱识别模型不仅能够获得较高的分类精度,而且不受高光谱数据维数高的限制。     

Study on aerosol agglomeration using the airborne ultrasonic transducer

Acoustic agglomeration technology use high-intensity acoustic field to make aerosol particles collide and condense rapidly. Existing studies have shown that 70%–90% of fine particles can be eliminated within minutes using compression drives and air-jet generators. Currently, there are limitations to the sound sources used. In this paper, an airborne ultrasonic transducer with a resonant frequency of 15 kHz is designed, followed by the corresponding numerical simulation and experiments for the evaluation of the vibration modal and sound pressure field. The sound pressure levels (SPL) of the open space and the agglomeration chamber can reach 150 dB and 156 dB, respectively. The agglomeration effect of water droplets, liquid phase smoke, solid phase smoke and mixed smoke is experimentally investigated, and the light transmittance rapidly increases from 8% to 60% within 4 s, 8 s, 5 s and 6 s, respectively. Agglomeration is also effective in the high-frequency range, and we infer that the acoustic wake effect is the predominant mechanism. The elimination effect is promoted with the increasing of SPL until the corresponding secondary acoustic effect is enhanced. Moreover, the agglomeration rate of higher concentration aerosol is significantly better than that of diluted aerosols in ultrasonic agglomeration process.