Carbon Mass Determinations during the AIDA Soot Aerosol Campaign 1999

 

H. Saathoff¹, K.-H. Naumann¹, M. Schnaiter¹, W. Schöck¹, E. Weingartner², U. Baltensperger²., L. Krämer³, Z. Bozoki³, U. Pöschl³, R. Niessner³, and U. Schurath¹

 

¹ Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, POB 3640, D-76021 Karlsruhe, Germany

² Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland

³ Institute of Hydrochemistry, Technical University of Munich, Marchioninistrasse 17, D-81377 Munich, Germany

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Abstract

During the soot aerosol campaign particle carbon mass concentrations of Diesel soot, spark generated “Palas“ soot, external and internal mixtures of Diesel soot with (NH₄)₂SO₄, and particles coated with secondary organic aerosol material were determined by several different methods. Two methods were based on thermochemical filter analysis with coulometric and NDIR detection of evolved CO₂ (total carbon, TC and elemental carbon, EC) and four methods employed optical techniques: aethalometry (black carbon, BC), photoacoustic soot detection (BC), photoelectron emission, and extinction measurement at 473 nm. Furthermore, b-attenuation (total particulate mass), FTIR spectroscopy (sulphate), and COSIMA model calculations were used to determine particle mass concentrations. The general agreement between most methods was good although some methods did not reach their usual performance. Total carbon determined by coulometric filter analysis showed good correlations with optical extinction, photoacoustic black carbon signal, and photoelectron emission data. However, the evolution of the photoelectron emission signal correlated with changes in accessible surface area rather than mass concentration and was very sensitive to surface conditions. The BC content as measured by the aethalometers approximately equals to less than 70% of the EC content for diesel soot and amounts to less than 25% of the EC content of “Palas” soot.