Premium
Development of an Indoor Air Sampler for Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds
Author(s) -
Loiselle S.A.,
Offemann F.J.,
Hodgson A.T.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
indoor air
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.387
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 1600-0668
pISSN - 0905-6947
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0668.1991.06-12.x
Subject(s) - volume (thermodynamics) , cartridge , particulates , pressure drop , sorbent , volumetric flow rate , chemistry , vacuum pump , sampling (signal processing) , environmental science , detection limit , chromatography , analytical chemistry (journal) , environmental chemistry , filter (signal processing) , adsorption , materials science , physics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , computer science , metallurgy , computer vision , thermodynamics
We have developed a new air sampler for collecting parriculate and gas phase polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAC). This sampler was designed to collect a 25 m 3 volume of air at a constant sampling rate of 34 l/min over a 12‐hour sampling penod. The 25 m 3 sample volume is necessary to achieve the desired nglm 3 detection limit for PAC. The 34 l/min sampling rate is estimated to cause less than a 5% reduction in the indoor contaminant concentrations. The sampler pump is a I/4 horsepower vacuum pump in an acoustically shielded fan‐cooled enclosure and is relatively quiet. The pump draws air through a 47 mm teflon impregnated glass fibre filter for collection of particulate‐phase PAC followed by a cartridge containing XAD‐4 resin in front and back sections (2.5 g each) for collection of gas‐phase PAC. In a pilot field study the mean breakthrough from the front sorbent section to the back section was less than 1% for each of 14 species of gas phase PAC except biphenyl which had a mean breakthrough of 3.7%. The pressure drop increase across the filter is linear up to a loading of 6 mg and causes less than a 10% reduction in the sample flow rate. The sampler was successfully demonstrated in a pilot field test with air temperatures as high as 30°C.