Speciation Particulate Matter Monitors & Samplers

Met One Instruments, Inc. provides two monitors that measure and report carbon concentrations. Ambient air can contain significant amounts of carbon in certain areas. Differentiating the type of carbon—whether it is black carbon, brown carbon or organic carbon—is useful and an area of research. Through background monitoring, carbon identification, and concentration monitoring, regulators, researchers, and in some cases first responders, can begin to identify the source of the carbon, whether it be the burning of fossil fuels, wood, tobacco or other biomass.

Specialty Samplers

Chemical Speciation

Air quality monitoring professionals are often interested in knowing the chemical composition of the PM_2.5, PM₁₀, or TSP they are monitoring or sampling. Since these aerosols are typically made up of hundreds of different substances, many of which are interacting with the environment and with one another, aerosol chemical speciation is challenging. Historically, it has been a two-step process:  sampling of the aerosol with a field-based sampler onto a specialized filter or through a pre-treated cartridge, followed by retrieval of the filter or cartridge and shipment to a laboratory for chemical analysis. This approach allows complex, highly sensitive and selective laboratory analyses to be performed but the results cannot be reported in real-time nor is time resolution other than 24-hour integrated results generally available. Although interest for practical, real-time, field-deployable speciation monitors has existed for many years, few have been successfully introduced.  Of particular interest has been the ability to monitor black carbon “BC” and brown carbon “BrC”, two classes of substances known to be highly detrimental to human health. In addition, BC is known to be a significant contributor to global warming.

Speciation Samplers

The Met One Instruments SASS and SuperSASS samplers are specifically designed for collection of PM_2.5 onto multiple 47-mm filters followed by subsequent laboratory analysis of the collected PM_2.5 for a variety of different chemical compounds including organic and elemental carbon “OC/EC”, heavy metals, and principal anions and cations. The SASS and the SuperSASS form the backbone of the US Chemical Speciation Network “CSN” with more than 200 units deployed over the years. The SASS and SuperSASS also exist in many monitoring networks outside of the United States.  Met One Instruments’ E-FRM and E-SEQ-FRM samplers may be used also for collection of aerosols onto 47-mm filters for subsequent laboratory analysis with the added flexibility of being able to use PM₁, PM_2.5, PM₁₀, or TSP cut points at 16.7 LPM.

Specialty Samplers

Met One Instruments offers three specialty samplers for specifically defined applications; the IMPROVE Sampler, Pesticide Sampler and Toxics Sampler.

Substitute IMPROVE Sampler

This device is an ambient multichannel speciation sampler with a 20 LPM channel through 25 mm filter media for collecting ambient PM_2.5 samples for the IMPROVE program. This sampler provides additional 6.7 LPM channels onto 47-mm filter media for the US-EPA Speciation Network.

Pesticide Sampler

Our pesticide sampler is a highly customizable speciation sampler designed specifically for sampling of specific pesticides, herbicides and fungicides typically found in agricultural settings. Field sampling and subsequent laboratory methods for quantification of these substances is highly specialized, as a result more generalized aerosol samplers are usually not used for this application. One common configuration has 3-channels with flow rates 15 LPM (PTFE cartridge), 1.5 LPM (thin glass cartridge), and 50 cc/min (thin glass cartridge) for sampling and subsequent analysis for organophosphate pesticides, methyl isocyanate (MITC) and chloropicrin. Other configurations are also available.

Toxics Sampler

This application specific unit is a multi-channel ambient sampler for toxics sampling according to US-EPA TOC or Compendium Methods for aldehydes/ketones, hexavalent chromium (Cr⁺⁶) and VOCs. In addition to offering 4 filter-based channels, the sampler can also control several SUMMA canisters. This device is programmable and upgradeable.

Speciation Monitors

Black carbon “BC” and Brown Carbon “BrC” are substances created through combustion of fossil fuels. Both are considered to be pollutants and BC is known to contribute to global warming due to its black color and its ubiquitous nature anywhere fossil fuel combustion occurs. Unlike other common constituents of PM_2.5, such as inorganic sulfates, inorganic nitrates, ammonium compounds, silica, and ionic substances such as iron oxide or sodium chloride, all of which are relatively benign, many of components of BC or BrC are known carcinogens and are highly toxic. Met One Instruments offers two BC monitors:  the research grade BC-1054 MultiSpectrum Carbon Monitor and the portable BC-1060 two wavelength carbon monitor.

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Pictured here is Met One’s SASS Speciation Sampler being used for pesticide sampling