Laboratory and field investigation of the adsorption of gaseous organic compounds onto quartz filters

A common method for measuring the mass of organic carbon in airborne particulate matter involves collection on a quartz filter and subsequent thermal analysis. If unaccounted for, the adsorption of organic gases onto quartz filters will lead to the overestimation of aerosol organic carbon concentrations (positive artifact). A recommended method of correction for the positive artifact involves sampling with a backup filter. Placed behind either the primary quartz filter, or behind a Teflon filter and collected in parallel with the primary quartz filter, the carbon content of the quartz backup filter is a measure of the adsorbed organic material on the primary quartz filter. In this paper, we illustrate the application of this technique to samples collected in Berkeley, California. While the tandem quartz filter method can be successfully applied to correct for the positive artifact, we discuss two cases when this method will fail. We have found that the capacity for adsorption of organic gases is not uniform for all filters. Instead, filters manufactured by the same company, but having different lot numbers, exhibit variable adsorption capacity. Thus, a filter pair composed of filters from different lots may lead to significant under- or overestimation of particulate organic carbon concentration. Additionally, we have observed that the tandem filter method under-corrects for the positive artifact if the sampling time is short (few hours). Laboratory experiments with vapors of single organic compounds corroborate results based on ambient samples. The evolution of adsorbed organic gases, particularly polar compounds, during thermal analysis indicates that a single compound may experience two distinct adsorbent–adsorbate binding energies. Adsorbed gases may co-evolve with particles at temperatures in excess of 250°C.