A traceable and continuous flow calibration method for gaseous elemental mercury at low ambient concentrations
<p>The monitoring of low gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) concentrations in the atmosphere requires continuous high-resolution measurements and corresponding calibration capabilities. Currently, continuous calibration for GEM is still an issue at ambient concentrations (1–2 <span class="...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |
| Online Access: | https://amt.copernicus.org/articles/17/1217/2024/amt-17-1217-2024.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797302306688991232 |
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| author | T. D. Andron T. D. Andron W. T. Corns I. Živković I. Živković S. W. Ali S. W. Ali S. Vijayakumaran Nair S. Vijayakumaran Nair M. Horvat M. Horvat |
| author_facet | T. D. Andron T. D. Andron W. T. Corns I. Živković I. Živković S. W. Ali S. W. Ali S. Vijayakumaran Nair S. Vijayakumaran Nair M. Horvat M. Horvat |
| author_sort | T. D. Andron |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>The monitoring of low gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) concentrations in the atmosphere requires continuous high-resolution measurements and corresponding calibration capabilities. Currently, continuous calibration for GEM is still an issue at ambient concentrations (1–2 <span class="inline-formula">ng m<sup>−3</sup></span>). This paper presents a continuous flow calibration for GEM, traceable to NIST 3133 Standard Reference Material (SRM). This calibration approach was tested using a direct mercury analyser based on atomic absorption spectrometry with Zeeman background correction (Zeeman AAS). The produced continuous flow of GEM standard was obtained via the reduction of <span class="inline-formula">Hg<sup>2+</sup></span> from liquid NIST 3133 SRM and used for the traceable calibration of the Zeeman AAS device. Measurements of atmospheric GEM using the calibrated Zeeman AAS were compared with two methods: (1) manual gold amalgamation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS) calibrated with the chemical reduction of NIST 3133 and (2) automated gold amalgamation AFS calibrated using the mercury bell-jar syringe technique. The comparisons showed that a factory-calibrated Zeeman AAS device underestimates concentrations under 10 <span class="inline-formula">ng m<sup>−3</sup></span> by up to 35 % relative to the two other methods of determination. However, when a calibration based on NIST 3133 SRM was used to perform a traceable calibration of the Zeeman AAS, the results were more comparable with other methods. The expanded relative combined uncertainty for the Zeeman AAS ranged from 8 % for measurements at the 40 <span class="inline-formula">ng m<sup>−3</sup></span> level to 91.6 % for concentrations under 5 <span class="inline-formula">ng m<sup>−3</sup></span> using the newly developed calibration system. High uncertainty for measurements performed under 5 <span class="inline-formula">ng m<sup>−3</sup></span> was mainly due to instrument noise and concentration variation in the samples.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T23:34:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cfbf5c84e1bf4371922aeb07b058a2ca |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1867-1381 1867-8548 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T23:34:54Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |
| spelling | doaj.art-cfbf5c84e1bf4371922aeb07b058a2ca2024-02-20T07:57:25ZengCopernicus PublicationsAtmospheric Measurement Techniques1867-13811867-85482024-02-01171217122810.5194/amt-17-1217-2024A traceable and continuous flow calibration method for gaseous elemental mercury at low ambient concentrationsT. D. Andron0T. D. Andron1W. T. Corns2I. Živković3I. Živković4S. W. Ali5S. W. Ali6S. Vijayakumaran Nair7S. Vijayakumaran Nair8M. Horvat9M. Horvat10Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaJožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaPS Analytical, Orpington, BR5 3HP, UKDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaJožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaJožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaJožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaJožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia<p>The monitoring of low gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) concentrations in the atmosphere requires continuous high-resolution measurements and corresponding calibration capabilities. Currently, continuous calibration for GEM is still an issue at ambient concentrations (1–2 <span class="inline-formula">ng m<sup>−3</sup></span>). This paper presents a continuous flow calibration for GEM, traceable to NIST 3133 Standard Reference Material (SRM). This calibration approach was tested using a direct mercury analyser based on atomic absorption spectrometry with Zeeman background correction (Zeeman AAS). The produced continuous flow of GEM standard was obtained via the reduction of <span class="inline-formula">Hg<sup>2+</sup></span> from liquid NIST 3133 SRM and used for the traceable calibration of the Zeeman AAS device. Measurements of atmospheric GEM using the calibrated Zeeman AAS were compared with two methods: (1) manual gold amalgamation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS) calibrated with the chemical reduction of NIST 3133 and (2) automated gold amalgamation AFS calibrated using the mercury bell-jar syringe technique. The comparisons showed that a factory-calibrated Zeeman AAS device underestimates concentrations under 10 <span class="inline-formula">ng m<sup>−3</sup></span> by up to 35 % relative to the two other methods of determination. However, when a calibration based on NIST 3133 SRM was used to perform a traceable calibration of the Zeeman AAS, the results were more comparable with other methods. The expanded relative combined uncertainty for the Zeeman AAS ranged from 8 % for measurements at the 40 <span class="inline-formula">ng m<sup>−3</sup></span> level to 91.6 % for concentrations under 5 <span class="inline-formula">ng m<sup>−3</sup></span> using the newly developed calibration system. High uncertainty for measurements performed under 5 <span class="inline-formula">ng m<sup>−3</sup></span> was mainly due to instrument noise and concentration variation in the samples.</p>https://amt.copernicus.org/articles/17/1217/2024/amt-17-1217-2024.pdf |
| spellingShingle | T. D. Andron T. D. Andron W. T. Corns I. Živković I. Živković S. W. Ali S. W. Ali S. Vijayakumaran Nair S. Vijayakumaran Nair M. Horvat M. Horvat A traceable and continuous flow calibration method for gaseous elemental mercury at low ambient concentrations Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |
| title | A traceable and continuous flow calibration method for gaseous elemental mercury at low ambient concentrations |
| title_full | A traceable and continuous flow calibration method for gaseous elemental mercury at low ambient concentrations |
| title_fullStr | A traceable and continuous flow calibration method for gaseous elemental mercury at low ambient concentrations |
| title_full_unstemmed | A traceable and continuous flow calibration method for gaseous elemental mercury at low ambient concentrations |
| title_short | A traceable and continuous flow calibration method for gaseous elemental mercury at low ambient concentrations |
| title_sort | traceable and continuous flow calibration method for gaseous elemental mercury at low ambient concentrations |
| url | https://amt.copernicus.org/articles/17/1217/2024/amt-17-1217-2024.pdf |
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