Articles | Volume 19, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-3491-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-3491-2026
Research article
 | 
27 May 2026
Research article |  | 27 May 2026

Near real-time & benchtop XRF intercomparison for PM elemental analysis on quartz and teflon filters: a case study across three European cities

Stefanos Papagiannis, Manousos I. Manousakas, Dimitrios F. Anagnostopoulos, Michael Pikridas, Rima Baalbaki, Jean Sciare, Niall O'Sullivan, Stig Hellebust, John Wenger, Kirsten N. Fossum, Jurgita Ovadnevaite, Anja Tremper, David Green, Konstantinos Eleftheriadis, and Evangelia Diapouli

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Cited articles

Aikawa, M. and Hiraki, T.: Difference in the use of a quartz filter and a PTFE filter as first-stage filter in the four-stage filter-pack method, Water Air Soil Poll., 213, 331–339, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-010-0388-y, 2010. 
Aldekheel, M., Farahani, V. J., and Sioutas, C.: Assessing Lifetime Cancer Risk Associated with Population Exposure to PM-Bound PAHs and Carcinogenic Metals in Three Mid-Latitude Metropolitan Cities, Toxics, 11, 697, https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11080697, 2023. 
Bimenyimana, E., Pikridas, M., Oikonomou, K., Iakovides, M., Christodoulou, A., Sciare, J., and Mihalopoulos, N.: Fine aerosol sources at an urban background site in the Eastern Mediterranean (Nicosia; Cyprus): Insights from offline versus online source apportionment comparison for carbonaceous aerosols, Sci. Total Environ., 893, 164741, https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2023.164741, 2023. 
Bimenyimana, E., Sciare, J., Pikridas, M., Oikonomou, K., Iakovides, M., Vasiliadou, E., Savvides, C., and Mihalopoulos, N.: Persistent high PM pollution in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East: insights from long-term observations and source apportionment in Cyprus, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 26, 1605–1622, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-1605-2026, 2026. 
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Short summary

We compared near real-time and benchtop XRF spectrometers measuring trace elements in airborne particles across three European cities. Results show filter material dictates accuracy: Teflon yielded strong inter-instrument agreement, while quartz caused systematic attenuation errors for light elements. Because empirical corrections left residual biases, using optimal substrates—preferably Teflon—is essential for accurately tracking pollution sources.

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