AMTD Atmospheric Measurement Techniques Discussions AMTD Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss. 1867-8610 Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/amtd-6-4313-2013 Quantitative measurement of PM<sub>10</sub> by means of X-ray fluorescence spectra Busetto E. 1 Peloi M. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9902-2976 1 Rebuffi L. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5779-1948 1 Tefouet Kana E. 2 Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., S.S. 14 km 163.5 in Area Science Park, 34139 Basovizza, Trieste, Italy Elettra ICTP Fellows, The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics,Strada Costiera, 11, 34151 Trieste, Italy 14 05 2013 6 3 4313 4332 Copyright: © 2013 E. Busetto et al. 2013 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This article is available from https://amt.copernicus.org/preprints/6/4313/2013/amtd-6-4313-2013.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://amt.copernicus.org/preprints/6/4313/2013/amtd-6-4313-2013.pdf

We developed an automatic device able to sample and analyze in situ and in real time airborne particulate matter (PM) using the X-ray fluorescence of the chemical species layered on a filter, having atomic numbers between 19 (Potassium) and 82 (Lead). Furthermore, we developed a calibration technique, which gives the parameters for real time automatic determination of the absolute mass of the chemical species present on the sample, with a sensitivity varying from 1 to 100 μg per sample. <br><br> Our system could represent a simpler alternative to the complex and sophisticated laboratory measurements, such as Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) or Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES), officially used by environmental agencies. A 6 month in-situ test, carried out in collaboration with the local Regional Environmental Agency, showed that our system gives results comparable with the ones obtained using existing techniques, but with smaller errors. The methodology developed has been submitted for a patent.

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