Sorbent-Coated Diffusion Denuders for Direct Measurement of Gas/Particle Partitioning by Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds

Abstract

Sorbent-coated annular denuder-based samplers have been developed for direct determination of both gaseous and particulate semi-volatile organic species. The first such sampler, the Integrated Organic Vapor/Particle Sampler, has been validated for sampling semi-volatile PAH in ambient air and environmental tobacco smoke. Multi-channel versions of the IOVPS have been used successfully for investigation of gas/particle partitioning of a variety of semi-volatile organic species in combustion source-enriched environmental chambers. Subsequent improvements have resulted in two new higher-capacity samplers, the IOGAPS and the jumbo-IOGAPS, that use the same sorbent for sampling trace organics in the ambient atmosphere for 24--48 hr periods over a wide temperature range. Construction of these new samplers began by incorporating the IOVPS coating technology onto the gas collection surfaces of the higher capacity GAP sampler. Substantial design effort aims to ensure that vapor phase components as volatile as naphthalene can be trapped efficiently and retained by the sorbent-coated surface while the particles pass through to the filter.