Steigmeier, Peter

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Peter
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Steigmeier, Peter

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  • Publikation
    A novel measurement system for unattended, in situ characterization of carbonaceous aerosols
    (Copernicus, 22.12.2023) Keller, Alejandro; Specht, Patrick; Steigmeier, Peter; Weingartner, Ernest [in: Aerosol Research]
    Carbonaceous aerosol is a relevant constituent of the atmosphere in terms of climate and health impacts. Nevertheless, measuring this component poses many challenges. There is currently no simple and sensitive commercial technique that can reliably capture its totality in an unattended manner, with minimal user intervention, for extended periods of time. To address this issue we have developed the fast thermal carbon totalizator (FATCAT). Our system captures an aerosol sample on a rigid metallic filter and subsequently analyses it by rapidly heating the filter directly, through induction, to a temperature around 800°C. The carbon in the filter is oxidized and quantified as CO2 in order to establish the total carbon (TC) content of the sample. The metallic filter is robust, which solves filter displacement or leakage problems, and does not require a frequent replacement like other measurement techniques. The limit of detection of our system using the 3σ criterion is TC =0.19 µg-C (micrograms of carbon). This translates to an average ambient concentration of TC =0.32 µg-C m^−3 and TC =0.16 µg-C m^−3 for sampling interval of 1 or 2 h respectively using a sampling flow rate of 10 L min^−1. We present a series of measurements using a controlled, well-defined propane flame aerosol as well as wood-burning emissions using two different wood-burning stoves. Furthermore, we complement these measurements by coating the particles with secondary organic matter by means of an oxidation flow reactor. Our device shows a good correlation (correlation coefficient, R^2>0.99) with well-established techniques, like mass measurements by means of a tapered element oscillating microbalance and TC measurements by means of thermal–optical transmittance analysis. Furthermore, the homogeneous fast-heating of the filter produces fast thermograms. This is a new feature that, to our knowledge, is exclusive of our system. The fast thermograms contain information regarding the volatility and refractoriness of the sample without imposing an artificial fraction separation like other measurement methods. Different aerosol components, like wood-burning emissions, soot from the propane flame and secondary organic matter, create diverse identifiable patterns.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Publikation
    Waveguide based passively demodulated photothermal interferometer for light absorption measurements of trace substances
    (Optica Publishing Group, 2023) Visser, Bradley; Bilal, Jonas; Flöry, Nikolaus; Wipf, Manuela; Steigmeier, Peter; Rüggeberg, Tobias; Betschon, Felix; Weingartner, Ernest [in: Applied Optics]
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Publikation
    The organic coating unit, an all-in-one system for reproducible generation of secondary organic matter aerosol
    (Taylor & Francis, 18.08.2022) Keller, Alejandro; Kalbermatter, Daniel M.; Wolfer, Kate; Specht, Patrick; Steigmeier, Peter; Resch, Julian; Kalberer, Markus; Hammer, Tobias; Vasilatou, Konstantina [in: Aerosol Science and Technology]
    We report on a novel automated oxidation flow reactor to generate a wide variety of organic aerosol samples. The instrument is equipped with a humidifier, a dosing system for volatile organic precursors and an oxidation flow reactor (OFR) for generation of secondary organic matter (SOM). The instrument, known as organic coating unit (OCU), can produce homogeneously nucleated SOM particles or, used in combination with a standard combustion generator (e.g., a diffusion flame soot generator or any other seed particle), particles coated with a controlled amount of SOM. The physical and chemical properties of the generated particles can be controlled in a simple manner by selecting through a touch-screen target values for parameters, such as organic gaseous precursor concentration, humidity, and UV (ultraviolet) light intensity. Parameters and measured quantities are automatically stored in text files for easy export and analysis. Furthermore, we provide stable operation conditions and characterize the physicochemical properties of the generated aerosols with an array of methods, including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermal-optical analysis and liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS). This all-in-one instrument is robust, compact, portable, and user-friendly, making it ideal for laboratory or field-based aerosol studies.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
  • Publikation
    A single-beam photothermal interferometer for in situ measurements of aerosol light absorption
    (Copernicus, 2020) Visser, Bradley; Röhrbein, Jannis; Steigmeier, Peter; Drinovec, Luka; Močnik, Griša; Weingartner, Ernest [in: Atmospheric Measurement Techniques]
    We have developed a novel single-beam photothermal interferometer and present here its application for the measurement of aerosol light absorption. The use of only a single laser beam allows for a compact optical set-up and significantly easier alignment compared to standard dual-beam photothermal interferometers, making it ideal for field measurements. Due to a unique configuration of the reference interferometer arm, light absorption by aerosols can be determined directly – even in the presence of light-absorbing gases. The instrument can be calibrated directly with light-absorbing gases, such as NO2, and can be used to calibrate other light absorption instruments. The detection limits (1σ) for absorption for 10 and 60 s averaging times were determined to be 14.6 and 7.4 Mm−1, respectively, which for a mass absorption cross section of 10 m2 g−1 leads to equivalent black carbon concentration detection limits of 1460 and 740 ng m−3, respectively. The detection limit could be reduced further by improvements to the isolation of the instrument and the signal detection and processing schemes employed.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift