Swiss Made Measurement Techniques for Carbonaceous Aerosols
Loading...
Files
Author (Corporation)
Publication date
2026
Type of student thesis
Course of study
Collections
Type
01A - Journal article
Editors
Editor (Corporation)
Supervisor
Parent work
Chimia
Special issue
DOI of the original publication
Link
Series
Series number
Volume
80
Issue / Number
1-2
Pages / Duration
21-28
Patent number
Publisher / Publishing institution
Schweizerische Chemische Gesellschaft
Place of publication / Event location
Edition
Version
Programming language
Assignee
Practice partner / Client
Abstract
Carbonaceous aerosols (CA) represent a chemically and physically diverse class of airborne particles. Their relevance for climate and health is significant, but poorly understood. Conventional metrics, such as particulate matter (PM10 or PM2.5), are insufficient to capture their impact. More specific indicators, such as elemental and organic carbon (EC and OC) and equivalent black carbon (eBC), often suffer from methodological artefacts, limited compatibility, and insufficient time resolution. In this work, we present an overview of the techniques and measurement systems developed by members of our group at FHNW for improved in situ quantification and characterization of CA. Photoemission-based sensors provide a real-time signal that serves as a proxy for particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which include well known carcinogenic substances. Photothermal methods, such as photothermal interferometry (PTI) and photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS), are used for direct observation of light absorption — an optical property directly linked to climate effects — without artefacts inherent to filter-based measurements. The fast thermal carbon totalizator (FATCAT) provides robust, unattended measurement of total carbon with high time resolution and generates fast-thermograms that reveal volatility and refractivity. Collectively, these methods address key limitations of current CA monitoring and support the long-term goal of integrating relevant metrics into air quality monitoring and climate observation networks.
Keywords
Subject (DDC)
Event
Exhibition start date
Exhibition end date
Conference start date
Conference end date
Date of the last check
ISBN
ISSN
0009-4293
2673-2424
2673-2424
Language
English
Created during FHNW affiliation
Yes
Strategic action fields FHNW
Publication status
Published
Review
Peer review of the complete publication
Open access category
Diamond
License
Citation
Keller, A., Burtscher, H., & Weingartner, E. (2026). Swiss Made Measurement Techniques for Carbonaceous Aerosols. Chimia, 80(1-2), 21–28. https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2026.21