A new facility has been developed which allows for a stable and reproducible production of ambient-like model aerosols (PALMA) in the laboratory. The set-up consists of multiple aerosol generators, a custom-made flow tube homogeniser, isokinetic sampling probes, and a system to control aerosol temperature and humidity. Model aerosols containing elemental carbon, secondary organic matter from the ozonolysis of α-pinene, inorganic salts such as ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate, mineral dust particles, and water were generated under different environmental conditions and at different number and mass concentrations. The aerosol physical and chemical properties were characterised with an array of experimental methods, including scanning mobility particle sizing, ion chromatography, total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and thermo-optical analysis. The facility is very versatile and can find applications in the calibration and performance characterisation of aerosol instruments monitoring ambient air. In this study, we performed, as proof of concept, an intercomparison of three different commercial PM (particulate matter) monitors (TEOM 1405, DustTrak DRX 8533 and Fidas Frog) with the gravimetric reference method under three simulated environmental scenarios. The results are presented and compared to previous field studies. We believe that the laboratory-based method for simulating ambient aerosols presented here could provide in the future a useful alternative to time-consuming and expensive field campaigns, which are often required for instrument certification and calibration.

中文翻译：

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在实验室生产类似环境的模型气溶胶（PALMA）的设施：在自动PM监测仪与参考重量法的比较中的应用

已开发出一种新设施，可以在实验室中稳定且可重复生产类似环境的模型气雾剂（PALMA）。该装置包括多个气溶胶发生器，一个定制的流量管均质器，等速采样探针以及一个控制气溶胶温度和湿度的系统。模拟包含元素碳，α臭氧分解产生的次级有机物的气溶胶-pine烯，无机盐（例如硫酸铵和硝酸铵），矿物粉尘颗粒和水是在不同的环境条件下以不同的数量和质量浓度生成的。通过一系列实验方法对气溶胶的物理和化学特性进行了表征，包括扫描迁移率粒度测定，离子色谱，全反射X射线荧光光谱和热光分析。该设施用途广泛，可以在监视环境空气的气溶胶仪器的校准和性能表征中找到应用。在本研究中，我们对三种不同的商用PM（颗粒物）监测器（TEOM 1405，DustTrak DRX 8533和Fidas Frog）在三种模拟环境下使用重量分析参考方法。介绍了结果并将其与以前的现场研究进行了比较。我们认为，此处介绍的基于实验室的模拟环境气溶胶的方法可以为将来耗时且昂贵的野外活动提供有用的替代方法，而通常需要进行仪器认证和校准。