Tropospheric Chemistry: Instruments

BrC-PILS (Particle-Into-Liquid Sampler for Organic Aerosol Absorption)

BrC-PILS instrument
BrC-PILS instrument

Principle of the Measurement

The BrC-PILS instrument measures the concentration and absorption of water-soluble organic aerosol. A particle-into-liquid sampler collects particles into a solution of pure water. The liquid is pumped through a liquid waveguide capillary cell to measure absorption at 350-550 nm using a deuterium/halogen lamp and a grating spectrometer. The total dissolved carbon is then measured by conversion to CO2. Together, these measurements provide the absorption spectrum, concentration of water-soluble carbon, and the mass absorption coefficient (absorption per unit carbon).

Species Measured

Absorption, concentration, and mass absorption coefficient of water-soluble organic aerosol

Time Response / Detection Limit

Absorption: ~1.0 Mm-1 in 4 seconds
Organic aerosol mass: ~0.1 μg m-3 in 4 seconds

Manufacturer

Custom-built with components from Brechtel Instruments and Suez Water Technologies

Field Projects / Platforms