Metrohm has revealed how Pils and Marga ion chromatography processes can be used in the analysis and monitoring of air.
Marga and Pils are the acronyms for 'Monitor for Aerosols and Gases in Ambient Air' and 'Particle Into Liquid Sampler' respectively.
Marga is a complete system to analyse anions and cations in aerosols and gases in ambient air.
Pils is an aerosol-sampling device to be connected to ion chromatographs and other devices.
Pils collects ambient aerosols into a liquid sample stream, which is then fed into an ion chromatograph for analysis.
This allows semi-continuous measurements with a time resolution of 5-15mins.
Thus, changes in aerosol composition can be followed in real time.
Aerosol fractions of PM1 up to PM10 (particles smaller than 1um up to smaller than 10um) can be trapped, depending on the used cyclone or impactor to remove larger particles.
Acidic and alkaline gases respectively are removed by denuders in front of the Pils.
No further sample preparation is required.
Other analysis methods using liquid samples can be connected as well.
Air pollution not only comprises gaseous components but also particulate matter (PM) in the form of tiny particles.
These penetrate in the lungs and are detrimental for human health.
Health hazards caused by PM are a hot issue worldwide, but it is still not known which components cause the effects.
There is therefore a need for more specific and long-term data.
Marga offers a new approach in which PM and the acidic gases are directly sampled in the water phase followed by on-line analysis of its ingredients, which allows fully automatic monitoring.
