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Title: A critical evaluation of interlaboratory data on total, elemental, and isotopic carbon in the carbonaceous particle reference material, NIST SRM 1649a

Journal Article · · Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [5];  [6];  [6];  [7];  [7];  [7];  [8];  [9];  [9] more »;  [10];  [10];  [11];  [11];  [12];  [12] « less
  1. National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD (United States); DOE/OSTI
  2. National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD (United States)
  3. Centre des Science du Climat et de l’Environment, Gif sur Yvette, Cedex (France). (LSCE)
  4. Sunset Laboratories, Inc., Forest Grove, OR (United States). (SLI)
  5. Desert Research Inst., Reno, NV (United States). (DRI)
  6. Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States). Dept. of Earth System Science
  7. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA (United States). Dept. of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry
  8. Stockholm Univ. (Sweden). Inst. of Applied Environmental Research
  9. Univ. of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI (United States). Graduate School of Oceanography
  10. Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States). School of Oceanography
  11. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Atmospheric Aerosol Research
  12. Vienna Univ. of Technology (Austria). Inst. for Analytical Chemistry
+ Show Author Affiliations

Because of increased interest in the marine and atmospheric sciences in elemental carbon (EC), or black carbon (BC) or soot carbon (SC), and because of the difficulties in analyzing or even defining this pervasive component of particulate carbon, it has become quite important to have appropriate reference materials for intercomparison and quality control. The NIST “urban dust” Standard Reference Material® SRM 1649a is useful in this respect, in part because it comprises a considerable array of inorganic and organic species, and because it exhibits a large degree of (14C) isotopic heterogeneity, with biomass carbon source contributions ranging from about 2 % (essentially fossil aliphatic fraction) to about 32 % (polar fraction). A primary purpose of this report is to provide documentation for the new isotopic and chemical particulate carbon data for the most recent (31 Jan. 2001) SRM 1649a Certificate of Analysis. Supporting this is a critical review of underlying international intercomparison data and methodologies, provided by 18 teams of analytical experts from 11 institutions. Key results of the intercomparison are: (1) a new, Certified Value for total carbon (TC) in SRM 1649a; (2) 14C Reference Values for total carbon and a number of organic species, including for the first time 8 individual PAHs; and (3) elemental carbon (EC) Information Values derived from 13 analytical methods applied to this component. Results for elemental carbon, which comprised a special focus of the intercomparison, were quite diverse, reflecting the confounding of methodological-matrix artifacts, and methods that tended to probe more or less refractory regions of this universal, but ill-defined product of incomplete combustion. Availability of both chemical and 14C speciation data for SRM 1649a holds great promise for improved analytical insight through comparative analysis (e.g., fossil/ biomass partition in EC compared to PAH), and through application of the principle of isotopic mass balance.

Research Organization:
National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences Division
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1628750
Journal Information:
Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Journal Name: Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 107; ISSN 1044-677X
Publisher:
National Institute of Standards (NIST)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (32)

Application of 14C analyses to source apportionment of carbonaceous PM2.5 in the UK journal May 2011
Assessment of hydropyrolysis as a method for the quantification of black carbon using standard reference materials journal November 2012
Long-term trends of the black carbon concentrations in the Canadian Arctic journal January 2004
European In-Situ Snow Measurements: Practices and Purposes journal June 2018
Sources of uncertainties in modelling black carbon at the global scale journal January 2010
Estimating contributions from biomass burning, fossil fuel combustion, and biogenic carbon to carbonaceous aerosols in the Valley of Chamonix: a dual approach based on radiocarbon and levoglucosan journal January 2016
Refining temperature measures in thermal/optical carbon analysis journal November 2005
A TGA/FT-IR study for measuring OC and EC in aerosol samples journal January 2006
Inter-comparison of elemental and organic carbon mass measurements from three North American national long-term monitoring networks at a co-located site journal January 2019
Black (pyrogenic) carbon: a synthesis of current knowledge and uncertainties with special consideration of boreal regions journal January 2006
19th century glacier retreat in the Alps preceded the emergence of industrial black carbon deposition on high-alpine glaciers journal January 2018
The remarkable metrological history of radiocarbon dating [II] journal March 2004
Release of Black Carbon From Thawing Permafrost Estimated by Sequestration Fluxes in the East Siberian Arctic Shelf Recipient: Release of BC From Thawing Permafrost journal October 2017
How does fire affect the nature and stability of soil organic nitrogen and carbon? A review journal March 2007
Traceability Issue in PM2.5 and PM10 Measurements journal September 2013
Composition, age, and provenance of organic matter in NW African dust over the Atlantic Ocean: ORGANIC MATTER IN NW AFRICAN DUST journal August 2002
Characterization of Siberian Arctic coastal sediments: Implications for terrestrial organic carbon export: TERRESTRIAL ORGANIC C EXPORT TO ARCTIC journal March 2004
Long-term trends of the black carbon concentrations in the Canadian Arctic journal January 2004
Contributions of fossil fuel, biomass-burning, and biogenic emissions to carbonaceous aerosols in Zurich as traced by 14 C journal January 2006
Evaluation of elemental carbon as a marker for diesel particulate matter journal November 2003
Visibility: Science and Regulation journal June 2002
Pyrogenic carbon and its role in contaminant immobilization in soils journal May 2017
Brown Clouds over South Asia: Biomass or Fossil Fuel Combustion? journal January 2009
Trial by Fire: On the Terminology and Methods Used in Pyrogenic Organic Carbon Research journal November 2017
European In-Situ Snow Measurements: Practices and Purposes journal June 2018
Sources of uncertainties in modelling black carbon at the global scale journal January 2010
Estimating contributions from biomass burning, fossil fuel combustion, and biogenic carbon to carbonaceous aerosols in the Valley of Chamonix: a dual approach based on radiocarbon and levoglucosan journal January 2016
Inter-comparison of elemental and organic carbon mass measurements from three North American national long-term monitoring networks at a co-located site journal January 2019
19th century glacier retreat in the Alps preceded the emergence of industrial black carbon deposition on high-alpine glaciers journal January 2018
Pyrogenic carbon and its role in contaminant immobilization in soils text January 2017
Pyrogenic Carbon and Its Role in Contaminant Immobilization in Soils text January 2017
Pyrogenic carbon and its role in contaminant immobilization in soils text January 2017

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Related Subjects

14C speciation
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
Instruments & Instrumentation
Physics
SRM 1649a
elemental carbon
fossil and biomass carbon
international intercomparison
total carbon certified value