1
|
Gustin MS, Dunham-Cheatham SM, Lyman S, Horvat M, Gay DA, Gačnik J, Gratz L, Kempkes G, Khalizov A, Lin CJ, Lindberg SE, Lown L, Martin L, Mason RP, MacSween K, Vijayakumaran Nair S, Nguyen LSP, O'Neil T, Sommar J, Weiss-Penzias P, Zhang L, Živković I. Measurement of Atmospheric Mercury: Current Limitations and Suggestions for Paths Forward. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:12853-12864. [PMID: 38982755 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c06011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/11/2024]
Abstract
Mercury (Hg) researchers have made progress in understanding atmospheric Hg, especially with respect to oxidized Hg (HgII) that can represent 2 to 20% of Hg in the atmosphere. Knowledge developed over the past ∼10 years has pointed to existing challenges with current methods for measuring atmospheric Hg concentrations and the chemical composition of HgII compounds. Because of these challenges, atmospheric Hg experts met to discuss limitations of current methods and paths to overcome them considering ongoing research. Major conclusions included that current methods to measure gaseous oxidized and particulate-bound Hg have limitations, and new methods need to be developed to make these measurements more accurate. Developing analytical methods for measurement of HgII chemistry is challenging. While the ultimate goal is the development of ultrasensitive methods for online detection of HgII directly from ambient air, in the meantime, new surfaces are needed on which HgII can be quantitatively collected and from which it can be reversibly desorbed to determine HgII chemistry. Discussion and identification of current limitations, described here, provide a basis for paths forward. Since the atmosphere is the means by which Hg is globally distributed, accurately calibrated measurements are critical to understanding the Hg biogeochemical cycle.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mae Sexauer Gustin
- College of Biotechnology, Natural Resources & Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada 89557, United States
| | - Sarrah M Dunham-Cheatham
- College of Biotechnology, Natural Resources & Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada 89557, United States
| | - Seth Lyman
- Bingham Research Center, Utah State University, Vernal, Utah 84078, United States
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322, United States
| | - Milena Horvat
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana SI-1000, Slovenia
- Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana SI-1000, Slovenia
| | - David A Gay
- Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53707-7996, United States
| | - Jan Gačnik
- College of Biotechnology, Natural Resources & Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada 89557, United States
| | - Lynne Gratz
- Chemistry Department and Environmental Studies Program, Reed College, Portland, Oregon 97202, United States
| | | | - Alexei Khalizov
- New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey 07102, United States
| | - Che-Jen Lin
- Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas 77710, United States
| | - Steven E Lindberg
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Livia Lown
- College of Biotechnology, Natural Resources & Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada 89557, United States
| | - Lynwill Martin
- South Africa Weather Service, Cape Town 7525, South Africa
| | - Robert Peter Mason
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Groton, Connecticut 06340, United States
| | - Katrina MacSween
- Air Quality Research Division, Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change, Toronto, Ontario M3H 5T4, Canada
| | - Sreekanth Vijayakumaran Nair
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana SI-1000, Slovenia
- Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana SI-1000, Slovenia
| | - Ly Sy Phu Nguyen
- Faculty of Environment, University of Science, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City 700000,Vietnam
| | - Trevor O'Neil
- Bingham Research Center, Utah State University, Vernal, Utah 84078, United States
| | - Jonas Sommar
- Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 550009, China
| | - Peter Weiss-Penzias
- University of California-Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California 95064, United States
| | - Lei Zhang
- School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Igor Živković
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana SI-1000, Slovenia
- Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana SI-1000, Slovenia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Elgiar TR, Lyman SN, Andron TD, Gratz L, Hallar AG, Horvat M, Vijayakumaran Nair S, O'Neil T, Volkamer R, Živković I. Traceable Calibration of Atmospheric Oxidized Mercury Measurements. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:10706-10716. [PMID: 38850513 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c02209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2024]
Abstract
Most previous measurements of oxidized mercury were collected using a method now known to be biased low. In this study, a dual-channel system with an oxidized mercury detection limit of 6-12 pg m-3 was deployed alongside a permeation tube-based automated calibrator at a mountain top site in Steamboat Springs Colorado, USA, in 2021 and 2022. Permeation tubes containing elemental mercury and mercury halides were characterized via an International System of Units (SI)-traceable gravimetric method and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry before deployment in the calibrator. The dual-channel system recovered 97 ± 4 and 100 ± 8% (±standard deviation) of injected elemental mercury and HgBr2, respectively. Total Hg permeation rates and Hg speciation from the gravimetric method, the chromatography system, the dual-channel system, and an independent SI-traceable measurement method performed at the Jožef Stefan Institute laboratory were all comparable within the respective uncertainties of each method. These are the first measurements of oxidized mercury at low environmental concentrations that have been verified against an SI-traceable calibration system in field conditions while sampling ambient air, and they show that accurate, routinely calibrated oxidized mercury measurements are achievable.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tyler R Elgiar
- Bingham Research Center, Utah State University, Vernal, Utah 84078, United States
| | - Seth N Lyman
- Bingham Research Center, Utah State University, Vernal, Utah 84078, United States
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Utah State University, Logan ,Utah 84322, United States
| | - Teodor D Andron
- JoŽef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia
- JoŽef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia
| | - Lynne Gratz
- Reed College, Portland, Oregon 97202, United States
| | - A Gannet Hallar
- Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States
| | - Milena Horvat
- JoŽef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia
- JoŽef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia
| | - Sreekanth Vijayakumaran Nair
- JoŽef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia
- JoŽef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia
| | - Trevor O'Neil
- Bingham Research Center, Utah State University, Vernal, Utah 84078, United States
| | - Rainer Volkamer
- Department of Chemistry & CIRES, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Igor Živković
- JoŽef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia
- JoŽef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Vijayakumaran Nair S, Gačnik J, Živković I, Andron TD, Ali SW, Kotnik J, Horvat M. Application of traceable calibration for gaseous oxidized mercury in air. Anal Chim Acta 2024; 1288:342168. [PMID: 38220300 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2023.342168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Revised: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The current speciation methods for mercury (Hg) measurements are fraught with considerable uncertainty, from sample collection to calibration. High reactivity of gaseous oxidized Hg (GOM) species and their ultra-trace level presence makes them difficult to sample and calibrate. Given that improper calibration may lead to measurement biases, reliable and metrologically traceable calibration methods are required for accurately quantifying GOM in air. In the present study, we applied the recently developed calibration method based on non-thermal plasma oxidation of elemental Hg, to a commercially available Hg air speciation system for actual environmental measurements of GOM for the first time. RESULTS Hg species such as HgO, HgCl2, and HgBr2 were produced with trace amounts of reactant gases (oxygen and electrolytically produced chlorine and bromine) and the production was driven by plasma-assisted oxidation. The plasma oxidation efficiency of elemental Hg with oxygen was 98.5 ± 7.5 % (k = 2), while that for chlorine and bromine was 96.8 ± 6.9 % (k = 2) and 97.4 ± 9.6 % (k = 2), respectively. The calibration method was tested against the internal permeation (Hg0) source of the Tekran 2537B Hg analyzer on-field by loading HgO to different KCl-coated denuders using the plasma. GOM concentrations were measured using the Tekran speciation system. With internal calibration, concentrations were up to 9.1 % lower than those in plasma calibration, thereby emphasizing the importance of the calibration strategy. Measurement uncertainty (k = 2) further emphasizes this distinction. Internal calibration measurement uncertainty was 36.8 %, while plasma calibration boasted lower uncertainty at 13.8 %. SIGNIFICANCE The non-thermal plasma calibration strategy, as a unique and discrete calibration method traceable to the NIST SRM 3133 for ambient air GOM measurements, provide a higher level of confidence in the accuracy of GOM measurements with several advantages over other methods. Calibrations at extreme low concentrations (<100 pg) are possible with this method relevant to ambient air GOM concentrations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sreekanth Vijayakumaran Nair
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Jamova cesta 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Jan Gačnik
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Jamova cesta 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Igor Živković
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Jamova cesta 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Teodor Daniel Andron
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Jamova cesta 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Saeed Waqar Ali
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Jamova cesta 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Jože Kotnik
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Jamova cesta 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Milena Horvat
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia; Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Jamova cesta 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
| |
Collapse
|