Using X-ray Fluorescence Imaging to Analyze Metal Concentrations in Airborne Particulate Matter Collected in our Local Environment: Particular Emissions Analysis
Authors:
- Students:
- Sriharikrishna Gaddam
- Hussain Razvi
- Teachers:
- Emmanuel Aldana
- Mentors:
- Tejas Guruswamy (Argonne National Laboratory, XSD-DET)
- Matthew Newville (University of Chicago, Center for Advanced Radiation Sources)
Advanced Photon Source Sector 13: GSECARS
Our experiment focused on the chemical composition of particulate matter; we hypothesized that urban environments would have a higher concentration of transition metals than suburban environments. We collected samples from downtown Chicago, our school’s exhaust vents, and a suburban area. To collect our samples, we used MERV-13 filters suspended via a 3-D printed air box fitted around a battery-powered fan. After we collected our filter samples from our airbox we used x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy at the 13-ID-E beamline at the Advanced Photon Source to analyze photon energy levels to determine elemental abundance.