Magee Scientific CASS (Carbonaceous Aerosol Speciation System)

Comprehensive Real-Time Speciation of Organic and Elemental Carbon

The Magee Scientific CASS (Carbonaceous Aerosol Speciation System) is a revolutionary integrated solution designed to deliver the "Complete Carbonaceous Aerosol Fingerprint." By synergizing the industry-standard Aethalometer® AE33 with the Total Carbon Analyzer TCA08, CASS solves one of the most persistent challenges in atmospheric science: the real-time separation of Total Carbon (TC) into its Organic Carbon (OC) and Elemental Carbon (EC) fractions without the need for complex laboratory procedures or dangerous compressed gases.

Designed for robust field operation and advanced research, CASS provides continuous, high-time-resolution data that is critical for source apportionment, climate modeling, and epidemiological studies. It offers a "No Gas, No Glass" operational model, significantly reducing the logistical burden and safety risks associated with traditional thermal-optical analyzers.

Key Benefits

• Complete Carbon Fingerprinting: Automatically calculates Organic Carbon (OC), Elemental Carbon (EC), and Total Carbon (TC) in near-real-time using the mass balance equation (OC = TC - BC).

• Operational Simplicity (No Gas, No Glass): Unlike FID-based systems or traditional OC/EC analyzers, CASS requires no carrier gases (helium/hydrogen) and no fragile quartz glassware. It uses ambient air as the carrier gas, making it far safer and easier to deploy in remote or containerized monitoring stations.

• Advanced Source Apportionment: Beyond basic quantification, CASS distinguishes between Fossil Fuel (traffic) and Biomass Burning (wood smoke) sources. It also characterizes Brown Carbon (BrC) and Secondary Organic Aerosols (SOA), providing deep insights into pollution origins.

• High Time Resolution: Delivers data with time bases ranging from 20 minutes to 24 hours for Total Carbon, and 1 second to 1 minute for Black Carbon, capturing rapid pollution events that 24-hour filter sampling misses.

Technical Overview

The CASS system integrates two independent but synchronized analytical modules into a unified 19” rack-mount platform:

1. Optical Analysis (Black Carbon): The Aethalometer® AE33 uses multi-wavelength optical absorption (370–950 nm) to measure Black Carbon (BC) and "Brown Carbon" in real-time. It employs Patented DualSpot™ technology to eliminate filter loading artifacts, ensuring linearity across wide concentration ranges.

2. Thermal Analysis (Total Carbon): The TCA08 collects aerosols on quartz filters and analyzes them via flash combustion. Using two parallel channels, it allows for continuous sampling: while one channel collects, the other analyzes. The sample is flash-heated, converting all carbonaceous material to CO₂, which is then quantified by a precision NDIR detector.

Data Integration:

The system combines the optical BC data with the thermal TC data. Since Elemental Carbon (EC) and Black Carbon (BC) are optically equivalent in most atmospheric contexts, the system derives Organic Carbon (OC) by subtracting the BC value from the TC value (OC = TC - BC).

Typical Use Cases

• Supersites & Background Stations: Essential for GAW (Global Atmosphere Watch) stations and national air quality networks requiring detailed chemical speciation.

• Source Apportionment Studies: Differentiating between primary emissions (tailpipe, chimney) and secondary formation (photochemical smog) in urban environments.

• Health Effect Research: Correlating specific carbon fractions (e.g., wood smoke vs. diesel soot) with respiratory and cardiovascular health outcomes.

• Climate Change Monitoring: Quantifying the radiative forcing potential of aerosols by separating light-absorbing Black Carbon from light-scattering Organic Carbon.

Why Choose This System?

The Magee Scientific CASS replaces the complexity of traditional thermal-optical lab analysis with a robust, field-deployable automated system. It removes the need for expensive consumables and hazardous gas cylinders, drastically lowering the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). For researchers and environmental agencies needing defensible, high-granularity data on carbonaceous aerosols—without the maintenance headaches of legacy chemistry analyzers—CASS is the definitive choice.

Specifications

• Measured Components:

  Total Carbon (TC), Elemental Carbon (EC), Organic Carbon (OC), Black Carbon (BC), Brown Carbon (BrC), Biomass Burning Fraction (%BB).

• Applications:

  Atmospheric science research, climate change monitoring, urban air quality networks, source apportionment (fossil vs. biomass), health impact assessments.

• Certifications:

  Validation against NIST-traceable standards (Neutral Density Optical Filters); widely accepted method in scientific literature for high-time-resolution OC/EC determination; compliant with CEN/TS 17434 (for Aethalometer module).

• Measurement Principle:

  Combined Optical-Thermal Analysis:

  • BC/EC: Multi-wavelength Filter-based Optical Absorption Photometry (DualSpot™ technology).

  • TC: Flash Combustion with NDIR CO₂ detection (Parallel channel continuous flow).

  • OC: Derived via Mass Balance (OC = TC - BC).