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  • Evaluation of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for measurement of silica on filter samples of coal dust.

Evaluation of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for measurement of silica on filter samples of coal dust.

Applied spectroscopy (2012-11-14)
Christopher B Stipe, Arthur L Miller, Jonathan Brown, Edward Guevara, Emanuele Cauda
ABSTRACT

Airborne silica dust (quartz) is common in coal mines and represents a respiratory hazard that can lead to silicosis, a potentially fatal lung disease. With an eye toward developing a portable monitoring device for rapid analysis of silica dust, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was used to quantify quartz in coal dust samples collected on filter media. Pure silica (Min-U-Sil™ 5), Georgia kaolin, and Pittsburgh-4 and Illinois-6 coal dusts were deposited separately and at multiple mass loadings onto 37-mm polyvinylchloride (PVC) filters. LIBS-generated silicon emission was monitored at 288.16 nm, and non-silica contributions to that signal from kaolinite were removed by simultaneously detecting aluminum. Measurements of the four samples were used to calculate limits of detection (LOD) for silicon and aluminum of approximately 0.08 μg/cm(2) and 0.05 μg/cm(2), respectively (corresponding to 0.16 μg/cm(2) and 0.20 μg/cm(2) for silica and kaolinite, respectively). Relative errors of prediction are around 10%. Results demonstrate that LIBS can dependably quantify silica on filter samples of coal dust and confirm that accurate quantification can be achieved for very lightly loaded samples, which supports the potential application of LIBS for rapid, in-field monitoring.

MATERIALS
Product Number
Brand
Product Description

Supelco
Poly(vinyl chloride), analytical standard, average Mw 85,000 (Typical), average Mn 40,000 (Typical)
Sigma-Aldrich
Poly(vinyl chloride), average Mw ~233,000, average Mn ~99,000
Sigma-Aldrich
Poly(vinyl chloride), average Mw ~43,000, average Mn ~22,000
Supelco
Poly(vinyl chloride), Selectophore, high molecular weight
Sigma-Aldrich
Poly(vinyl chloride), average Mw ~62,000, average Mn ~35,000
Poly(vinyl chloride), European Pharmacopoeia (EP) Reference Standard
Sigma-Aldrich
Poly(vinyl chloride), high molecular weight
Sigma-Aldrich
Poly(vinyl chloride), low molecular weight