Alternative to the thermal method with coulometric detection for occupational monitoring of diesel particulate matter : A review

Currently, the thermo-optical transmittance and/or reflectance method is widely used to measure the elemental carbon and organic carbon concentrations in the diesel airborne particles. Distribution among elemental carbon and organic carbon is highly dependent on the environment of the particles source (diesel exhaust in residential cookstoves, rural or urban atmosphere) and the analytical protocols. Thermal-optical reflectance monitoring appears to be less biased when elemental carbon and organic carbon are only present in the aerosol sample. Thermal-optical transmittance monitoring seems to be more efficient when biomass carbonaceous aerosols are founded.