Patent ID: 7947503
Filing Date: 2011-05-24
Classification: G01N,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A method of determining a mass of dust and determining at least one component of the dust, the method comprising: providing a monitor comprising a housing that houses a mass determination device within the housing that collects dust on a filter to substantially continuously determine a mass of dust collected by the filter, wherein the mass determination device comprises a tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM) that oscillates the filter at a resonance frequency that changes in response to increased mass on the filter and determining the mass comprises quantitating a change in the resonance frequency, the monitor defining an airflow pathway from an environment into the housing and through the filter, wherein the filter consists essentially of organic polymeric material that is ashable for instrumental analysis and is substantially free of glass, quartz fiber, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and titanium dioxide, the organic polymeric material comprising a non-shedding fibrous construction; collecting dust particles from the air that moves along the pathway and through the filter and substantially continuously determining with the mass determination device the mass of dust collected on the filter; and removing the filter from the monitor, ashing the filter, and subjecting the ashed filter to an instrumental analysis for determining at least one component of the dust.