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  5. Efficient sampling of atmospheric methane for radiocarbon analysis and quantification of fossil methane.
 
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Efficient sampling of atmospheric methane for radiocarbon analysis and quantification of fossil methane.
File(s)
acs.est.0c03300.pdf (1.52 MB)
Published version
OA Location
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.0c03300
Author(s)
Zazzeri, Giulia
Xu, Xiaomei
Graven, Heather
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Radiocarbon (14C) measurements offer a unique investigative tool to study methane emissions by identifying fossil-fuel methane in air. Fossil-fuel methane is devoid of 14C and, when emitted to the atmosphere, causes a strong decrease in the ratio of radiocarbon to total carbon in methane (Δ14CH4). By observing the changes in Δ14CH4, the fossil fraction of methane emissions can be quantified. Presently, there are very few published Δ14CH4 measurements, mainly because it is challenging to collect and process the large volumes of air needed for radiocarbon measurements. We present a new sampling system that collects enough methane carbon for high precision Δ14CH4 measurements without having to transport large volumes of air. The system catalytically combusts CH4 into CO2 and adsorbs the combustion-derived CO2 onto a molecular sieve trap, after first removing CO2, CO, and H2O. Tests using reference air show a Δ14CH4 measurement repeatability of 5.4‰, similar or better than the precision in the most recent reported measurements. We use the system to produce the first Δ14CH4 measurements in central London and show that day-to-day differences in Δ14CH4 in these samples can be attributed to fossil methane input. The new system could be deployed in a range of settings to investigate CH4 sources.
Date Issued
2021-07-06
Date Acceptance
2021-05-14
Citation
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington), 2021, 55 (13), pp.8535-8541
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/89601
URL
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.0c03300
DOI
https://www.dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c03300
ISSN
0013-936X
Publisher
American Chemical Society
Start Page
8535
End Page
8541
Journal / Book Title
Environmental Science and Technology (Washington)
Volume
55
Issue
13
Copyright Statement
© 2021 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society. This article is published with CC BY-NC-ND license.
License URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Sponsor
Commission of the European Communities
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34101466
Grant Number
679103
Subjects
atmospheric methane
fossil fraction
methane emissions
molecular sieve
radiocarbon
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Date Publish Online
2021-06-08
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