Atmospheric particulates: specific surface areas and densities

Suspended particulates in Pittsburgh air were collected on glass-fiber filters. The specific surface areas of particulates brushed from the filter surface varied from 1.55 to 4.51 square meters per gram when measured by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method with nitrogen and krypton, after 8-hour degassing of the samples at 25 degrees C. Specific surfaces of the same samples varied from 4.3 to 8.00 square meters per gram after 4-hour degassing at 200 degrees C. Bulk densities and densities of samples were 0.49 to 0.64 and 2.0 to 2.6 grams per cubic centimeter, respectively. These data provide some basis for explanation of unpredictable responses reported after inhalation of mixtures of pollutant gases and particles by animals and man; they should also assist in interpretation of gas-solid phase reactions in the atmosphere.