ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING OF PARTICULATE MATERIAL AND CHARACTERIZATION OF
CHEMICAL ELEMENTS USING X-RAY FLUORESCENCEAir monitoring; Particulate Material; X-Ray Fluorescence
Particulate matter is one of the main air pollutants, present in the most diverse environments occupied by man, the most studied are total suspended particles - PTS, PM10 and PM 2.5. The monitoring of this pollutant in urban centers requires greater attention by public managers and the scientific community due to its harmful effects on health when inhaled. In this sense, monitoring is essential for improving public environmental policies. The downside for monitoring cities lies in the high costs of equipment that detects air pollution. This research proposes to carry out a monitoring of particulate matter and characterization of chemical elements in the urban area of Porto Velho, using RS-385N mini pumps, low-cost equipment, which proved to be effective in capturing particulate matter, which can be analyzed in laboratory using X-ray fluorescence methodology. In the gravimetric results, it was found that the equipment was able to capture 416.67 µg.m³ of particulate material, and this result was the one with the highest value. In the qualitative results of the analysis of the particulate matter, 31 chemical elements were detected, with rhodium being the most abundant element, and cesium, tin, antimony and ruthenium being the least incident. In the quantitative results, 20 chemical elements were detected, with silicon reaching the highest percentage result 48.68% and vanadium the lowest percentage value 0.005%. Among the points that obtained the highest amount of chemical elements detected in the quantitative results was point 3, with 17 elements, its opposite was point 4, with 12 elements. After the conclusion of this work, it was possible to verify the effectiveness of the equipment used and the X-ray fluorescence methodology.