The UC Davis AQRC have received a large donation of organic aerosol sampling equipment from the late Prof. Reinhold Rasmussen. We are selling excess materials in order to fund a graduate student fellowship in honor of Prof. Rasmussen.
Items for sale include:
- Summa-style canisters in 0.1, 1, 3, 6, 16, and 33 L sizes
- Canister cleaning ovens
- DC pumps
- Swagelok Valves
- Affiliated hardware and tools
Please contact aggiesurplus@ucdavis.edu for inquiries. Additional information concerning the canisters is provided below.
Biospheric Research Corporation/Rasmussen Summa Canisters
The word 'Summa' in combination with 'canister' is a trademark used by Molectrics, Inc. to describe their proprietary version of an electropolishing procedure that is designed to render the interior surface of the canister more smooth and inert, thereby providing a greater stability of collected volatile organic compounds that are collected, by either positive or negative pressure. Various commercial entities have used the Summa procedure since the 1980's to produce canisters used for ambient air sampling. Until approximately the mid-1990's, this was the primary option for canister type. Subsequently, several manufacturers have introduced silica-coated canisters that have been shown provide similar stability for volatile organic compound sampling. Common usage is to call all stainless steel canisters 'Summa,' but that is incorrect, as it is only the type with this surface treatment that is a true Summa canister.
The Biospheric Research Corporation (BRC) canisters interior surfaces were produced using the Summa process by Dr. Reinhold Rasmussen (d. 2019), Professor at the Oregon Graduate Center, as a private enterprise. These canisters have been utilized around the world for decades by many research and commercial entities. Besides the Summa-polished interior, the canister design incorporates the valve in a configuration that allows for a heated steam-cleaning process that separates the valve from the heat, thereby protecting the molybdenum grease used in the valve. Some varieties also include a vacuum gauge. In addition, the welded joint between the two hemispheres was also treated, which is in contrast to other vendors.
Dr. Rasmussen was a stickler for cleanliness and canister integrity, as most of his research work was conducted in support of global biogeochemistry that required rigorous results, and these canisters reflect that attention to detail. Dr. Rasmussen had proven the exceptional stability of his canisters through the 'air archive' that he maintained, which contained air samples from around the world from decades earlier, used as a long-term calibration resource. Dr. Rasmussen is widely credited as one of the first, if not the creator, of the Summa canister.
There are few if any other Summa canister vendors currently in operation, so these canisters are a possible last resource for this style canister.