Direct Transfer of Gas-Borne Nanoparticles into Liquid Suspensions by Means of a Wet Electrostatic Precipitator

• Published in: Aerosol science and technology Vol. 49; no. 12; pp. 1281 - 1290
• Main Authors: Anderlohr, C., Schaber, K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Taylor & Francis 02.12.2015; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Aerosols; Aqueous solutions; Copyrights; Electrostatic precipitators; Inhalers; Liquids; Nanoparticles; Particle size; Particle size distribution; Silicon dioxide
• ISSN: 0278-6826; 1521-7388
• DOI: 10.1080/02786826.2015.1120857

The direct transfer of flame-synthesized aerosols of silica nanoparticles into aqueous suspensions is investigated. Silica nanoparticle aerosols with production rates of 0.5 g/h and different mean diameters and degrees of agglomeration are transferred into liquid suspensions by means of a novel wet electrostatic precipitator. Particle collection efficiencies above 99.999% were measured. The influence of the transfer on the particle size distribution was investigated by comparison of aerosol and suspensions size measurements. Aerosol sizes were measured with the scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS), and suspension size measurements were conducted by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and by SMPS measurements of the aerosolized suspension employing a novel nebulizer. Depending on the aerosol and stabilization conditions, particle transfer with nearly no influence on the particle size distribution is possible. Suspensions generated from the same particle aerosol by direct transfer and by sonication of the respective powder were compared. In contrast to the direct transfer, the aerosol particle size distribution could not be restored by ultrasonication. Copyright © 2015 American Association for Aerosol Research