Quantification of Low Pressure Impactor Wall Deposits during Zinc Nanoparticle Sampling

Thibaut  Durand; Sébastien  Bau; Yves  Morele; Virginie  Matera; Denis  Bémer; Davy  Rousset

doi:10.4209/aaqr.2013.10.0304

Quantification of Low Pressure Impactor Wall Deposits during Zinc Nanoparticle Sampling

Thibaut Durand, Sébastien Bau, Yves Morele, Virginie Matera, Denis Bémer, Davy Rousset

Department of Metrology, French National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (INRS), 1 Rue du Morvan, Vandoeuvre, 54519, France

Received: October 2, 2013
Revised: April 2, 2014
Accepted: May 19, 2014
Download Citation: ||https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2013.10.0304

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Cite this article:
Durand, T., Bau, S., Morele, Y., Matera, V., Bémer, D. and Rousset, D. (2014). Quantification of Low Pressure Impactor Wall Deposits during Zinc Nanoparticle Sampling. Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 14: 1812-1821. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2013.10.0304

HIGHLIGHTS

Chemical quantification of Dekati^® low pressure impactor wall deposits.
Tested aerosol representative of thermal processes emissions.
Precise localization of wall losses among the different parts of the impactor.

ABSTRACT

A Dekati^® low pressure impactor (DLPI) is used to determine the mass distribution of airborne particles from 7 nm to 10 µm as a function of aerodynamic diameter. Quantification of wall deposits inside this sampling device was performed for the first time using polydisperse zinc aerosol produced by a thermal spraying process. This aerosol is more representative of the size distribution found in occupational atmospheres than aerosols usually produced in laboratories. Each experiment (3 replicates) was carried out for two durations. The results showed that wall deposits were quite considerable and in relation with aerosol modes. 13% and 14% of the total mass was found on the wall after sampling periods of 5 and 20 minutes, respectively. Relative losses could reach 50% for certain impaction stages and these losses were also quite different between replicates.

Keywords: Dekati® low pressure impactor; Wall loss; Polydisperse aerosol; Zinc nanoparticles; Chemical analysis