A versatile generator of nanoparticle aerosols. A novel tool in environmental and occupational exposure assessment

Clemente, A. ; Lobera, M.P. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Balas, F. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Santamaria, J. (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: The increasing presence of nanotechnology on the market entails a growing probability of finding ENMs in the environment. Nanoparticles aerosols are a yet unknown risk for human and environmental exposure that may normally occur at any point during the nanomaterial lifecycle. There is a research gap in standardized methods to assess the exposure to airborne nanoparticles in different environments. The controllable generation of nano particle aerosols has long been a challenging objective for researchers and industries dealing with airborne nano particles. In this work, a versatile system to generate nanoparticulate aerosols has been designed. The system allows the production of both i) instantaneous nanoparticle clouds and ii) continuous nanoparticle streams with quasi-stable values of particle concentration and size distribution. This novel device uses a compressed air pressure pulse to disperse the target material into either the testing environment (instantaneous cloud formation) or a secondary chamber, from which a continuous aerosol stream can be drawn, with a tunable nanoparticle concentration. The system is robust, highly versatile and easy to operate, enabling reproducible generation of aerosols from a variety of sources. The system has been verified with four dry nanomaterials: TiO2, ZnO, CuO and CNT bundles.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.125

Año: 2018

Publicado en: SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 625 (2018), 978-986
ISSN: 0048-9697

Factor impacto JCR: 5.589 (2018)

Categ. JCR: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES rank: 27 / 250 = 0.108 (2018) - Q1 - T1

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 1.536 - Environmental Chemistry (Q1) - Waste Management and Disposal (Q1) - Pollution (Q1) - Environmental Engineering (Q1)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/263147/EU/Development of reference methods for hazard identification, risk assessment and LCA of engineered nanomaterials/NANOVALID
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/JCI-2012-13421
Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/RYC-2011-07641

Tipo y forma: Article (PostPrint)

Área (Departamento): Área Ingeniería Química (Dpto. Ing.Quím.Tecnol.Med.Amb.)