American Association for Aerosol Research - Abstract Submission

AAAR 32nd Annual Conference
September 30 - October 4, 2013
Oregon Convention Center
Portland, Oregon, USA

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Aerosol Dry Powder Dissemination Device Characterization for Small-Scale Use

ANDRES SANCHEZ, Crystal Glen, Sandia National Laboratories

     Abstract Number: 272
     Working Group: Instrumentation and Methods

Abstract
With an increased need to understand the current technological capabilities to disseminate dry powder aerosols, five commercially available dissemination devices were evaluated for usability, reliability, and stability. The five devices evaluated were the Palas Rotation Brush Generator (RBG), the TSI Inc. Fluidized Bed Aerosol Generator (FBAG), the BGI Incorporated Wright Dust Feeder II (WDF), the CH Technologies Vilnius Aerosol Generator (Vilnius), and, finally, the Topas ultralow flow Solid Aerosol Generator (SAG). Dry powder aerosols, from each device, were disseminated into a constant flow, turbulent aerosol chamber under various instrument parameters, including pressure, feed rate, and rotational speed, for example. Size distributions from the aerosol chamber were measured using a TSI, Inc. Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (APS) for each device and instrumental parameter used. Results from each test were then evaluated according to user operation (operator safety, ease of setup, operation, and cleanup), reliability in size distribution, and concentration stability. Both the Wright Dust Feeder II and Vilnius performed above average in all four categories of user operation, primarily due to their ease of use and cleanup. Three of the five dissemination devices (RBG, FBAG, and Vilnius) performed slightly above average under size distribution reliability, with a better than average performance by the Wright Dust Feeder II. Concentration stability was clearly seen for the Vilnius, RBG, and FBAG. After evaluating each device, only the Vilnius Aerosol Generator performed above average in all categories.