AAAR 32nd Annual Conference
September 30 - October 4, 2013
Oregon Convention Center
Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Formation of Nanoparticles as an Undesired Byproduct of an Industrial Accident
SHERYL EHRMAN, Yoon Shin, University of Maryland
Abstract Number: 496 Working Group: Engineered Nanoparticles: Emissions, Transformation and Exposure
Abstract Although industrial scale processes often form nanoparticles as the desired product, nanoparticles may also form as a result of an industrial accident. In this work, an accident at a polysilicon processing plant, specifically the rupture of a pipeline containing silicon tetrachloride, was simulated. Silicon tetrachloride reacts with water vapor to form silicic acid and hydrochloric acid fume, which react further to an aerosol consisting of a mixture of silica and hydrochloric acid. Plume parameters were estimated using a standard Briggs plume rise formulation. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s HYSPLIT model was used to simulate the dispersion of the plume downwind of the accident site. The HYSPLIT model used actual atmospheric data from its meteorological archive. Simulations were conducted on a hypothetical accident occurring in Curtis Bay, MD, an arbitrary location that does not contain a polysilicon plant, over four dates in November and December of 2012. Results indicate that within 12 hours of the release, the accident could result in aerosol concentrations greater than 10 micrograms per cubic meter, as far away as 100 km downwind of the plant site.