AAAR 37th Annual Conference October 14 - October 18, 2019 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Development of an EHD Induced Wind Driven Personal Exposure Monitor and In-situ Analysis for Characterization of Exposure
RAVI SANKAR VADDI, Gaurav Mahamuni, Igor Novosselov, University of Washington
Abstract Number: 761 Working Group: Instrumentation and Methods
Abstract Exposure to ultrafine particulate matter (UPM) from combustion and manufacturing processes can cause adverse health effects. The toxic potential of inhaled particles depends on particle size and their chemical composition. Collection of air-borne particles on a filter and their chemical analysis is costly and time-consuming. We demonstrate a novel ultrafine particle electrostatic collector that uses a corona wire to rod discharge that provides the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) driven flow for particle aspiration and for charging the particles. The particles are then directed on to a quartz slide coated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) due to the electric field between the collection and repelling electrodes. Collection of particles on an optically transparent substrate is advantageous and enabling an in-situ analysis of collected UPM. The sensor prototype has been tested using the combustion-generated UPM, i.e., cigarette smoke, diesel exhaust, wood smoke, and ethane soot from laboratory inverted gravity flame reactor (IGFR) operated at two different temperatures. Upon collection of the UPM sample, the PDMS acts as a solid phase extraction media for polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) associated with UPM. Excitation-Emission Matrix (EEM) fluorescent spectroscopy is used to characterize the PAH content of the UPM. We compare EEMs for the samples collected (i) on the filter followed by liquid extraction into cyclohexane and (ii) collection on a transparent substrate with subsequent in-situ solid phase extraction into PDMS. The latter method compares well with the liquid extraction method and can potentially be used as a compact, low-cost sensor.