Numerical Simulation of Scavenging of Small Particles by Charged Droplets

The trajectories of fine aerosol particles in the vicinity of a free falling collector droplet and their deposition on it were investigated numerically by solving the equations of motion of the particle and the droplet in quiescent air. The droplet was assumed to be charged to one half of the Rayleigh limit. The Coulomb, image, Stokes, inertial, and gravitational forces acting upon the particle near the droplet were taken into consideration in the equations of motion. The equations of the droplet motion were also incorporated into the set of equations including the Coulomb and image forces on the droplet due to the particle charge. The flow field in the vicinity of the droplet was determined by numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equations. The equations of particle motion were solved in threedimensional (3-D) space by the Runge-Kutta method of the fourth order. The collection efficiency of the particles on the droplet was determined by searching the limiting trajectory within the entire space. The results for particles charged to 10 elementary charges of the same and opposite polarity as the droplet, as well as the electrically neutral ones, were compared. The assumption on the charge of the particle was rather arbitrary. It was assumed that particles are not intentionally charged but only possess a charge generated by tribocharging due to random contacts and were independent of the particle size. Charging the collector causes the Coulomb forces between these 2 species to improve particle deposition on the droplet and in this way the aerosol is removed from the gas. For the aerosol particles charged to the same polarity as the collector, the collection efficiency is still higher than for uncharged particles due to the action of the image forces. In this case, the collection efficiency increases for smaller droplets and for particles with increasing diameter.     

Electrostatic effects on inertial particle transport in bifurcated tubes

Most aerosols found naturally in the ambient environment or those dispersed from artificial devices such as dry powder inhalers, are electrically charged. It is known that a strong electrostatic charge on aerosols can result in transport behavior dramatically different from that of uncharged aerosols, even in the absence of an external electric field. In the present work, we study pneumatic transport of corona‐charged particles in bifurcated tubes. This is accomplished by tracking the motion of discrete particles numerically under the influence of drag, gravitational, and electrostatic forces. The model aerosol is fly ash powder, whose size and charge distributions have been determined experimentally. The electrical mobility of the charged particle cloud is modeled through coulombic interactions between discrete point charges. For the case of polydispersed particles electrically charged across a distribution, the deposition efficiency was found to be greater than what is indicated by the mean charge and size. In particular, use of negatively charged fly ash powder of mean size of 2 μm and mean charge of ?1.5 C/kg led to significant increase in deposition efficiency (～29%) compared with uncharged fly ash powder of the same size distribution (～8%). Analysis of particle residence times suggests significant interaction between electrical and drag forces. These findings could have implications for pneumatic powder conveying or pulmonary drug delivery applications. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2009     

Experimental Study of Electrostatic Aerosol Filtration at Moderate Filter Face Velocity

Aerosol collection efficiency was studied for electrostatically charged fibrous filters (3M Filtrete?, BMF-20F). In this study, collection efficiencies at moderate filter face velocities (0.5–2.5 m/s) representative of some high volume sampling applications was characterized. Experimental data and analytical theories of filter performance are less common in this flow regime since the viscous flow field assumption may not be representative of actual flow through the filter mat. Additionally, electrostatic fiber charge density is difficult to quantify, and measurements of aerosol collection efficiency are often used to calculate this fundamental parameter. The purpose of this study was to assess the relative influence of diffusion, inertial impaction, interception, and electrostatic filtration on overall filter performance. The effects of fiber charge density were quantified by comparing efficiency data for charged and uncharged filter media, where an isopropanol bath was used to eliminate electrostatic charge. The effects of particle charge were also quantified by test aerosols brought into the equilibrium Boltzmann charge distribution, and then using an electrostatic precipitator to separate out only those test particles with a charge of zero. Electrostatically charged filter media had collection efficiencies as high as 70–85% at 30 nm. Filter performance was reduced significantly (40–50% collection efficiency) when the electrostatic filtration component was eliminated. Experiments performed with zero charged NaCl particles showed that a significant increase in filter performance is attributable to an induction effect, where electrostatic fiber charge polarizes aerosol particles without charge. As filter face velocity increased the electrostatic filtration efficiency decreased since aerosol particles had less time to drift toward electrostatically charged fibers. Finally, experimental data at 0.5 m/s were compared to theoretical predictions and good agreement was found for both electrostatic and nonelectrostatic effects.

© 2013 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Effects of an external electric field on the collection efficiency of air filters: Filtration mechanisms with an external e-field

An external electric field was applied on the filter to improve its collection efficiency, and the collection efficiencies of the different filters under various conditions were evaluated. Dominant electrical filtration mechanisms for each condition were investigated using experimental and theoretical approaches. Four types of air filters were used as test filters: a charged fiber filter, a low-grade filter with 50% collection efficiency in the most penetration particle size (MPPS) zone, and two high-grade filters with more than 95% collection efficiency in the MPPS zone. Three different particle charge states—neutralized, single-charged and uncharged—were considered. For neutralized particles, the external electric field led to a 14.5%p. and 2.5%p. increase in the collection efficiencies of the low-grade filter and charged fiber filter, respectively. With the electric field, the collection efficiency of the low-grade filter increased by 30%p. for single-charged particles. The electric field also affected the collection efficiencies of the charged filter and high-grade filters, but the effect was not significant. For uncharged particles, the electric field did not lead to a remarkable increase in the collection efficiencies of any of the filters. Through experimental and theoretical analysis, it was found that the polarization force imposed on the charged fiber was the dominant factor for the charged fiber filter regardless of application of the external electric field. The Coulombic force imposed on the electric field was the dominant factor for the low-grade filter, while both the Coulombic and the polarization forces affected the collection efficiency of the high-grade filter.

Copyright © 2017 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Numerical simulation of microscopic motion and deposition of nanoparticles via electrodynamic focusing

A computational model was developed to simulate microscopic motion and deposition of charged aerosols during the nanoparticle patterning process utilizing electrodynamic focusing concept (Kim et al., 2006). Our computational model includes Brownian random force, Coulomb and image forces, fluid drag and van der Waals force for determining Lagrangian particle trajectories after solving electrostatic fields in the deposition chamber. Our results are in agreement with the previous experimental findings. The effects of operation parameters such as surface charge density, applied voltage and particle charges were investigated. It was found that the electric field-induced motion of particles dominated over Brownian random motion of 10 nm nanoparticles near the surface and the inertial motion of charged nanoparticles under high electric field would be important to determine the precise deposition pattern within submicrometer scale structures.     

Estimation of collection efficiency enhancement factor for an electret fiber with dust load

In a previous study to investigate how the morphology of particles accumulating on an electret fiber evolves and affects the collection efficiency of the filter at dust-loaded condition, a three-dimensional stochastic model is utilized to simulate the deposition and agglomeration of particles on a cylindrical electret fiber via two different electrical effects, namely, induced force (for uncharged particles) and Coulombic force (for charged particles). In the present study, the additional effect of Brownian diffusion is incorporated in the model and the morphology of particle agglomerates obtained in the simulated results is found to agree well with experimental observations obtained by Hiragi and Kanaoka et al. for both uncharged and charged particles. In addition, the ratio of dust-loaded collection efficiency, η, to the clean-fiber collection efficiency, η₀, can still be approximated as linear function in the case of weak electrical effects. However, when the electrical parameters are large, the normalized collection efficiency has to be represented by two linear relations, i.e., at low dust load and high dust load. Estimates of the initial collection efficiency and efficiency enhancement factor are given graphically and tabulated as function of Peclet number, the interception parameter and the two electrical parameters.     

Numerical Study of an Electret Filter Composed of an Array of Staggered Parallel Rectangular Split-Type Fibers

The flow field through a staggered array of parallel, rectangular split-type electret fibers was numerically modeled. The particle trajectory and the collection efficiency were simulated by solving the equation of particle motion, taking into account the effects of diffusion, interception, inertial impaction, and electrostatic forces. The model was validated against results calculated from semiempirical expressions. The model was applied to investigate the role of the inertial impaction and the interception mechanisms in the particle collection by an electret fiber, the particle trajectories under various filtration conditions, the effect of the aspect ratio of the rectangular fiber on the filter penetration, and the distribution of the deposited particles on the surface of the fiber. The simulated results indicate that the inertial impaction and interception mechanisms account for a major portion of neutral particles collected by an electret fiber when the Stokes number is higher than 0.5. For neutral particles, fibers with an aspect ratio of 38/10 have almost the same penetration as fibers with an aspect ratio of 10/38; while for singly charged particles, fibers with an aspect ratio of 38/10 achieve a much lower penetration when the electrophoretic collection mechanism dominates. In addition, it is predicted that a filter composed of fibers with an aspect ratio of 38/10 will result in a lower flow resistance and thus a slower clogging process when the dielectrophoretic collection mechanism dominates.     

Charge density effects on polyelectrolyte dynamic rheology

The dynamic rheological properties of an uncharged polymer and charged polyelectrolytes were evaluated in salt‐free water at various concentrations above the entanglement concentration. A poly(acrylic acid) homopolymer was used as the uncharged polymer and was ionized to anionic poly(acrylic acid‐co‐sodium acrylate) at five levels of ionization (0.05, 0.10, 0.15, 0.30, and 0.50). The polymers exhibited a terminal region at a low frequency and a plateau region at a high frequency. The dynamic data for the nonionic parent and all charged polymers could be reduced to a master curve, which indicated a similar distribution of relaxation times for the nonionic and charged polymers. The shear modulus, relaxation time, and zero shear viscosity properties exhibited a concentration and charge density dependence. Higher power‐law exponents for the rheological properties were noted for the nonionic polymer versus the charged derivatives. The number of mechanically active entanglements per number of chains increased with the polymer concentration and charge density. The total number of mechanically active entanglements per number of chains that occurred because of imposing a charge to the nonionic parent did not change with increased concentration, and this indicated a different entanglement mechanism for charged polymers in comparison with their nonionic parent. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

CFD simulations of the Andersen cascade impactor: Model development and effects of aerosol charge

Cascade impactors are commonly used to assess the size characteristics of aerosols in toxicology and pharmaceutical applications. These aerosol instruments have been developed and refined over decades. However, a number of questions remain related to impactor performance, including the influence of electrostatic charge on measured size distributions. The objective of this study was to develop a validated CFD model of the Mark II Andersen cascade impactor (ACI) and apply this model to evaluate the effects of particle charge on deposition. The flow field was simulated using a commercial CFD code for incompressible laminar and transitional flows. Particle trajectories and deposition were evaluated using a well tested Lagrangian tracking approach that accounts for impaction, sedimentation, diffusion, and electrostatic attraction. Particle charge levels typical of dry powder inhaler (DPI) and metered dose inhaler (MDI) aerosols were considered for a particle size range of 0.3–12 μm. As a model validation, computational predictions of cutoff d₅₀ diameters for each of the eight ACI stages were found to be within 10% difference of existing experimental and manufacturer data. Results indicated that charges consistent with DPI and MDI aerosols increased deposition fraction in Stages 0–3 by up to 30% and increased deposition fraction in Stages 4–7 by up to an order of magnitude. For Stages 0–3, both DPI and MDI charges reduced the d₅₀ value by approximately 10% or less. In contrast, charged aerosols reduced the d₅₀ values in Stages 4 and 5 by 200% and 60%, respectively. All charged submicrometer aerosols considered deposited in Stages 6 and 7. Increasing the particle charge by an order of magnitude from DPI to MDI values had a relatively small effect on further decreasing the cutoff size of each stage. In conclusion, these results can be used to approximate the actual aerodynamic diameter of a charged pharmaceutical aerosol based on measurements in a standard ACI. Future applications of the developed ACI model include evaluating the influence of space charge on deposition and quantifying the effects of aerosol condensation and evaporation on size assessment.     

Experimental and Numerical Investigations of a Dual‐Stage Cyclone Separator

Cyclone separators can be utilized in parallel to increase particle collection efficiency. However, this leads to a maldistribution problem that causes separation performance deterioration. To improve the flow distribution, a dual‐stage multicyclone separator (DSCS) was designed, containing a tangential‐inlet circle pathway cyclone array, an axial‐inlet radiation pathway cyclone array, and a cylindrical outer chamber. Experimental and computational fluid dynamics results revealed the gas‐particle flow distribution through multicyclone arrays. Effects of flow distribution on particle deposition were investigated experimentally. Particle trajectories inside the cyclone separators were also observed. The multicyclone array proved to generate a uniform inlet velocity distribution. The proposed cyclone separator can be considered as an option to accomplish dilute gas‐particle separation.     

Size Distribution Measurement of Carbonaceous Particulate Matter Using a Low Pressure Impactor with Quartz Fiber Substrates

The collection characteristics of a small deposit area low pressure impactor (SDI) were studied in order to employ the impactor for size distribution measurements of carbonaceous matter. In this work, the SDI was calibrated for soft and porous quartz substrate material in a series of laboratory experiments. The collection efficiency curves were measured by using monodisperse dioctyl sebacate particles and by applying two different detection methods. One method was based on the detection of current carried by charged test particles, and the other measured number concentrations of particles in bipolar charge equilibrium by two condensation particle counters. Concerning the particle size corresponding to a 50% collection efficiency (D ₅₀ ), significant shifts toward smaller particle sizes were found for the quartz fiber substrates compared with the flat plates. Also the shapes of the collection efficiency curves differed considerably: quartz substrate gave less steep curves than plain impaction plates. The new calibration was applied to field data from urban and rural sites. Compared with the original calibration of the SDI, the new calibration changed the measured size distributions of organic and elemental carbon. In addition, a reasonable size-segregated mass closure was achieved by combining data from thermal-optical analysis and ion-chromatography.     

Numerical analysis of the dynamics of aerosol inertial collection and aggregation on raindrops

A three-dimensional stochastic model is developed for predicting atmospheric aerosol collection and aggregation on the surface of a falling raindrop at its terminal velocity. Potential flow and viscous flow are assumed as the flow fields in the vicinity of the large and the small raindrops, respectively. The results show that hydrophobic coarse mode aerosols collected by either small raindrops (d_c < 100 μm) or large drops (d_c > 100 μm) form aggregations on the surfaces of drops, and accumulation mode aerosols tend to be captured by the aggregations or hydrophobic coarse particles which have been collected by the drops, and this may significantly enhance the capability of the raindrop for fine aerosol collection. When the aggregation effect is considered in the calculation, fine aerosol efficiency can be promoted by one to two orders of magnitude. Therefore, fine particle collision efficiency by raindrops is underestimated by employing the classical dynamic theory which neglects the particle aggregation effect. However, the collection efficiency of coarse particles remains almost constant with the increase in the amount of particles collected by large drops, while there is only a slight increase in efficiency by small raindrops upon increasing in particle concentration. This implies that the traditional limiting trajectory method can still be used for the calculation of coarse particle collection efficiencies by either small or large raindrops.

Copyright © 2018 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Collection of hydrophilic and hydrophobic charged submicron particles by charged water droplets

An experimental system capable of measuring the collection efficiency of charged submicron particles by charged water droplets is described. Collection efficiencies are measured for both hydrophilic and hydrophobic particles to clarify the effect of wettability on collection. Excellent agreement with the theory is obtained for hydrophilic submicron particles when the Coulombic force is dominant. No significant difference in collection efficiencies between hydrophilic and hydrophobic particles is observed. It is concluded that the wettability of submicron particles has no effect on its collection by water drops when Coulombic attraction is the dominant mechanism.     

The Effect of Particle Pre-Existing Charge on Unipolar Charging and Its Implication on Electrical Aerosol Measurements

We investigated the effect of particle pre-existing charges on unipolar charging. Particles carrying a defined number and polarity of pre-existing charges were used to study the unipolar charging process in a unipolar diffusion charger with positive ions. It was found that the particles initially carrying negative charges have almost the same amount of positive charges as the initially uncharged particles after passing the test charger; and the particles initially carrying more positive charges have more final charges. An analytical solution of a model for particle charge distribution of initially charged particles was provided for unipolar charging based on Fuchs' theory and the birth-and-death theory. The N _ion t value used in this model was obtained by fitting the experimental data of average charge on particles for initially uncharged particles. The results from the analytical solution show very good agreements with experimental data regarding the relationship between the pre-existing charge and the final charge on particles (50–200 nm in this study). Experimental tests of the response of Nanoparticle Surface Area Monitor (NSAM) against initially charged particles demonstrated that NSAM could have a large response deviation (more than 20% in the tested charge level) depending on the particle size and the amount of pre-existing positive charges on particles. Modeling of NSAM response showed similar deviation and predicted that when pre-existing charge is high enough, the NSAM response can be as large as 5 and 9 times of the uncharged particle response for alveolar and tracheobronchial surface area concentration, respectively.     

Effects of Electrohydrodynamic Flow and Turbulent Diffusion on Collection Efficiency of an Electrostatic Precipitator with Cavity Walls

The effects of electrohydrodynamic (EHD) flow and turbulent diffusion on the collection efficiency of particles in a model ESP composed of the plates with a cavity were studied through numerical computation. Electric field and ion space charge density in the ESP were calculated by the Poisson equation of electric potential and the current continuity equation of ion space charge. The EHD flow field was solved by the continuity and momentum equations of gas phase, including the electrical body force induced by the movement of ions under the electric field. RNG k - l model was utilized to analyze turbulent flow. Particle concentration distribution was calculated from the convective diffusion equation of particle phase. As the ion space charge increased, the collection efficiency of charged particles increased because the electric potential increased over the entire domain in the ESP. The collection efficiency decreased as the EHD flow became stronger when the electrical migration velocity of charged particles was high. However, the collection efficiency could increase for the stronger EHD flow when the electrical migration velocity of charged particles was relatively lower. Also, the collection efficiency decreased as the turbulent diffusion of particles increased when the electrical migration velocity of particles was high. However, the collection efficiency could increase with the turbulent diffusion when the electrical migration velocity of particles was relatively lower.     

Electrostatic capillary collector for in-situ spectroscopic analysis of aerosols

Identification of particulate matter is important in assessing an individual’s exposure to potentially harmful particles, such as aeroallergens, toxins, and emissions from combustion sources, which can contribute to cardio-pulmonary diseases. Efficient collection of aerosols is essential for aerosol exposure studies such as analysis of chemical and biological components. We present the design and evaluation of a capillary collector that collects PM_2.5 onto the outer surface of a capillary for in-situ spectroscopic analysis. The capillary collector uses a needle-to-ring corona generator to charge particles; the electric field between a cylinder and a wire inserted into the bore of a capillary is used to collect the charged particles. Corona and repelling voltages are optimized for maximum collection of ambient PM_2.5 particles and fluorescent polystyrene latex microspheres in the PM_2.5 size range, on the capillary. The capillary collection efficiency of ambient PM_2.5 at 3 slpm operating flow rate and optimal operating voltages is 63%. Fluorescence spectroscopy is used to quantify the collection of polystyrene latex microspheres. The fluorescence-based capillary collection efficiency is in close agreement with the capillary collection efficiency of ambient PM_2.5. The collection and analysis methodology can be used to develop a compact, low-cost sensor for in-situ spectroscopic analysis of aerosols to determine their chemical composition for source apportionment.

Copyright © 2019 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Filtration of Chain Aggregate Aerosols by Model Screen Filter

A screen type diffusion battery was used as a model screen filter for studying the filtration of chain aggregate aerosols. The aerosols, with well-defined diameter and length, were generated with a system that included a flame aerosol generator and a differential mobility analyzer. Particle sizes were characterized using transmission electron microscopy and a digital image processing technique. The penetration efficiency of the aerosols through even stages of the diffusion battery at certain flow velocities were measured using a condensation nucleus counter (CNC). Quantitative data were obtained by operating the CNC in count mode simultaneously with a laser aerosol spectrometer. Results indicated that penetration efficiency decreased exponentially with the number of screens and increased with flow velocity. In addition, theoretical analysis of filtration mechanisms based on the fan model theory has been made and compared with the measurements of penetration efficiency. Results showed that the collection of chain aggregates on model screen niters was in the regime dominated by an interception mechanism. Average orientation angles of the aerosols with respect to the flow field were also estimated.     

Mixing selectivity in bicomponent,bipolar aggregation

The selectivity of aggregation in mixtures of two charged aerosols containing chemically dissimilar nanoparticles is studied by means of a newly developed direct simulation Monte Carlo method. This method allows to trace changes in complex multidimensional systems, in this case describing particle size, charge and aggregate composition. A new procedure was developed for estimating the effective collision diameter of an aggregate composed of primary particles of any size. Three model systems were studied: polydisperse aerosols with initially bipolar charge distribution, unipolarly charged polydisperse aerosols and quasi-monodisperse oppositely charged aerosols. The study is focused on the aggregate composition's dependence on the initial size and charge distribution. It was found that the use of bipolarly charged aerosols does not increase the selectivity of mixing whereas unipolarly, oppositely charged aerosols reach more rapidly a more homogeneous distribution of components within the aggregates. In the last case, the addition of one more elementary charge to the particles roughly doubles the fraction of bicomponent, $\text{1}\text{:}\text{1}$ mixed nanoaggregates and accelerates the process.     

Modified microperoxidases exhibit different reactivity towards phenolic substrates

The reactivity of several microperoxidase derivatives with different distal-site environments has been studied. The distal-site environments of these heme peptides include a positively charged one, an uncharged environment, two bulky and doubly or triply positively charged ones, and one containing aromatic apolar residues. The reactivity in the catalytic oxidation of two representative phenols, carrying opposite charges, by hydrogen peroxide has been investigated. This allows the determination of the binding constants and of the electron-transfer rate from the phenol to the catalyst in the substrate/microperoxidase complex. The electron-transfer rates scarcely depend on the redox and charge properties of the phenol, but depend strongly on the microperoxidase. Information on the disposition of the substrate in the adducts with the microperoxidases has been obtained through determination of the paramagnetic contribution to the 1H NMR relaxation rates of the protons of the bound substrates. The data show that the electron-transfer rate drops when the substrate binds too far away from the iron and that the phenols bind to microperoxidases at similar distances to those observed with peroxidases. While the reaction rate of microperoxidases with peroxide is significantly smaller than that of the enzymes, the efficiency in the one-electron oxidation of phenolic substrates is almost comparable. Interestingly, the oxyferryl form of the triply positively charged microperoxidases shows a reactivity larger than that exhibited by horseradish peroxidase.     

Electrically Produced Standard Aerosols in a Wide Size Range

Non-uniformly charged particles cause a major problem in electrical methods for producing standard aerosols, imposing strict limitations on the usability of the obtained standard aerosols. This article gives a quick overview of this problem, examining the ways how differently charged particles affect the generation of standard aerosols, and presenting a new method for producing standard aerosols and avoiding the effects of multiply charged particles, with the key idea that the probability for small particles to have more than one charge is very low. A two-stage aerosol generator is used. Small silver particles (d< 40 nm) generated by homogeneous nucleation of silver vapors obtain in bipolar charger not more than one elementary charge. These condensation nuclei are enlarged by a condensational growth device. Big particles are now also not more than singly charged, and narrow size distribution can be obtained by electrical separation. Properties of standard aerosols produced experimentally by both the conventional and the new method, are compared and the validity of the new idea behind the new method is confirmed.