Design and Characterization of a New Coarse Particle Collector Based on Microtrap Impactor Technology |
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| Authors: | Erin R Lennox Nathan M Kreisberg Lupita D Montoya |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering Department , Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute , Troy , New York , USA;2. Aerosol Dynamics Inc. , Berkeley , California , USA;3. Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering Department , University of Colorado—Boulder , Boulder , Colorado , USA |
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| Abstract: | A microtrap inertial impactor has been developed and characterized for use as an area or personal sampler. The microtrap impactor utilizes a high-density multijet plate to direct airflow and a matched multiwell plate to impact and collect particles for extraction with a reduced pressure drop relative to inertial impactors with fewer jets. Reported here is the characterization of the microtrap impactor using a fluidized bed aerosol generator and a small volume nebulizer to generate particles of Arizona Road Dust, potassium chloride, and oleic acid. Collection efficiency was determined by measuring particle size distributions with an aerodynamic particle sizer. Two geometries of the microtrap were tested suitable for a two-stage coarse particle sampler, with 1–4 μm and a 4–10 μm stages. The 1 μm cut-point microtrap stage has a collection efficiency above 97% for particles greater than 2 μm in diameter (at a 10 L/min flow rate and a pressure drop of 0.12 kPa). This stage's collection efficiency was constant for a period of time up to 10 h under typical ambient conditions without any coating on the impaction surface. The microtrap impactor provides an improvement in area sampling due to its high collection efficiency at a low pressure drop across the device, and its use of an uncoated impaction surface allowing for the extraction and analysis of biological samples. © 2013 American Association for Aerosol Research |
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