• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.27 no.10
• /
• pp.1489-1497
• /
• 2003

Aerosol charge neutralizers with various radioactive sources have been used to apply an equilibrium charge distribution to aerosols of unknown charge distribution. However, the performance of aerosol charge neutralizers is not well known, especially for highly charged particles. Measurements of highly charged particles are needed in air cleaning devices, e.g. electrostatic precipitator, bag filter with a pre-charger, and electrical cyclone. In this study, the particle charging characteristics of two different aerosol charge neutralizers were experimentally investigated for singly charged monodisperse particles and highly charged polydisperse particles. One has radioactive source of $^{85}$ Kr (beta source, 2 mCi) and the other has $^{210}$ Po (alpha source, 0,5 mCi). The air flow rate passing through each aerosol charge neutralizer was changed from 0.2 to 2.5 L/min. The results show that the charge distribution of singly charged monodisperse particles passing through the $^{85}$ Kr aerosol charge neutralizer is well agreed with the Boltzmann equilibrium charge distribution at an air flow rate of 0.3 L/min, However, it deviates from the equilibrium charge distribution when the air flow rates are 0.6, 1,0, and 1,5 L/min, On the other hands, the effect of air flow rate is insignificant for the $^{210}$ Po aerosol charge neutralizer. The non-equilibrium character in charge distribution of highly charged polydisperse particles passing through the $^{85}$ Kr aerosol charge neutralizer greatly depends on the air flow rate, however it is insensitive to the air flow rate for the $^{210}$ Po aerosol charge neutralizer.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.27 no.10
• /
• pp.1498-1507
• /
• 2003

A SMPS(scanning mobility particle sizer) system measures the number size distribution of particles using electrical mobility detection technique. An aerosol charge neutralizer, which is a component of the SMPS, is a bipolar charger using a radioactive source to apply an equilibrium charge distribution to aerosols of unknown charge distribution. However, the performance of aerosol charge neutralizers is not well known, especially for highly charged particles. In this study, the effect of the particle charging characteristics of two aerosol charge neutralizers on the measurement using a SMPS system was experimentally investigated for highly charged polydisperse particles. One has radioactive source of $^{85}$ Kr (beta source, 2 mCi) and the other has $^{210}$ Po (alpha source, 0.5 mCi). The air flow rate passing through each aerosol charge neutralizer was changed from 0.3 to 3.0 L/min. The results show that the non-equilibrium character in particle charge distribution appears as the air flow rate increases although the particle number concentration is relatively low in the range of 1.5∼2x10$^{6}$ particles/㎤. The low neutralizing efficiency of the $^{85}$ Kr aerosol charge neutralizer for highly charged particles can cause to bring an artifact in the measurement using a SMPS system. However, the performance of the $^{210}$ Po aerosol charge neutralizer is insensitive to the air flow rate.

• Particle and aerosol research
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.17-24
• /
• 2018

Since the motion of the charged particle strongly depends on its charge characteristics, information on charge distributions of target particles is one of the important variables in aerosol research. In this study, charged distribution of atomized NaCl particles were measured using a Gerdien type ion counter. Two kinds of particle charging conditions were used in this study. First, atomized NaCl particles were passed through an aerosol neutralizer to have a Boltzmann charge distribution, and then its charge distribution was measured. In this case, the portion of uncharged particles was compared with the portion obtained from the Boltzmann charge distribution for verifying the suggested experimental method. Second, same experiment was conducted without the aerosol neutralizer to measure the charge distribution of atomized and un-neutralized NaCl particles. In the conclusion, the portion of uncharged, negatively charged and positively charged particles were 19%, 62% and 20%, respectively, for neutralized particles. The atomized particles, which was generated without the aerosol neutralizer, also had almost a zero charge state, but the standard deviation in charge distribution was larger than that of neutralized particles. The test method proposed in this study is expected to be used in various aerosol research fields because it can obtain simple information on the particle charge characteristics more easily and quickly than the existing test methods.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.296-305
• /
• 2017

Background: Surfactant-containing water sprays are commonly used in coal mines to collect dust. This study investigates the dust collection performance of different surfactant types for a range of coal dust particle sizes and charges. Methods: Bituminous coal dust aerosol was generated in a wind tunnel. The charge of the aerosol was either left unaltered, charge-neutralized with a neutralizer, or positively- or negatively-charged using a diffusion charger after the particles were neutralized. An anionic, cationic, or nonionic surfactant spray or a plain water spray was used to remove the particles from the air flow. Some particles were captured while passing through spray section, whereas remaining particles were charge-separated using an electrostatic classifier. Particle size and concentration of the charge-separated particles were measured using an aerodynamic particle sizer. Measurements were made with the spray on and off to calculate overall collection efficiencies (integrated across all charge levels) and efficiencies of particles with specific charge levels. Results: The diameter of the tested coal dust aerosol was $0.89{\mu}m{\pm}1.45$ [geometric $mean{\pm}geometric$ standard deviations (SD)]. Respirable particle mass was collected with $75.5{\pm}5.9%$ ($mean{\pm}SD$) efficiency overall. Collection efficiency was correlated with particle size. Surfactant type significantly impacted collection efficiency: charged particle collection by nonionic surfactant sprays was greater than or equal to collection by other sprays, especially for weakly-charged aerosols. Particle charge strength was significantly correlated with collection efficiency. Conclusion: Surfactant type affects charged particle spray collection efficiency. Nonionic surfactant sprays performed well in coal dust capture in many of the tested conditions.