Abstract
Solid particles generated by evaporation of humidifier water contribute significantly to the total dust concentration in typical cotton processing environments. Water samples obtained from a model card room at North Carolina State University contain about 114 ppm of solids, 87% of which is inorganic. The presence of organic material is confirmed by titrating the water samples with a KMnO4 solution. About 7% of the inorganic fraction is insoluble in HCl. Analysis of the soluble inorganic solids by atomic absorption spectroscppy revealed that the major elements detected are Ca, Na, K, Cu, Mg, Si, Al, Fe, and Zn. Scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy was used to analyze the insoluble portions and showed that the most abundant elements are the same as in the soluble portion, except that no Zn was detected. Photomicrographs of these insoluble solids show that these particles exist in aggregates, some of which have a crystal morphology. EDAX® analyses of the particles with crystalline morphology show that they have high concentrations of Si and Al.
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