Abstract
Nanoparticle number concentration distributions were measured at various sites in a plant manufacturing nano-sized titanium dioxide powder. It was found that aerosol nanoparticles suspended in the air were mainly in the form of agglomerated particles, and had the average diameters of 124.2 nm and 524.4 nm, respectively. The number concentration of aerosol particles increased with source height, but decreased with distance from the source. The concentration was highly affected by the dispersive forces of the discharging port, and the suspension and the agglomeration of particles. The aerosol particles accumulated after a long working time, and the concentration was reduced at large suspending distances. In contrast, the concentration of primary particles was higher for a working time of less than 2 hours, and returned to normal levels after 3 hours, due to the accumulation and agglomeration effects experienced by the primary particles. Motivated by these findings, an aerosol enclosure was developed in this study, and it showed excellent control over the distribution of aerosol particles, including the agglomerated and primary particles. This is thus a promising approach to achieve effective and efficient personal protection in the workspace.
Highlights
Nanomaterials are regarded worldwide as one of the key materials of the 21st Century
From the SEM images, the average diameter of these primary particles was calculated to be 36.7 nm. This average value corresponds exactly to the distribution peak for small-sized aerosol particles observed in the aerosol distributions. This result suggested that the aerosol particles, which ranged in size from 20–50 nm, were mostly composed of primary particles of the nano-TiO2 product
Aerosol Distributions in the Workshop Space To ensure stable aerosol nanoparticle suspension conditions, the sampling processes were started after a working time of 3 hours
Summary
Nanomaterials are regarded worldwide as one of the key materials of the 21st Century. The outstanding performance of nanomaterials has motivated research in a variety of fields, resulting in many nanotechnological applications, and acceleration in the manufacturing of nanomaterials (Ashby et al, 2009; Woskie, 2010). Nanoparticles (NPs) can be generated in the process of handling engineered nanomaterials (ENMs), and from high-temperature combustion and reaction processes, or incidental sources (Tsai et al, 2012). Workers in the nanotechnology-based industry deserve more attention as they may have the greatest risk of exposure to ENMs that may lead to adverse health effects (Tsai and Pui, 2009; Tsai et al, 2012). To the authors' knowledge, no equipment currently exists to effectively protect these workers from aerosol NPs. epidemiological studies have not found a direct relationship between TiO2 doses and lung cancer in manufacturing
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