Mass Particle Size Research Articles

Analysis of erosion and sealing characteristics of V-regulating ball valves for coal chemical industry

Purpose This study aims to research the erosion wear characteristics and sealing performance of V-regulating ball valve in coal chemical process pipelines, which provides a theoretical reference for improving its antiwear and sealing performance. Design/methodology/approach Taking the V-regulating ball valve as the research object, based on the computational fluid dynamics and the theory of erosion wear, the authors studied its erosion characteristics under different medium parameters and analyzed the sealing performance under the heat-fluid–solid coupling working condition. Findings The erosion wear mechanism of the valve sealing surface is the simultaneous action of cutting and deformation. When the medium flow velocity, particle mass flow rate and particle size increase, the maximum erosion rate and average erosion rate in the V-regulating valve increase. The inner diameter Mises contact stress of the sealing surface is symmetrically distributed in a “wing shape,” and the contact stress of the outer diameter is distributed in a “butterfly shape.” Due to the superposition of thermal stress and pressure stress in the contact transition zone to produce a significant stress concentration. Practical implications The findings will provide a theoretical basis for improving the erosion resistance and sealing performance of V-regulating ball valve in coal chemical industry. Social implications V-type regulating ball valve is widely favored by coal chemical enterprises and petrochemical enterprises because of its wide adjustment ratio and good erosion resistance. Originality/value The V-regulating ball valve wear mechanism for cutting and deformation simultaneously, and its wear rate is positively correlated with the medium flow rate, particle mass flow rate and particle size. After the valve is opened, there is a significant stress concentration occurs in the contact transition zone due to the superposition of thermal stress and compressive stress. The findings will provide a theoretical basis for improving the erosion resistance and sealing performance of V-regulating ball valve in coal chemical industry. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-06-2024-0205/

Optimising the feeding system for improving pellet distribution levels in gas-based shaft furnace based on the improved analytic hierarchy process

To improve the gas flow distribution inside the gas-based shaft furnace and ensure the chemical reaction, the discrete element method was used to calculate the effects of revolving chute inclination, particle size mass distribution, particle size distribution width, and hopper angle on the pellet distribution indicators (particle segregation, porosity, gas permeability and feeding time). An improved analytic hierarchy process was presented to fully analyse the nine schemes set up as part of the research. The findings demonstrated that the positive segregation of small particles at the furnace's centre and wall occurred with several feeding systems. The largest influences on porosity were differences in particle size mass distribution and particle size distribution width, and an increase in the proportion of small particles resulted in a significant decrease in porosity. The increase of the mass ratio of large particles made the highest permeability, but also caused uneven distribution of the furnace charge along the radial direction. The simulation results and the ranking of benefits and drawbacks produced by the improved analytic hierarchy process approach agree, demonstrating the applicability of the method to optimise the feeding system as well as its value in identifying the major influences on the feeding system.

The mechanism of proppant transport dynamic propagation in rough fracture for supercritical CO2 fracturing

Supercritical CO2 fracturing technology has shown great potential for enhancing production in unconventional reservoirs. It is essential to clarify the transport mechanism of proppant under the dynamic propagation conditions within rough fractures. A realistic rough fracture model is reconstructed, and Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations are conducted to track proppant movement during fracture propagation. The typical transport characteristics of proppant within rough fractures are revealed, and the effects of fracture propagation rate, proppant density, mass flow rate, particle size, sand ratio, and temperature on the support effect are discussed. The results show that the flow channels formed by sand carrying fluid in rough fractures are complex, with fracture propagation changing some flow channels. The proppant forms an irregular sand bed interspersed with unfilled areas, and complex flow characteristics are generated. The increase in fractal dimension increases the resistance in the fluid flow process and affects the movement of the proppant, which tends to create unfilled areas. Low density and size of proppant can improve the proppant placement length. In a certain temperature range, high temperature injection of sand carrying fluid can improve the proppant placement effect. In addition, the low sand ratio and high mass flow rate pumping can be used to form the dominant channel, followed by pumping with a high sand ratio and low mass flow rate for effective support.

Investigations of inlet arrangement strategies and particle parameters on thermochemical performance in falling particle solar reactors

The reformation of methane to hydrogen and steam in a falling particle solar reactor (FPSR) is a promising method to use the solar energy, which converts solar energy into chemical energy. FPSR has higher operation temperature, higher pressure bearing capacity and more direct heat energy storage than those of traditional reactor. However, due to the short residence time of the particles, hydrogen production efficiency is reduced. Thus, inlet arrangement strategies and particle catalysts should be carefully designed to improve the thermochemical reaction performance of FPSR. In this contribution, the Eulerian-Eulerian model in CFD program (Fluent 2020 R2) is used to explore the effects of different particle inlet arrangement strategies, non-uniform particle mass flow inlet and particle size on the performance enhancement of methane steam reforming reaction. The results indicate that the two arrangement strategies show different trends in influencing hydrogen production efficiency. Besides, non-uniform particle mass flow rate also has a significant impact on hydrogen production efficiency, with the optimal arrangement conditions increasing the hydrogen production rate by 2.4831 mol/m−3(−|-) s−1. Additionally, smaller particle size demonstrates better hydrogen production efficiency, with a 0.15 mm particle size catalyst showing a 14.02 % improvement in hydrogen production efficiency compared to a 0.75 mm particle size. This contribution can provide a guidance for optimizing the heat and mass transfer performance of the falling particle solar reactor.

Experimental study of pipeline pressure loss laws with large-size gangue slurry during the process of industrial-grade annular pipe transportation

Gangue grouting and backfilling mining technology is one of the key techniques to achieve solid waste disposal and rock movement control in coal mines. The pipeline conveying performance of gangue slurry determines the success or failure of backfilling engineering directly. Due to the high cost of crushing small-sized gangue, research on pipeline transportation of large-sized gangue slurry has been gradually highlighted. In this study, the gangue slurry ratio optimization test and industrial-grade pipeline transportation experiments were conducted, and the optimal ratio of gangue slurry with different large particle size grading was obtained. Additionally, the rheological parameter changes of gangue slurry in pipeline transportation were analyzed, and the changes in slurry mass concentration, slurry flow velocity, and particle size matching of pressure loss in the straight and bent pipe sections of the transportation pipeline were studied. The results show that the optimal ratio for the 0–5 mm particle size gangue slurry is the mass concentration of 65 % and a mass proportion of 0.3: 2: 1 for 2–5 mm, 0.15–2 mm, and 0–0.15 mm particle size gangue; the optimal ratio for the 0–2 mm particle size gangue slurry gangue is the mass concentration of 60 % and a mass proportion of 2:1 for 0.15–2 mm and 0–0.15 mm particle size gangue. Both the mass concentration, flow velocity, and particle size grading of the gangue slurry have a significant impact on the pressure loss during pipeline transportation. The mass concentration of the gangue slurry has the most significant impact on the pressure loss in the straight pipe section, while the flow velocity has the highest impact on the pressure loss in the bent pipe section. The research results provide a theoretical basis for the design of pipeline transportation parameters for gangue grouting and backfilling projects.

Performance evaluation of calcined eggshell waste (Sorbent) for biogas upgrading: Adsorption isotherms, adsorption kinetics, and fixed bed studies

The use of non-renewable energy resources such as fossil fuels accelerates climate change and environmental degradation necessitating a shift to renewable energy sources. Biogas is a renewable energy resource with great potential. However, its application is limited by the presence of contaminants such as carbon dioxide, which reduces its energy value, and density. Upgrading biogas using locally available materials solves waste management and energy sustainability challenges. In the present study, calcined eggshell waste was employed as an adsorbent for carbon dioxide. The effect of calcination temperature, adsorbent mass and adsorbent particle size was evaluated. The experimental data was fitted to adsorption isotherms, adsorption kinetic models, and breakthrough curves. Eggshells with a particle size of 280 μm, calcined at 850 °C, and mass of 75 g showed the best performance in removing carbon dioxide from biogas. It was noted that data from the experiment fitted Langmuir isotherm with RL 0.00216 while its R2 was 0.97 and Freundlich n = 0.6 while R2 = 0.97. Regarding adsorption kinetics, the intra-particle diffusion model shows good conformity with kid of 34, C of 98, and R2 of 0.977. Breakthrough analysis proved that Yoon Nelson's Model fitted well with the experimental data with an R2 of 0.989. Thus, calcined eggshell waste is a good sorbent for biogas upgrading that can solve the twin challenges of waste disposal and management and energy sustainability.

Performance study of low temperature air heated rock bed thermal energy storage system

AbstractOne of the primary types of sensible heat storage systems in drying applications is the packed rock bed. However, to create large‐scale heat storage systems for industrial use, one must comprehend the hydrodynamic and effectiveness of the heat transport mechanism inside the bed. In this study, the thermal storage unit uses river rock as heat storage materials with equivalent particle diameters of 36 mm in bed 1 and 56 mm in bed 2. The rocks were stacked in a truncated cone‐shaped concrete wall section with an average diameter and depth of 1.1 m and 1.3 m, respectively and a volume of 2.32 m3. During the charging phase, two airflow configurations were used, one from the top with an air mass flow rate of 0.753 and 0.332 kg/m2‐s and the other from the bottom with an air mass flow rate of 0.955 kg/m2‐s. During the discharging phase, the entire flow configuration is from the bottom section. It was observed that the mass flow rate and particle equivalent diameter had an important effect on the thermal performance and behaviour of the rock bed during charging and discharging operations. Maximum efficiency was achieved with an airflow configuration provided from the bottom when charging at 0.955 kg/m2.s. Consequently, a sizable quantity of heat or energy (60 MJ) was retained. It was also observed that the relationship between air mass flow rate and particle size was significant, with smaller particles retaining more energy. When comparing bed 1 with bed 2 at this air mass flow rate, bed 1 stored 2.1 times more energy than bed 2. A wind tunnel experiment was used to measure the pressure drop in the packed rock bed. The pressure drop in the bed increases with an increase in particle Reynolds number and decreases with an increase in particle size. Rock bed heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number were calculated using the correlation that has already been established in the literature smaller particles showed higher heat transfer coefficients and lower Nusselt numbers. This is due to the increase in particle‐to‐particle interaction and larger particle surface areas. For a given Reynolds number, the Nusselt number increases with the size of the rock particle.

Research on the inerting mechanism of sucrose dust explosion by sodium bicarbonate

Sucrose dust is prone to explosion accidents during the production process. This research utilized sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) to prevent the explosion of sucrose dust. Based on the minimum ignition temperature of sucrose dust cloud (MITc), combined with thermogravimetric analysis-differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (PY-GCMS), the differences of combustion processes and combustion products between sucrose dust and sucrose-NaHCO3 mixed dust were comprehensively compared. Also, the mechanisms of sucrose dust explosion and NaHCO3 inerting sucrose dust were systematically studied. It showed that NaHCO3 powder contributed to a higher MITc of sucrose dust and activation energy of sucrose oxidation reaction, with a reduction in exothermic enthalpy and entropy changes. NaHCO3 interfered with the entire burning process of sucrose dust by playing an important role in physical inhibition, and producing sodium-containing compounds to capture free radicals from the bond breakage of sucrose. It limits the reaction pathway and progress of sucrose pyrolysis and therefore against burning. Additionally, the mass fraction and particle size of NaHCO3 impact the inerting ability by increasing the amount and accelerating the procedure rate of products, respectively. The increase in mass fraction works better in macroscopic phenomena, while the decrease in particle size is more significant in reaction kinetics and thermodynamic parameters.

Swelling behavior of calcium ion-crosslinked sodium alginate in an in vitro hemostatic tamponade model

Various types of hemostatic agents are used to manage bleeding in surgery. Many such agents are animal products, which carry the risk of secondary infection. The aim of this study is to develop a novel hemostatic agent from a non-animal source that quickly stops bleeding, is easy to use, and has no risk of infection.In this study, we synthesized calcium ion-crosslinked sodium alginate (Alg-Na/Ca) by partial substitution of Ca ions for Na ions in sodium alginate. We prepared 12 kinds of Alg-Na/Ca powders with different Ca mass ratios, molecular weights, M/G ratios and particle size distributions and measured their swelling ratio and the burst pressure generated. We found that Alg-Na/Ca began to swell immediately after contact with saline, especially Alg-Na/Ca at Ca mass ratios of 74.1–77.0 % showed a high swelling ratio after 2 min and a high burst pressure, over 200 % and 500 mmHg respectively. Also, there is a correlation between the swelling ratio after 2 min and the burst pressure. Our results suggest that, by optimizing the composition conditions, Alg-Na/Ca may be an effective hemostatic agent that could act as a tamponade by absorbing and swelling at a bleeding site to quickly achieve primary hemostasis.

Aerosol optical depth disaggregation: toward global aerosol vertical profiles

Abstract Aerosol-cloud interactions constitute the largest source of uncertainty in assessments of anthropogenic climate change. This uncertainty arises in part from the difficulty in measuring the vertical distributions of aerosols, and only sporadic vertically resolved observations are available. We often have to settle for less informative vertically aggregated proxies such as aerosol optical depth (AOD). In this work, we develop a framework for the vertical disaggregation of AOD into extinction profiles, that is, the measure of light extinction throughout an atmospheric column, using readily available vertically resolved meteorological predictors such as temperature, pressure, or relative humidity. Using Bayesian nonparametric modeling, we devise a simple Gaussian process prior over aerosol vertical profiles and update it with AOD observations to infer a distribution over vertical extinction profiles. To validate our approach, we use ECHAM-HAM aerosol-climate model data which offers self-consistent simulations of meteorological covariates, AOD, and extinction profiles. Our results show that, while very simple, our model is able to reconstruct realistic extinction profiles with well-calibrated uncertainty, outperforming by an order of magnitude the idealized baseline which is typically used in satellite AOD retrieval algorithms. In particular, the model demonstrates a faithful reconstruction of extinction patterns arising from aerosol water uptake in the boundary layer. Observations however suggest that other extinction patterns, due to aerosol mass concentration, particle size, and radiative properties, might be more challenging to capture and require additional vertically resolved predictors.

Numerical investigation on rheological and thermal performances of microencapsulated phase change material suspension (MPCMS) in microchannel

Rheological and thermal performances of microencapsulated phase change material suspension (MPCMS) in microchannel are investigated with different mass fractions, Reynolds numbers and particle size distributions. The deviations of the two-phase model and the single-phase model from experiments are also examined and compared. The solid-liquid phase change process of MPCMS is described by the effective heat capacity method. The results show that as the mass fraction Cm increases up to 30%, the MPCMS flow starts to transform from the Newtonian fluid to pseudoplastic behavior (shear rate 0–110 s−1), and the resultant performance evaluation factor (PEF) increases from 1 to 1.27. As the Reynolds number is raised from 96 to 960 (Cm = 15%), the viscosity remains nearly constant (shear rate 100–1000 s−1) flowing as a Newtonian fluid, and the PEF decreases from 1.24 to 1.14. With the particle size increasing (dp = 0.1–10 μm), non-Newtonian characteristics of the suspension become more obvious (shear rate 9300–15,000 s−1), and the PEFs are all 1.15. The average deviation of the single-phase model is 12.3% compared with the experimental data, while it is only 3.65% for the two-phase model. The results provide a reference for the optimization of MPCMS application in microchannel from a rheological perspective.

An image segmentation method of pulverized coal for particle size analysis

An important index to evaluate the process efficiency of coal preparation is the mineral liberation degree of pulverized coal, which is greatly influenced by the particle size and shape distribution acquired by image segmentation. However, the agglomeration effect of fine powders and the edge effect of granular images caused by scanning electron microscopy greatly affect the precision of particle image segmentation. In this study, we propose a novel image segmentation method derived from mask regional convolutional neural network based on deep learning for recognizing fine coal powders. Firstly, an atrous convolution is introduced into our network to learn the image feature of multi-sized powders, which can reduce the missing segmentation of small-sized agglomerated particles. Then, a new mask loss function combing focal loss and dice coefficient is used to overcome the false segmentation caused by the edge effect. The final comparative experimental results show that our method achieves the best results of 94.43% and 91.44% on AP50 and AP75 respectively among the comparison algorithms. In addition, in order to provide an effective method for particle size analysis of coal particles, we study the particle size distribution of coal powders based on the proposed image segmentation method and obtain a good curve relationship between cumulative mass fraction and particle size.

Study on Correlations between Tailings Particle Size Distribution and Rheological Properties of Filling Slurries

The influence of the mass concentration and particle size distribution on rheological parameters and slump was investigated by analyzing the mixture of overflow tailings (OT) and classified tailings (CT). The correlation between the rheological parameters, slump and characteristic value of the tailings particle diameter was discussed. Finally, the ratio parameters of a mixed tailings filling slurry were optimized using a lead–zinc mine in Guangdong, China as the engineering background. The results showed a quadratic decrease in the slump of the tailings slurry as the mass concentration increased, while the slump decreased with a decreasing particle size. With the increase in the mass concentration, the yield stress of the tailings slurry follows a quadratic function, while the plastic viscosity exhibits linear growth. The influence of tailings fine particles on the sensitivity of the yield stress and plastic viscosity to the mass concentration is reduced as their content increases. The yield stress and plastic viscosity of the tailings slurry exhibit a quadratic function decrease and linear growth as the slump increases. The slump of the tailings slurry is related to the particle size characteristic value and the mass concentration of the slurry. The correlation coefficient between the yield stress and the aggregate characteristic particle size increases most obviously at d10~d50, and the increase in the characteristic particle size will enhance the correlation between the yield stress and particle gradation. The correlation coefficient between the plastic viscosity and aggregate particle gradation parameters exhibits an initial increase followed by stabilization with an increasing characteristic particle size, with the most significant increase observed at d10~d50.

The Effect of Temperature on the Size and the Deposition of Asphaltene Particles

Summary The deposition of asphaltene as a main component of crude oil is considerably affected by temperature. Despite the studies on influencing factors on deposition and size of asphaltene particles, no experimental research was previously conducted on the simultaneous impact of temperature on asphaltene particle size and deposition. In this study, the asphaltene deposit mass was measured within a Couette device at various temperatures ranging between 20 and 65°C under a constant angular velocity. Furthermore, the asphaltene particle size was simultaneously measured to investigate the relationship between deposition mass and asphaltene particle size and also to validate the concept of critical particle size. A digital microscope was used to measure the size of unstable asphaltene particles in oil. Asphaltene solubility and oil viscosity were measured to understand the deposition mechanisms. The analysis of microscopic images indicated that larger asphaltene particles are produced at higher temperatures. Although the total mass of the deposit was decreased with temperature, the deposition fraction, defined as mass fraction of total unstable asphaltene particles that deposit, was increased. Higher fraction of deposition was found for larger particles that is in contradiction to the previously introduced critical particle size concept. Additionally, the effect of solubility was found to be dominant in comparison with viscosity from the point of view of the total mass of the deposit. For the oil sample investigated in this study, a 45°C increase in temperature reduced the total mass of the deposit by 46.84%.

Flow irreversibility versus wear of elbow-reducer connection with gas-solid two-phase flow: A numerical study via CFD-DEM coupling method

In industry sectors, such as power, petroleum, and natural gas production, many fluids contain solid particles in gas/liquid-solid two-phase flows. Thus, resistance and wall erosion, which mainly occur at pipe resistance components, such as elbows and reducers, should be considered in the design of conveying pipelines. To examine the interaction of two resistance components, the flow irreversibility versus wear of an elbow-reducer connection with a gas–solid two-phase flow were studied via the CFD–DEM coupling method. The studied connection structures include a reducer at the elbow downstream with distances of 0, 1, and 3 pipe diameters, and a reducer at the elbow upstream with distances of 0, 1, and 3 pipe diameters. Results show that turbulence and wall entropy generation are main reasons for the total entropy generation and flow irreversibility, which are mainly distributed in the interior wall of the elbow and the pipe. The reducer located downstream of the elbow has a good inhibition effect on the fluid with a separation phenomenon. The total entropy generation and maximum erosion rate for the elbow-reducer connections are lower than that for the reducer-elbow connections. Moreover, influences of solid particle mass flow rate and particle size on partial entropy generations, including mean, turbulent, and wall entropy generations, and wall erosion were comparatively analyzed. The simulation results can provide a reference for the design of pipelines to reduce energy consumption and pipeline wear.

Modeling of the effect of ATH fillers on the rheology, curing kinetics, and flexural properties of the epoxy resin forming the hydraulic turbines’ stay vanes extension

Epoxy resins are crucial for the production of GFRP/XPS foam sandwich structures used for hydraulic turbine extension stay vanes. The quantity and size of ATH fillers have a significant impact on the curing and post-curing characteristics of the epoxy resin. This paper presents the results of an experimental study of the effect of ATH fillers on the maximum temperature, polymerization time, shrinkage, viscosity, and flexural properties of the epoxy resin. The study also uses regression and neural network methods to develop models to predict these properties based on ATH mass fraction and particle size. The results showed that increasing the mass fraction of ATH with a smaller particle size delayed polymerization and reduced the maximum temperature. The addition of ATH resulted in an improvement of the flexural modulus; nevertheless, it caused a reduction in both the flexural strength and breakage strain. Adding ATH improved flexural strength, modulus, and breakage strain. The models developed in this study had a high correlation between predicted and measured responses, providing valuable information for the design and casting of the proposed sandwich structures.

Study on the Influence of Different Factors on Pneumatic Conveying in Horizontal Pipe

Aiming at the problems of high energy consumption and particle breakage in the pneumatic conveying process of large-scale breeding enterprises, in this paper, based on the theoretical calculated value of particle suspension velocity, a computational fluid model and a discrete element model are established based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and discrete element method (DEM). Then, through the numerical simulation of gas-solid two-phase flow, the influence of four factors of conveying wind speed, particle mass flow rate, pipe diameter, and particle size on the velocity distribution of particles in a horizontal pipe, dynamic pressure change in the pipe, pressure drop in the pipe, and solid mass concentration are studied. The results show that the k-ε turbulence model can better simulate the movement of gas-solid two-phase flow, and through the analysis of the simulation, the influence of four different factors on the conveying characteristics is obtained, which provides a scientific basis for the construction of the conveying line.

Local percolation of non-spherical particles in moving bed waste heat recovery unit for hydrogen production by methanol steam reforming

To study the local percolation of non-spherical particles in a moving bed waste heat recovery unit (MBWHRU) for hydrogen production, the discrete element method (DEM) was applied to simulate the discharge. A local method was applied to determine the location and local intensity of percolation. The percolation maps were presented. Moreover, the effects of structural parameters of MBWHRU, fine particle parameters, and friction parameters on local percolation were also considered. Percolation mainly occurs at the bottom, flow mechanism transition region, and near the vertical segment wall. Among them, percolation above the orifice is the most intense. The velocity gradient (or shear) is not the only condition under which percolation occurs. Percolation is closely related to changes in multiple parameters. The effects of fine particle parameters and friction parameters relative to structural parameters on percolation are significant. Percolation can be effectively avoided by increasing the mass percentage and particle size of fine particles, which is beneficial to hydrogen production. Especially, for the particle size ratio of fine particles to coarse particles greater than 0.5, percolation is no longer evident. The percolation near the vertical segment wall is particularly sensitive to particle-wall friction (>0.45). Reducing particle-particle friction and wall roughness is also beneficial to hydrogen production.

A Novel Optical Instrument for Measuring Mass Concentration and Particle Size in Real Time.

Particle mass and particulate size are two important parameters used to characterize the aerosol. Currently, there are a few methods for measuring particle mass concentration and particle size. However, the existing methods have their own shortcomings. In this article, we describe a novel laser scattering instrument that measures mass concentration and particle size in real time over a wide concentration range. This instrument combines laser scattering and time-of-flight aerodynamics in one optical device. There are two innovations in this paper: (1) Two APD detectors are used to receive scattered light. One receives forward-scattered light and the other receives side-scattered light. The advantage is that the sensitivity of the detector is increased greatly, and the ratio of forward and side scattering is used to further obtain the size and shape information of the particles. (2) In order to measure the high concentrations of aerosol, a high-speed ADC and FPGA is combined to achieve an anti-overlap algorithm objective. It has been verified by experiments that the anti-overlapping algorithm can effectively improve the applicability of the aerodynamic particle size spectrometer under high concentration conditions.

Aerial transport of bacteria by dust plumes in the Eastern Mediterranean revealed by complementary rRNA/rRNA-gene sequencing

Processes influencing the transport of airborne bacterial communities in the atmosphere are poorly understood. Here, we report comprehensive and quantitative evidence of the key factors influencing the transport of airborne bacterial communities by dust plumes in the Eastern Mediterranean. We extracted DNA and RNA from size-resolved aerosols sampled from air masses of different origins, followed by qPCR and high-throughput amplicon sequencing of 16 S ribosomal RNA gene and transcripts. We find that airborne bacterial community composition varied with air mass origin and particle size. Bacterial abundance, alpha diversity and species richness were higher in terrestrially influenced air masses than in marine-influenced air masses and higher in the coarse particle fraction (3.0 to 10.0 µm) than in the fine fraction (0.49 to 1.5 µm). This suggests that airborne bacteria mainly were associated with dust particles or transported as cell aggregates. High abundances of rRNA from human, animal and plant pathogen taxa indicate potential ecological impacts of atmospheric bacterial transport.