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Related Experiment Videos

Development and laboratory performance evaluation of a personal cascade impactor.

Philip Demokritou1, Tarun Gupta, Stephen Ferguson

  • 1Environmental Science and Engineering Program, School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. pdemokri@hsph.harvard.edu

Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association (1995)
|November 7, 2002
PubMed
Summary

A new personal cascade impactor effectively sizes airborne particles down to 0.5 micrometers using four stages and a backup filter. This lightweight, battery-operated device collects particles on foam substrates with minimal losses, enabling easy aqueous extraction.

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Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science
  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Aerosol Science

Background:

  • Personal cascade impactors are crucial for assessing airborne particle size distributions.
  • Existing samplers often face challenges with particle bounce, re-entrainment, and complex sample recovery.
  • There is a need for compact, efficient, and user-friendly devices for personal aerosol monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To design and evaluate a novel personal cascade impactor for efficient particle fractionation and collection.
  • To assess the performance of the impactor in terms of cut points, particle losses, and sample recovery.
  • To demonstrate the utility of polyurethane foam substrates for particle collection without adhesives.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a compact, four-stage personal cascade impactor with slit-shaped nozzles and a backup filter.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Laboratory calibration using polydisperse particles to determine 50% cut points.
  • Evaluation of interstage particle losses for various size fractions.
  • Assessment of particle bounce and re-entrainment on polyurethane foam substrates.
  • Measurement of pressure drop across the impactor stages.

    • Main Results:

    • The impactor achieved 50% cut points at 9.6, 2.6, 1.0, and 0.5 micrometers.
    • Interstage losses were minimal (<10% for <0.5 microm, <5% for fine, <12% for coarse particles).
    • Particle bounce and re-entrainment were insignificant despite the absence of adhesives.
    • Particles were easily recovered from foam substrates via aqueous extraction.

    Conclusions:

    • The designed personal cascade impactor is a lightweight and effective tool for fractionating and collecting airborne particles.
    • The use of polyurethane foam substrates simplifies sample handling and recovery without compromising data quality.
    • This novel sampler offers a promising solution for personal aerosol monitoring and analysis.