Study of residual particle concentrations generated by the ultrasonic nebulization of deionized water stored in...

A scanning mobility particle sizer has been used to quantify residual particle number and mass concentrations generated by ultrasonic nebulization of deionized (DI) water stored in a variety of bottles. High variability of residual particles was found not only between different bottle types but also between different bottles of the same type. Degradation of the water quality, quantified as increased residual mass and number concentrations as a function of time, occurred to varying degrees for water stored in different bottle types. Overall, glass bottles showed the highest residual particle concentrations and exhibited the poorest stability over time. After a storage period of 3 weeks, DI water stored in Pyrex bottles showed average increases in particle mass and number densities in the aerosol of over 250% and 60%, respectively. Total dissolved impurity levels in the water increased from 110 to 290 ng mL(-1) over the 3-week period. It is hypothesized that leaching from the bottle walls increases impurity levels in the water over time. Leaching was observed for both glass and polymer bottles. Contrary to this trend, residual particle concentrations from deionized water stored in Teflon bottles showed a net decrease during the measurement period. With respect to absolute residual particle concentrations and storage stability, a Teflon bottle yielded the best performance. Total residual particle mass and number densities for Teflon were less than a factor of 15% and 1%, respectively, as compared to residual particle levels observed for the Pyrex bottle. Absolute dissolved impurity levels in the water for the Teflon bottle decreased from 7.8 to 3.7 ng mL(-1) over the 4-week period.