THE USE OF ELECTROSTATIC FILTER MEDIA IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW PERSONAL AEROSOL SAMPLER

摘要

Impacts of aerosol particles on human health have led to the design and development of a wide range of aerosol samplers; primarily for measuring airborne aerosol concentrations and human exposure. Many such instruments, based on a wide range of different physical principles, have emerged over the years, and some have been commercially successful. However, conventional pumped aerosol samplers still have limitations which make the personal sampling process difficult, including: high cost; high power demand; limited sampling time; and invasive to wearers due to high noise levels, heavy weight, large size, and loose tubing. The new aerosol sampler design described in this paper reduces or eliminates many of these limitations. The new sampler design utilizes a low resistance electrostatic filter media (electret) to collect aerosol in a fan-driven system, eliminating the greater power requirement of traditional air sampling pumps. Use of electret media offers advantages in the design of an aerosol sampler. Lower filter resistance requires less power which allows use of smaller batteries and fans, and this has led to the design of an integrated elec-tret-fan personal aerosol sampler. Besides size and weight reduction, the new sampler design also has the added benefits of quiet operation, long sampling duration, and low cost. The new personal aerosol sampler has less invasive design that allows more convenient use in home and office environments, as well as industrial and ambient environment settings.