AEROSOL

systems in which there exists a condensed

phase of one material (solid or liquid) that is
dispersed in a gaseous phase and that has
dimensions that fall into the colloidal range.
There are two subclasses of aerosols depending
on whether the dispersed phase is a liquid or
a solid.
Where the dispersed phase is a liquid,
the system is commonly referred to as a
‘‘mist’’ or a ‘‘fog.’’
For solid aerosols, one may
commonly refer to a ‘‘dust’’ or
‘‘smoke.’’
Aerosols, both liquid mists and solid smokes, have a great deal of
technological and natural importance.
Technically they are usefully employed in
coating operations, firefighting, medical treatments (allergy and asthma
sprays), chemical production processes, spray drying, and other
procedures.
On the opposite side of the ledger, of course, we have the
smoke from industrial smokestacks, smog and haze from
industry and automobiles, forest fires, high-flying jet
contrails, chemical and biological weapons, and so on.
However, the real impact of aerosols (in purely massive
terms) comes from natural sources: clouds, smokes,
and similar natural airborne particles.
A cloud (natural) is a large collection of water droplets or
ice crystals moving through the atmosphere.
Other natural aerosols include:
 airborne pollen;
 dust and sand (if high enough in the atmosphere
causing beautiful red sunsets);
 volcanic clouds of water, sulfur oxides (producing
acids), and other solid and liquid materials;
 natural ‘‘chemical fogs’’ produced by plant
metabolism and decomposition in dense forest areas
(e.g., the Smoky Mountains in the south-eastern
United States); and many more.
 COLLOIDAL PROPERTIES OF AEROSOLS

 Dynamics of the Aerosol Movement

When Re < 1 the system is said to be in laminar flow (a). When Re > 1000, the
systemis in fully turbulent flow (b) and flow resistance is controlled by drag forces
due to the medium given by
  Colloidal Interactions in Aerosols

Because of the low dielectric constant of air, the attractive interactions among aerosol
particles is orders of magnitude greater than that prevailing in a liquid medium. An
obvious result of that is the appearance of household ‘‘fuzz balls’’ (a) and rapid dust
accumulation on surfaces (b). In technology requiring ultra-clean environments, the
resulting problems require million-dollar solutions.
The absence of aerosol particles (dust or liquid) is especially important in the
microelectronics industry. The presence of dust or liquid contaminants on the surface
of virgin semiconductor (a) will lead to coating defects in the preparation of the
microcircuits (b) and defects in the final product (c).
 LIQUID AEROSOLS: MISTS AND FOGS

 Spraying and Related Mechanisms of Mist

and Fog Formation
Aerosol sprays are usually formed by one of four basic processes:
1. Directing a jet of liquid against a solid surface, thereby breaking the liquid
up into fine droplets.
2. Ejecting a jet of liquid from an orifice into a stream of air or gas.
3. Ejecting a stream of liquid from a small orifice under high pressure.
4. Dropping liquid onto a solid rotating surface from which small droplets
are ejected by centrifugal force.
Many possible mechanisms for liquid aerosol formation, four of the most common
include (a) surface impact of a high-pressure liquid stream, (b) the collision of high-
velocity liquid and gas streams, (c) high-pressure spray nozzles, and (d) spinning-disk
centrifugal atomizers.
SOLID AEROSOLS: DUST AND SMOKE

In some situations, aerosols formed through

dispersion processes are termed ‘‘dusts’’
while those arising from condensation
processes are called ‘‘smokes.’’
Solid aerosols produced by condensation
processes

The condensation methods normally employed in such studies can be

divided into two classes: chemical and physical condensation
processes.
A typical physical method may involve the heating of a material of
relatively low volatility (e.g., stearic acid) sufficiently to produce a
high degree of supersaturation and passing the vapor into a stream
of cold gas, rapidly condensing the vapor into a solid aerosol.
Many of the elements of tobacco smoke are also of such a ‘‘physical’’
origin.
A representative chemical method would be illustrated by the gas-
phase reaction of ammonia and hydrogen chloride to produce a
snow of ammonium chloride or by the photochemical oxidation of
iron pentacarbonyl Fe(CO)5 in air to produce a smoke of ferric oxide.
THE DESTRUCTION OF AEROSOLS

some of the mechanisms of destruction

involved will be essentially the same as those
for other colloidal systems:
Focculation and Koalescence
Although there are a number of methods to control aerosol discharges, some of
the most common include (a) baffle filters, (b) bag filters; (c) cyclones, and (d) spray
scrubbers.
One of the most used methods of solid aerosol or powder collection is the cyclone
collector. The powder-laden air enters the collector tangentially and the more dense
powder is forced to the walls by centrifugal force. The ‘‘cleaned’’ air then exits the
collector by a central axial duct.
ELECTROSTATIC PRECIPITATION

The principle, in its simplest

form, involves passing air
containing aerosol between
two electrode surfaces on
which an electrical potential is
applied.

In the electrostatic precipitation of charged aerosols, the air is made to

pass between two oppositely charged electrodes so that the particles will
be attracted to and adhere to the electrode surfaces. If the configuration
of the electrodes is properly designed, very efficient aerosol removal can
be achieved.