Size Determination of Diesel Soot Particles Using Flow and Sedimentation Field-Flow Fractionation

Abstract

The applicability of field-flow fractionation (FFF) was investigated for determination of size and size distribution of diesel soot particles. A sample preparation procedure was developed for FFF analysis where soot particles are recovered from filters in an ethanol bath sonicator, and then they are dispersed in water containing 0.05% Triton X-100 and 0.02% NaN(3). Mean diameters obtained from sedimentation FFF (SdFFF) and flow FFF (FlFFF) agree well with each other and are in good agreement with diameters obtained from photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS) and scanning electron microscopy. The relative error was less than 11%. Data show diesel soot particles have broad size distributions ranging from 0.05 up to ∼0.5 μm with the mean diameters between 0.1 and 0.2 μm. The use of FlFFF is more convenient as FlFFF fractograms can be converted directly to size distributions, while the conversion of the SdFFF fractogram needs the particle density information. The density needed for SdFFF analysis was obtained by combining the SdFFF retention data with the PCS size data. For samples whose density is known, SdFFF may be more useful as SdFFF provides a wider dynamic range than FlFFF under constant field strength.

Size analysis of industrial carbon blacks by sedimentation and flow field-flow fractionation

“…Despite the versatility of FFF method, until recently only a few researches have demonstrated its use for size determination of carbon black-related particles [9,17,18], since it is highly adsorptive to the channel wall or membrane in FFF systems. This work is an effort to explore proper dispersing methods for size analysis of carbon black using FFF.…”

“…However, it requires a high level of technology to produce high-quality carbon black materials, for it is difficult to disperse carbon black, and it easily flocculates [6,7]. As carbon black is produced through combustion, it is also known to be produced at thermoelectric power plants using fossil fuels, municipal solid-waste incinerators, and by industrial smokestacks and automobile engines [8,9]. These forms of carbon black can become the cause of serious air pollution.…”

Diesel Soot Oxidation under Controlled Conditions

“…[Abdul-Khalek et al, 1998;Barth and Flippen, 1995;Kim et al, 1999;Lee et al, 1996] Haiwen Song PhD thesis, Brunel University, UK, 2003 The other techniques cited above rely on correlating the size of the particles with a physical characteristic of the particle, such as its mass, or electrical charge, or optical cross section. They are generally substantially less time-consuming than the TEM technique.…”

Size-based analysis of incinerator fly ash using gravitational SPLITT fractionation, sedimentation field-flow fractionation, and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy

“…All these methods have their own advantages and disadvantages in terms of analysis time, sensitivity, and cost, etc. [21,23,25].…”

“…SdFFF has been used for separation and sizing of a variety of particulate samples including environmental particles [12,25,26,27]. The potential of SdFFF for size-analysis of incinerator fly ash has already been reported [12].…”