Dust generation in powders : Effect of particle size distribution

Somik Chakravarty (1) , Olivier Le Bihan (2) , Marc Fischer (1) , Martin Morgeneyer (1)

1 TIMR - Transformation Intégrée de la Matière Renouvelable
2 INERIS - Institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques

This study explores the relationship between the bulk and grain-scale properties of powders and dust generation. A vortex shaker dustiness tester was used to evaluate 8 calcium carbonate test powders with median particle sizes ranging from 2μm to 136μm. Respirable aerosols released from the powder samples were characterised by their particle number and mass concentrations. All the powder samples were found to release respirable fractions of dust particles which end up decreasing with time. The variation of powder dustiness as a function of the particle size distribution was analysed for the powders, which were classified into three groups based on the fraction of particles within the respirable range. The trends we observe might be due to the interplay of several mechanisms like de-agglomeration and attrition and their relative importance.

Domains: Environmental Sciences

Somik Chakravarty, Olivier Le Bihan, Marc Fischer, Martin Morgeneyer. Dust generation in powders : Effect of particle size distribution. 8. International Conference on Micromechanics of Granular Media (POWDERS & GRAINS), Jul 2017, Montpellier, France. pp.Art 13018, ⟨10.1051/epjconf/201714013018⟩. ⟨ineris-01863198⟩