Methodology for engineered nanomaterial stack emissions and ambient atmosphere : measurements and multi scale modeling
Résumé
During production and use phase of Engineered nanomaterial (ENM), a part of these materials is released into air as ultrafine particles and form a potential environmental contamination. Delivering models and methods to predict engineered nanomaterials’ (ENM) fate in the environment is the core task of the H2020 EU-funded NanoFASE project. In that context, WP6 focused on the experimental investigation of the emissions and transformations of ENM released from industrial sites. Several field campaigns were performed to quantify and characterize the emissions at stack and to measure the concentration in the environment and ground deposition in the surrounding of the sites. We will present the methodology used experimentally to estimate the features of ENM stack emissions and their fate in the ambient atmosphere. Despite a broad range in the nature and morphology of the emitted ENMs, chimney emissions were well characterized in terms of nature, morphology and quantities of particles (metal oxide (M-O)) emitted. Experimental observations in terms of fluxes, chemical nature of substances, particle sizes, morphologies allowed to provide qualitative and quantitative parameters required to describe a source term for atmospheric dispersion modelling of stack emissions during production. Based on these results, several atmospheric models were tested in order to evaluate the impact within plume of the potential evolution of ENM at various time and space scale. Finally, specific challenges were identified and are discussed for future experimental and modeling work.