Personal electrostatic bioaerosol sampler with high sampling flow rate

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10919047-B2
Application number	US-201615757722-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 8, 2016
Priority date	Sep 8, 2015
Publication date	Feb 16, 2021
Grant date	Feb 16, 2021

Abstract

A personal electrostatic bioaerosol sampler (PEBS) for collecting bioaerosols (from virus to pollen) at high sampling flow rates and for measuring personal exposures to bioaerosols in various occupational environments, particularly at their low concentrations and for extended periods of time, and a method of using same, are disclosed. The PEBS includes a base holder, a charging section, and a collection section. Charging section includes a first member inside a center of charging section configured to be connected to positive or negative high voltage and a second member disposed therearound a midpoint of first member inside charging section configured to be grounded such that a plurality of ions are produced for charging a plurality of incoming particles. A collection plate is releasably secured inside collection section such that when collection section is grounded and negative or positive high voltage is connected to collection plate, a plurality of charged incoming particles are deposited onto collection plate by an electrostatic field. A middle section of base holder is configured to partly receive charging section and collection section via an opening therethrough such that charging section is secured to a first side of base holder and collection section is secured to a second side of base holder when sampler is in an assembled configuration.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A personal electrostatic bioaerosol sampler for collecting bioaerosols at high sampling flow rates for extended periods of time, the sampler comprising:
a base holder of variable size having a longitudinal body with a first end, a second end, and a middle section disposed therebetween;
a charging section of variable size having a body, a first end, a second end, a center, an inlet, a first member, and a second member, wherein the first member is tungsten wire and is disposed inside the center of the charging section and is configured to be connected to positive or negative high voltage and the second member is a ring of stainless steel wire and is disposed therearound a midpoint of the first member inside the charging section and is configured to be grounded such that a plurality of ions are produced for charging a plurality of incoming particles,
wherein the tungsten wire is supported by a pair of insulating posts such that one post is disposed on a first end of the tungsten wire and another post is disposed on a second end of the tungsten wire;

a collection section of variable size having a body, a first end, a second end, an outlet, an outer surface, and a collection plate, wherein the collection plate is releasably secured inside the collection section such that when the outer surface of the collection section is grounded and negative or positive high voltage is connected to the collection plate, a plurality of charged incoming particles are deposited onto the collection plate by an electrostatic field;
wherein the middle section of the base holder is configured to partly receive the charging section and the collection section therein the longitudinal body via an opening therethrough such that the second end of the charging section is secured to a first side of the longitudinal body and the second end of the collection section is secured to a second side of the longitudinal body when the sampler is in an assembled configuration.

2. The sampler of claim 1 further comprising:
a static air blender positioned upstream of the charging section at the inlet configured to improve mixing of the plurality of incoming particles and the plurality of produced ions;
an inlet screen secured to a top side of the static air blender configured for receiving the plurality of incoming particles therethrough; and
a fan positioned downstream of the collection section at the outlet, wherein the fan has a protective grill disposed thereon.

3. The sampler of claim 1 , wherein the high voltage is supplied by a battery via a DC-to-DC converter such that the battery and the converter are positioned on each side of the base holder.

4. The sampler of claim 1 , wherein the tungsten wire is used as a source of ions with a low operating high voltage in a range of from 5 to 8 kV.

5. The sampler of claim 1 , wherein the collection plate is fabricated of a conductive material.

6. The sampler of claim 5 , wherein the conductive material includes stainless steel.

7. The sampler of claim 1 , wherein the collection plate is coated with a superhydrophobic material.

8. The sampler of claim 1 , wherein the collection section includes two half-cylinder collection chambers divided by the collection plate for allowing sequential collection of at least two samples from each surface of the collection plate.

9. The sampler of claim 8 , wherein each half-cylinder collection chamber has a round top quarter-cylinder section in which a ground electrode is slidably inserted through a groove in a middle of the collection chamber.

10. The sampler of claim 1 , wherein the sampler is fabricated of a non-static material.

11. The sampler of claim 1 , wherein the sampler is manufactured by machining and 3D-printing.

12. The sampler of claim 1 , wherein the sampler is configured to be smaller than about five inches in length and weigh less than about eight ounces.

13. The sampler of claim 1 ,
wherein the charging section is configured to efficiently charge particles while causing ozone production in concentrations of less than 10 ppb, and
wherein the pair of insulating posts are ceramic.

14. The sampler of claim 1 , further comprising:
an air blender for improving the mixing of incoming particles with produced ions to enhance particle contact with ions and for improving particle charging, the air blender comprising:
a body of variable geometric shape and size having an inner body and an outer body, wherein a plurality of blades are disposed in the inner body and the outer body.

15. The sampler of claim 14 , wherein the air blender is positioned at the inlet of the charging station.

16. A personal electrostatic bioaerosol sampler for collecting bioaerosols at high sampling flow rates for extended periods of time, the sampler comprising:
a charging section of variable size having a body, a first end, a second end, a center, an inlet, a first member, and a second member, wherein the first member is tungsten wire and is disposed inside the center of the charging section and is configured to be connected to high voltage and the second member is a ring of stainless steel wire and is disposed therearound a midpoint of the first member inside the charging section and is configured to be grounded such that a plurality of ions are produced for charging a plurality of incoming particles,
wherein the tungsten wire is supported by a pair of insulating posts such that one post is disposed on a first end of the tungsten wire and another post is disposed on a second end of the tungsten wire;

a collection section of variable size having a body, a first end, a second end, an outlet, an outer surface, and a collection plate, wherein the collection plate is releasably secured inside the collection section such that when the outer surface of the collection section is grounded and high voltage is connected to the collection plate, a plurality of charged incoming particles are deposited onto the collection plate by an electrostatic field; and
a connector section of variable size having a body, a first end, and a second end, wherein the connector section is configured to secure the charging section and the collection section to the body of the connector such that the second end of the charging section is secured to a first end of the connector and the second end of the collection section is secured to the second end of the connector when the sampler is in an assembled configuration.

17. The sampler of claim 16 , further comprising:
an air blender for improving the mixing of incoming particles with produced ions to enhance particle contact with ions and for improving particle charging, the air blender comprising:
a body of variable geometric shape and size having an inner body and an outer body, wherein a plurality of blades are disposed in the inner body and the outer body.

Assignees

• Univ Rutgers

Inventors

• Mainelis Gediminas
• Han Taewon

Classifications

• B03C3/363

  located before the filter · CPC title

• G01N1/2202

  involving separation of sample components during sampling · CPC title

• B03C2201/24

  for measuring or calculating of parameters, e.g. efficiency · CPC title

• G01N2001/2223

  aerosol sampling devices · CPC title

• B03C3/32 Primary

  Transportable units, e.g. for cleaning room air · CPC title