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2626860 
Book/Book Chapter 
Interactions of Flame-Generated Incipient Nanoparticles with Water 
Sgro, LA; D'Anna, A; Minutolo, P 
2010 
Chemical Engineering Transactions 
22 
47-52 
WOS:000286970200007 
We experimentally examined the Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) forming potential of Organic Carbon (OC) nanoparticles formed in non-sooting premixed flames. Flame-generated particles were grown by coagulation, and the fraction of particles that grow in a humid environment was measured as a function of dry particle size. A differential mobility analyzer is used select particles of a particular size, and their total concentration as well as the concentration of only those particles that grow in a humid environment (S=0.8) was measured simultaneously. Flame-generated particles in the size range 30-60 nm did not grow to droplets larger than 300nm. For NaCl particles produced by electrospray, also tested in the same conditions, half grew by condensation for dry particles with a diameter of 28nm, in good agreement with earlier works, validating our experimental approach. While the results are preliminary, they suggest that freshly emitted OC nanoparticles are unlikely to act as CCN. Future work should examine larger flame-generated particles exposed to humid environments with higher S and how atmospheric transformation by oxidization and UV radiation affect the CCN-forming potential of combustion-generated OC nanoparticles.