Nanoparticle emissions from traditional pottery manufacturing

Abstract

Traditional pottery manufacturing involves firing of the ceramics in kilns, a process that leads to high concentrations of airborne particles that are harmful to human health. In order to assess the associated exposure levels and the involved risks, here, for the first time, we investigate the size, the concentration and the elemental composition of the particles emitted during the different stages of the ceramic firing process. Number size distributions of the emitted particles, having diameters in the range from 10 nm to 20 μm, were measured in a traditional small-sized pottery studio using a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) and an Optical Particle Counter (OPC). The measurements showed dominance of the nanoparticle mode (i.e., particles smaller than 100 nm) when the kiln reached temperatures above 600 °C. The mean size of the particles ranged from 30 to 70 nm and their peak number concentration was 6.5 × 10(5) cm(-3) during the first stage of the firing process where the ceramics were unpainted and unglazed. During the second stage of the firing process, where the ceramics were painted and glazed, the mean particle size ranged from 15 to 40 nm and their number concentration peaked at 1.2 × 10(6) cm(-3). Elemental analysis of individual particles collected during the two firing stages and studied by Energy-Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy showed that the emitted nanoparticles contain significant amounts of lead. These findings provide new information for understanding the health impacts of traditional pottery manufacturing, and underline the need for adopting adequate measures to control nanoparticle emissions at the source.

Ultrafine and nanoparticle formation and emission mechanisms during laser processing of ceramic materials

“…Nanoparticle emissions from industrial processes are receiving increasing attention in the literature in recent years (Demou, Peter, & Hellweg, 2008;Pfefferkorn et al, 2010;Curwin & Bertke, 2011;Gandra, Miranda, Vilaça, Velhinho, & Teixeira, 2011;Koivisto et al, 2012;Van Broekhuizen, 2012;Gómez, Irusta, Balas, & Santamaria, 2013;Fonseca et al, 2014;Gomez et al, 2014;Voliotis et al, 2014;Koivisto et al, 2014). These works focus on different types of processes, and reveal that nanoparticle emissions and subsequent exposures may reach up to particle number concentrations of 1 Â 10 6 parts cm À 3 such as the cases of firing processes where the painting and glazing of ceramics occur (Voliotis et al, 2014), as well as during and welding/soldering (Gómez et al, 2013).…”

“…These works focus on different types of processes, and reveal that nanoparticle emissions and subsequent exposures may reach up to particle number concentrations of 1 Â 10 6 parts cm À 3 such as the cases of firing processes where the painting and glazing of ceramics occur (Voliotis et al, 2014), as well as during and welding/soldering (Gómez et al, 2013). However, because of the vast number of industrial processes with potential for nanoparticle emissions, the assessment of nanoparticle emissions under real-world scenarios should be encouraged.…”

Intercomparison of a portable and two stationary mobility particle sizers for nanoscale aerosol measurements

“…To date, few studies have measured the total PN concentrations and particle number size distributions by using the above mentioned methods/instruments in a variety of settings and environments such as ambient air (Wehner et al 2002;Costabile et al 2009;Watson et al 2011;Reche et al 2011;Asmi et al 2011;Cusack et al 2013;Beddows et al 2014;Brines et al 2015;G omezMoreno et al 2015), indoor air (Morawska et al 2009a;Buonanno et al 2010;Zhang et al 2010;Buonanno et al 2013;Voliotis et al 2014) and industrial and nanotechnology-related workplaces (Demou et al 2008;Brouwer 2010;Kuhlbusch et al 2011;Koivisto et al 2012;Koivisto et al 2014;Fonseca et al 2015a, b).…”

Engineered Nanomaterials: Knowledge Gaps in Fate, Exposure, Toxicity, and Future Directions

“…Information on the chemical composition or the structure of the airborne nanomaterials can also be obtained by offline techniques such as electron microscopy [94]. Electron microscopes can also be used for determining the elemental composition of nanoparticles, using techniques such as electron dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrometry [95,96]. These techniques, however, are time-consuming, expensive, of high complexity, and therefore inappropriate for systematic monitoring.…”