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We present a laboratory evaluation of the volatility and organic compositions of ultrafine particles (UFPs) generated from unused jet engine lubrication oil. The particle generation method was based on the evaporation of jet engine lubrication oil droplets in a heated quartz tube followed by the nucleation of oil vapors by cooling. Our experiments were not aimed at strictly simulating the particle formation processes in jet engines but exploring the possibility of generating UFPs having chemical properties similar to those of UFPs observed in the real atmosphere. The particle volatility was estimated by measuring the particle number concentrations upstream and downstream of a heated stainless-steel evaporation tube. The organic compositions of the UFPs were measured by thermal desorption – gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis of size-segregated aerosol samples collected on quartz fiber filters. The volatility and compositions of the UFPs varied significantly with the particle generation (quartz tube) temperature (TPG). We show that the evaporation of the jet engine lubrication oil droplets at TPG = 250 °C and subsequent nucleation by rapid cooling could form UFPs having volatility similar to that of the particles observed at Narita International Airport and composed of nearly intact forms of jet engine lubrication oil. Our results suggest that it is possible to generate UFPs that can consistently explain the chemical properties of the UFPs observed in the real atmosphere by the evaporation and nucleation of jet engine lubrication oil droplets.
Toyota et al. (Fri,) studied this question.