Summary
Introduction:
This text provides an in-depth analysis of the vaporization characteristics and aerosol optical properties of electronic cigarettes. The authors designed and built an experimental platform to simulate the atomization process of electronic cigarettes and detect the laser transmissivity of aerosols. They used Mie theory to analyze the optical properties of single particles and polydispersed particle systems for aerosols in the visible wavelength ranges of 400-780 nm.
Key Points:
* a higher heating power supplied by the coil results in a larger average vaporization rate of e-liquid.
* The steady-state transmissivity of the laser beam for aerosols reduces as the heating power increases.
* Under the same heating power and puff topography, the total particulate mass (TPM) of aerosols generated by the e-liquid composed of higher vegetable glycerin (VG) content decreases.
* The scattering efficiency factor of aerosol particle of electronic cigarette increases with an increase in particle size.
* The volume scattering coefficients of a polydispersed particle system of aerosols decrease as the incident visible wavelengths increase.
* a higher VG content in e-liquid results in decreased TPM and particle number concentration of aerosols and increased the volume scattering coefficient in the visible wavelength range.
* The mass indexes (e.g., TPM, average vaporization rate, average mass concentration) and optical indexes (e.g., volume scattering coefficient, laser transmissivity) are suggested to be used for the comprehensive evaluation of relative amounts of aerosols.
Main Message:
The study highlights the importance of understanding the vaporization characteristics and aerosol optical properties of electronic cigarettes for assessing human exposure to aerosols. The authors suggest that the mass indexes and optical indexes can be used for the comprehensive evaluation of relative amounts of aerosols. The results have potential significances for the objective and quantitative assessments of aerosols generated from electronic cigarettes, which can help in making policies related to electronic cigarettes.
Citation
Wu J, Yang M, huang J, Gao Y, Li D, Gao N. Vaporization characteristics and aerosol optical properties of electronic cigarettes. Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987). 2021;275:116670. doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116670
