Operation and performances of the CAIMAN facility for nanoparticle aerosol generation

This document reports the design and characterization of a versatile aerosol generation facility (CAIMAN).
This setup is capable of producing stable and reproducible polydisperse nanoaerosols or classified airborne nanoparticles (1) made of different materials, (2) with mobility diameters from 15 to 500 nm and (3) controlled concentrations, (4) with morphology levels ranging from fractal-like to spherical and (5) different charge levels.
CAIMAN is constituted by a nanoaerosol generator, a bipolar ion generator, a high-temperature furnace and a 2L-ageing volume.
CAIMAN can be used for several purposes: studying the performances of newly developed instruments for measuring exposure, producing samples of collected nanoparticles for the development of analytical protocols (ICP-MS, electron microscopy etc.) or producing nanoaerosols to be used as a source for studying coagulation and aggregation kinetics, sintering processes or for toxicology studies.