CARACTERIZATION OF DROPLET DIAMETER OF HOUSEHOLD INSECTICIDE AEROSOLS

ABSTRACT

The objective of this work was to characterize the aspects related to the diameter of household aerosol droplets. The droplet spectra was determined in a particle size analyzer (Mastersizer S^®, version 2.19). The experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design, arranged on a 6 x 2 factorial scheme, with six replications. Two samples were evaluated, of 6 different aerosols available on the market and codified as: BAT, REB, RCJ, RAT, SMI and M. The following parameters were analyzed: 1) the percentage of the sprayed volume containing drops with diameter equal to 15 µm or less; 2) the relative amplitude of the diameter of the droplets in the applied spurt; and the 3) the diameter of droplets for which 10% (Dv_0.1), 50% (Dv_0.5) and 90% (Dv_0.9) of the sprayed volumes presented droplets with lesser diameters. The aerosols evaluated presented characteristics of droplets within the limits of effective tolerance according to the official resolution of the national regulating agency.

KEY WORDS
Particle analysis; DMV; droplet uniformity; environmental pollutants; aerosol