• Environmental
• Air quality
• Agriculture
• Public Health
• Medial facilities
• Homeland security
• Military
• Power plants

• Download SASS 4000 Plus Data Sheet
  
• Candidate Disinfectants for Research International Products
  
• SASS Air Sampler Comparison Chart
  
• Bluetooth Biolink™ Wireless Units provide plug-and-play wireless communication between any Research International product and a remote PC or laptop.

The concentrator processes large volumes of ambient air, continuously transferring particulates from this primary air stream to a much smaller secondary airflow. As a result, the secondary flow can reach aerosol concentrations that are 4X to 15X higher than present in the incoming air. The concentrator therefore amplifies the ambient aerosol concentration, while retaining most of the particles that were present in the incoming airflow in the secondary flow.
The concentrator device developed by Research International (Figure 1) has several favorable attributes:

• There are no moving parts, other than the primary fan.
• Maintenance is minimal.
• The operating temperature range is very wide.
• The structure is comparatively clog resistant.
• Sampled air volume is maximized, improving collection statistics.

Particles are routed into the secondary flow by forcing primary circuit air to circulate through specially shaped channels where centrifugal force and particle momentum are used to isolate and concentrate the particles. The interior structure has been designed so that the smallest flow cross-section is a channel 0.6 mm wide x 6.35 cm long, providing good resistance to clogging by larger particles. A coarse screened cover with 5.4 mm square openings further restricts the entrance of large debris.

This secondary air flow is then routed, via a hose connection, into the SASS 2300 Wetted-Wall Air Sampler where these materials are extracted from sampled air and trapped in a small volume of liquid that can be removed at any time for analysis. Distilled water is typically the liquid of choice—no additives or surfactants are required for high efficiency. Trace aerosol concentrations can be amplified by extending the sampling time. A patented (US Patent No. 6,532,835) fluid monitoring system will maintain a fixed liquid volume in the device that is independent of collection time, air temperature or relative humidity.

Figure 1: Airflow patterns for the SASS 4000 Concentrator showing typical connection to SASS 2300 air sampler.

The air sampler is microcontroller-based and can function as a stand-alone unit or connected to other sampling, detection or communication systems via RS-232 or wireless link. Reprogramming of sampler operation may be performed at any time over the RS-232 link without having to disassemble the unit.

Electric power consumption is minimized by operating the unit’s blower at peak electric-to-pneumatic efficiency conditions and by using natural airflow through the cyclone structure to drive water re-circulation.