Heterogeneous Condensation on Fine Particles of Water Vapor in a Moderated Growth Tube

A novel process of heterogeneous condensation of water vapor on fine particles was presented in this paper. In order to improve the performance of heterogeneous condensation of water vapor on fine particles, a moderated experimental scale growth tube was developed. The essential supersaturated environment was established by adding hot water into the cooled gas in the growth tube. The supersaturation profiles in the growth tube was described and the performance of particle enlargement in the original growth tube and in the moderated growth tube both were experimentally investigated. The results showed that the performance of particle enlargement could highly be improved by the moderated approach. A comparison between the performance of the original approach and the moderated approach was presented; also, the different growth mechanisms in different growth tube were elucidated.