Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Mar 7.
Published in final edited form as: Annu Rev Chem Biomol Eng. 2012 Feb 23;3:103–127. doi: 10.1146/annurev-chembioeng-062011-080930

Figure 2.

Figure 2

The process cycle of aerosol manufacturing starts with the preparation of raw materials by mining and refining ores or by using recycled gases and liquid precursors. Reactors transform these raw materials into nanomaterials through aerosol processes driven by high temperatures, which are followed by cooling to stop nanoparticle growth. Depending on the desired product properties, particles are collected from the gas phase immediately or are conditioned by aerosol coating and/or functionalization steps. Particles are stored and packaged depending on customer needs, whereas the gases are cleaned and where possible recycled from the same process (e.g., chlorine for extraction of titanium from its ore) or sold as products.