Particle size from optical anisotropy effects in scattered light

An original light-scattering method often suitable for the case of anisotropic particles is explained. Two particular values of the scattering angle θ are needed: θ_m, the angular position of the minimum of the H_h component, and θ_o, the angular value for which H_h = V_v. This method has been successfully applied to the case of copolymer single crystals.     

Particle size distribution by design

Particle size distribution (PSD) is often specified in product design and can have a significant impact on plant operations. To meet the target PSD, a four-step procedure is proposed. For the desired PSD, a functional structure that identifies the required changes to the particles is constructed. Then, specific equipment as well as recycle streams are identified. Finally, alternative processes are evaluated using discretized population equations to determine process feasibility and to select the best option. The procedure is illustrated with three examples—the production of salt, alumina, and metronidazole tablets.     

Particle size distribution in oil-water dispersions using image processing

Image processing technique has been applied to measure drop size distribution of oil in water dispersions, using a microcomputer based data acquisition system. The results obtained indicated quite good agreement with those obtained manually using microphotography. This technique is particularly useful for cases with low contrast to the background.     

Particle size analysis by automatic siever

Automation of the wet sieving process in an instrument for particle size analysis is described. A powder is consecutively subjected to three sieves of any selected meshes from 38 μm up and the resulting fractions are collected individually, including both the undersize and oversize, in a submerged filter. The initial filter weight and the weights of all collected fractions are determined separately and stored in the microcomputer memory. Upon completion of an analysis, the sieved fraction weights are recalled, the total sample weight is calculated, and results are presented as weight per cent. Completion of each sieving step is established by filter weight constancy according to prearranged programming. Upon completion of an analysis, the system backwashes the filter and re-establishes conditions for the next analysis. Tests for accuracy with a standard material and repeated testing for short and long-term reproducibility are included. Applicability to a variety of powders is demonstrated.     

大型喷雾粒径分布的图像法测量

雾化技术在能源、化工等领域应用广泛,研究雾化机理和优化雾化喷嘴性能的前提是对其雾化液滴尺寸及粒度分布进行准确有效的测量和表征。目前常用的雾化液滴粒度测量技术,如基于光散射或衍射原理的激光粒度仪和相位多普勒分析仪等,能够较准确地测量粒径分布比较窄、最大粒度在2000 μm以下的喷雾,但对含特大颗粒且粒径分布很宽的喷雾,往往难以得到可靠结果甚至不可能进行测量。本文提出了用图像法测量这类大流量喷雾,构建了图像法测量系统,编写了图像处理程序,经标定实验后,采用该系统对某喷嘴喷雾液滴粒径分布及规律进行了测量研究。研究结果表明图像法可用于大型喷雾液滴粒度及分布的测量。     

Characterization of rubber particle size distribution of high-impact polystyrene using an image analysis method

Accurate characterization of high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) rubber particle size distribution has been achieved using an automatic image analysis system. The new method involves preparation of a microscope slide consisting of a dilute suspension of HIPS particles in a polymer matrix. Images of silhouetted rubber particles of true diameter are obtained using an image processor and particle size calculations can be made with a minimum of editing of the binary image. The new method provides measurement of true rubber particle diameters because the particles in the prepared slide are not swollen by any solvent.     

The analysis of residence time distribution measurements using laguerre functions

The residence time distribution of a flow system can be determined from the response of the system to an arbitrary input, by a technique invoving Laguerre functions. This technique is convenient for digital computation, and is comparable in accuracy with other methods. The effects of the nature of the flow system, the arbitrary input, and the presence of noise are considered.     

Particle size analysis by transmission fluctuation spectrometry with band-pass filters

The transmission fluctuation spectrometry (TFS) is a recently-developed method for real-time, online/inline particle analysis in two-phase flows, whereby the particle size distribution (PSD) and particle concentration can be measured simultaneously. This study presents a new technique of data processing to the fluctuating transmission signal. Instead of low-pass filters, band-pass filters are employed to improve the resolution of the measurement on particle size distribution. Based on the layer model, an analytical expression of the spectrum of the fluctuating transmission through a monolayer is derived and hence the spectrum of the fluctuating transmission through a 3-dimensional suspension is formulated. The comparison between simulation and theory at low concentrations shows a satisfactory match. Measurements on a mono-modal suspension are presented. It is found that the measurements using band-pass filters are of better resolution in the PSD than those with low-pass filters.     

Characterization of rubber particle size distribution of high-impact polystyrene using low-angle laser light scattering

A new application of low-angle laser light scattering has led to a new instrument capable of characterizing the rubber particle size distribution of high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) containing particles as small as 0.1 μ. Rubber particle size distributions of several HIPS resins have been characterized, and the particle size ranking of resins using light scattering parallels the ranking of resins using photomicroscopy. Several solvents have been employed to suspend the HIPS rubber particles for the scattering determination. Swelling of the rubber phase has been found to be relatively insensitive to variations in rubber phase crosslinking when methyl ethyl ketone is used to suspend the rubber particles. Particle swelling in methyl ethyl ketone does not detract from the usefulness of the light scattering method for HIPS rubber particle size characterization.     

Particle size analysis of plasticized PVC dispersion resins using the photometric centrifugal sedimentation method

There are many known methods for determining the particle size distribution of PVC dispersion resins. Most of these methods require that the resin be in an aqueous medium. PVC dispersion resins are used primarily in a plasticizer medium. The shearing action that takes place when the resin is mixed in plasticizer and the subsequent solvating action of the plasticizer affect the particle size distribution of the dispersion resin. It is advantageous to be able to determine the particle size distribution of the plasticized resin since it can affect various properties such as rheology, gloss and foam quality. It is the purpose of this paper to show that a fast zonal sedimentation technique can be used to analyze the less than 20 μ particle size fraction of a dispersion resin after it has been mixed in a plasticizer system. This can be accomplished in less than 90 minutes. This technique can be used to relate particular dispersion resin properties to the particle size distribution of the resin. The method can also be used as a quality control test.     

Particle size analysis of dioctyl phthalate aerosols using the stöber aerosol spectrometer

Particle size distributions of nearly monodisperse dioctyl phthalate aerosols (dia. between 0–5 and 1–4 μm) have been determined using the Stöber aerosol spectrometer. The particle size distributions can be approximated very well by bimodal distribution functions. From a statistical analysis it turned out that the accuracy of the approximation is limited in case of small particles (dia. ～ 0·5 μm). This is due to evaporation of the particles during the analysis.The mean of the particle size distribution determined with the Stöber aerosol spectrometer was in fair agreement with the particle diameter determined with the higher order Tyndall spectrometer.     

Particle shape and orientation in laser diffraction and static image analysis size distribution analysis of micrometer sized rectangular particles

Laser diffraction (LD) and static image analysis (SIA) of rectangular particles [United States Pharmacopeia, USP30-NF25, General Chapter <776>, Optical Miroscopy.] have been systematically studied. To rule out sample dispersion and particle orientation as the root cause of differences in size distribution profiles, we immobilize powder samples on a glass plate by means of a dry disperser. For a defined region of the glass plate, we measure the diffraction pattern as induced by the dispersed particles, and the 2D dimensions of the individual particles using LD and optical microscopy, respectively. We demonstrate a correlation between LD and SIA, with the scattering intensity of the individual particles as the dominant factor. In theory, the scattering intensity is related to the square of the projected area of both spherical and rectangular particles. In traditional LD the size distribution profile is dominated by the maximum projected area of the particles (A). The diffraction diameters of a rectangular particle with length L and breadth B as measured by the LD instrument approximately correspond to spheres of diameter Ø_L and Ø_B respectively. Differences in the scattering intensity between spherical and rectangular particles suggest that the contribution made to the overall LD volume probability distribution by each rectangular particle is proportional to A²/L and A²/B. Accordingly, for rectangular particles the scattering intensity weighted diffraction diameter (SIWDD) explains an overestimation of their shortest dimension and an underestimation of their longest dimension. This study analyzes various samples of particles whose length ranges from approximately 10 to 1000 μm. The correlation we demonstrate between LD and SIA can be used to improve validation of LD methods based on SIA data for a variety of pharmaceutical powders all with a different rectangular particle size and shape.     

A neural network-based soft sensor for particle size distribution using image analysis

Many industrial processes require on-line measurement of particle size and particle size distribution for process monitoring and control. The available techniques for reliable on-line measurement are, however, limited. In this paper, based on the captured surface images of randomly disarranged ore particles, the image uniformity was characterized. Particle size distribution was then investigated by applying a neural network-based modeling with the obtained image uniformity. The proposed soft sensor provides an improved prediction model and can be used for real time measurement of particle size distribution in the industrial operations.     

逆凝聚包覆法制备硫黄调节型粉末氯丁橡胶 Ⅰ.粒径分布

采用逆凝聚包覆法制备硫黄调节型粉末氯丁橡胶(PCR)并考察加料方式、搅拌转速和胶乳加人流速对产物粒径分布的影响。建立氯丁胶乳的逆凝聚粉末化模型并采用均匀试验设计的方法对该模型进行了验证。验证结果表明，该模型可以有效地模拟PCR的逆凝聚包覆氯丁胶乳的粉末化过程。PCR产物中粒径1～3mm的中等粒子的质量分数仅与搅拌转速有关，表明湍流爆裂是产生中等粒子的主要原因，而带状拉伸则是产生较粗颗粒和细小粒子的主要原因。扫描电子显微镜观察发现，采用逆凝聚包覆法制备的PCR粒子为单颗连续粒子，即产物粒子由单颗胶乳液滴凝聚而成。     

Determination of non-spherical particle size distribution from chord length measurements. Part 1: Theoretical analysis

In this paper, extensive theoretical studies are described on two important issues in translating a chord length distribution (CLD) measured by FBRM instrument into its particle size distribution (PSD) including PSD-CLD and CLD-PSD translation models for general non-spherical particles. Analytical solutions to calculate the PSD-CLD models for spherical and ellipsoidal particles are developed. For non-spherical particles, a numerical method is given to calculate the PSD-CLD model. The iterative non-negative least squares (NNLS) method is proposed in the CLD-PSD model, because of its many advantages converting measured CLD into its PSD, such as insensitivity to measurement noise and particle shape. The effectiveness of the proposed methods is validated by extensive simulations.     

散射法粒度分布测试中无约束反演的误差分析

激光散射法测量粒度分布技术近年来发展很快,其测量误差涉及散射理论及其反演计算,有关的理论研究还不充分。通过数值模拟,利用Chahine算法研究包含反演计算在内的系统误差。计算结果表明,光散射测量粒径不能通过简单的增加离散级数来提高测量精度,必须通过反演算法的改进来提高。     

Drop size distribution in highly concentrated liquid–liquid dispersions using a light back scattering method

New data are presented on drop size distribution at high dispersed phase fractions of organic‐in‐water mixtures, obtained with a light back scattering technique (3 Dimensional Optical Reflectance Measurement technique, 3D ORM). The 3D ORM technique, which provides fast, in‐situ and on‐line drop distribution measurements even at high concentrations of the dispersed phase, is validated using an endoscope attached to a high‐speed video recorder. The two techniques compared favourably when used in a dispersion of oil (density (ρ) = 828 kg m^?3, viscosity (µ) = 5.5 mPa s, interfacial tension (σ_i) = 44.7 mN m^?1) in water for a range of 5–10% dispersed phase fractions. Data obtained with the ORM instrument for dispersed phase fractions up to 60% and impeller speeds 350–550 rpm showed a decrease in the maximum and the Sauter mean drop diameters with increasing impeller speed. Phase fractions did not seem to significantly affect drop size. Both techniques showed that drop size distributions could be fitted by the log‐normal distribution. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Particle charge-size distribution measurement using a differential mobility analyzer and an electrical low pressure impactor

We introduce a particle charge-size distribution measurement method using a differential mobility analyzer and an electrical low pressure impactor in tandem configuration. The main advantage of this type of measurement is that it is suitable for a wide range of particle sizes, from approximately 30 nm up to a micrometer, and for high charge levels, which have been problematic for previously used methods. The developed charge measurement method requires information on the particle effective density, and the accuracy of the measurement is dependent on how well the particle effective density is known or estimated. We introduce the measurement and calculation procedures and test these in laboratory conditions. The developed method has been tested using narrow and wide particle size distributions of a known density and well-defined particle charging states. The particles have been produced by the Singly Charged Aerosol Reference (SCAR) and an atomizer and charged with the previously well-characterized unipolar diffusion chargers used in the Nanoparticle Surface Area Monitor (NSAM) and in the Electrical Low Pressure Impactor (ELPI+). The acquired charge-size distributions are in good agreement with the reference values in terms of the median charge levels and widths of the charge distributions.

Copyright © 2017 American Association for Aerosol Research