Characterization of the size distribution of subbituminous coal by laser diffraction

This article deals with effects of the selected instrument parameters on the results of the particle size distribution measured by laser diffraction. The goal of this work is to define the optimal parameters of instrument for determination of particle size distribution of subbituminous coal. The samples were analyzed by dry and wet methods. The studied parameters were the feed rate and the pressure of air. The coal sample was a fragile material and was determined by the dry method. The optimum value of the feed rate was 80% and the air pressure was 1.2 × 10⁵ Pa by application of Mie theory. The results were statistically analyzed by analysis of variance. The feed rate and air pressure were shown to influence the determination of particle size distribution by laser diffraction.