CAMSIZER®
Application Reports (9)
Reliable quality control of sugar with digital image processing
Quality control is an essential part of the sugar production process
as manufacturers must ensure that the product complies with the
customers’ specifications. Not only the look, texture and taste of the
final product depends on the size distribution, but also the solubility,
tendency to aggregate, agglomerate and other properties which
are important for industrial processes using sugar as a raw material.
Hence, care must be taken that particles are neither too small nor
too big. Traditionally, the particle size determination is carried out
by sieve analysis which is a rather slow, labour-intensive method
and commonly subject to measurement errors such as: too much
sample material, worn out (uncalibrated) sieves, wrong sieve parameters
(amplitude and sieving time) or simple calculation errors.
An excellent alternative for the quality control of sugar is Retsch
Technology’s CAMSIZER®. CAMSIZER® measurements are fast,
automated, accurate and 100% comparable with sieve analysis.
With these advantages the instrument can reliably replace sieving.
Particle Size Distributions: Dynamic Image Analysis Beats Laser Diffraction
Laser diffraction is the most frequently used measurement technique for the analysis of particle size distributions in the range 1 micron to 1 mm in the context of quality control. Modern laser diffraction systems offer some convincing advantages such as short measurement times, easy operation and reproducible analysis results. However, they also have various disadvantages: Even if the instruments have been calibrated and validated, an absolute particle size measurement is not possible. Various round robin tests have shown that the analysis results depend strongly on the type of instrument and even on the particular model and software version.
Quality Control of Catalystst with Digital Image Processing
Catalysts are widely used as an important auxiliary material in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry. They are able to accelerate chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy, i.e. they change reaction kinetics. Thus, using catalysts in industrial processes has the advantage of higher productivity combined with less energy consumption. In many processes a mixture of liquid or gaseous raw materials (e.g. petroleum) is transformed in a reactor with solid catalyst material. Depending on the desired reaction, catalysts of different materials such as ceramics, alumina, metal or alloys are used. To save costs, inexpensive substrates can be coated with the actual catalyst (e.g. platinum or rhodium). The active surface as well as the form of the catalysts is crucial for their efficiency. It is important that sufficient free volume is available for the reactants. Moreover, the counter pressure built up by the catalyst must not be too high. Spherical, comb-shaped or rod-shaped geometries have proven to be especially suitable. The rod-shaped catalysts have different shapes; their profiles can have an ellipsoid, trilobe or quadrulobe shape.
Digitale Bildverarbeitung optimiert die Partikelgrößenanalyse von Sedimenten
Die Korngrößenanalyse gehört von jeher zu den wichtigsten Untersuchungsmethoden in der Sedimentologie, wobei Sieb- und Schlämmanalyse noch immer die gängigsten Verfahren darstellen. Im Folgenden soll anhand einiger Beispiele verdeutlicht werden, wie die dynamische digitale Bildverarbeitung des CAMSIZER dank hoher Auflösung und hohem Probendurchsatz detaillierte Studien geologischer Prozesse ermöglicht.
Qualitätskontrolle in der Lebensmittelindustrie
Die Lebensmittelindustrie produziert und verarbeitet eine große Bandbreite unterschiedlichster Nahrungsmittel. Für alle gilt jedoch die Notwendigkeit, die Produktqualität sorgfältig zu überwachen. Die Kontrolle der Partikelgröße sowie des äußeren Erscheinungsbildes eines Produkts wird praktisch in jedem lebensmittelverarbeitenden Betrieb durchgeführt, da Partikelgröße und –form nicht nur den Geschmack und das Aussehen des Endprodukts beeinflussen, sondern auch wichtige Indikatoren für den eigentlichen Produktionsprozess sind.
Der CAMSIZER wird u. a. für die Messung folgender Lebensmittel eingesetzt: Kaffee, Tee, Zucker, Salz, Natriumglutamat, Milchpulver, Reis, Aromapulver, gekörnte Kräutermischungen und Fertigsuppen, Getränkepulver, Trockengemüse, Nüsse, Mandeln, granulierte Schokolade.
Customer Magazine "the sample" (17)
the sample - Particle Measurement
In this special issue of “the sample” we present the entire product range of particle analyzers on offer from Retsch Technology.
Literature References (5)
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Attività esplosiva al Cratere di SE
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Landward fining from multiple sources in a sand sheet deposited by the 1929 tsunami
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Measurement of the size, shape and orientation of convex bodies
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Quality of Sn-Ag-powders produced by drop-on-demand technique
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Sedimentary Deposits of 2004 Tsunami
Press releases (1)
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Reliable Particle Shape Analysis with the CAMSIZER
In many industries, particle shape is of great importance for the production process. For quality assurance purposes it is sometimes vital to detect differences in the particle shape of different charges as it may have a huge influence on certain product characteristics, e.g. flow behaviour or abrasion, and can therefore help to draw conclusions on flaws in the production process. To determine the particle size and shape reliably and reproducibly, digital image analysis – such as is used in Retsch Technology’s CAMSIZER - is the method of choice.
Test Reports (15)
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Activated Coal
Activated Carbon is used as filter material in various industrial areas where it binds e.g. gas, bacteria or odours. In the automobile industry for example, activated carbon filters are used to prevent the evaporation of gasoline fumes into the environment by hydrocarbon adsorption. Particle shape and size distribution of the material have a crucial impact on the filter characteristics. The CAMSIZER provides reliable information on both of them and is therefore an ideal instrument for quality and production control.
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Catalysts
Catalysts are widely used in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry, especially in petrochemistry1. They are able to accelerate chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy, i.e. they change reaction kinetics. Thus, using catalysts in industrial processes has the advantage of higher productivity at shorter time combined with less energy consumption.
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Coffee & Tea
The food industry has very strict regulations for the quality control of raw materials as well as final products. This relates not only to their chemical composition and biological aspects but also to the particle size. Size analysis and control of the product appearance is carried out in almost every production facility, as the particle size and shape not only influence the final products, but are also important indicators for the production process itself.
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Detergents
The particle size of washing powder/detergents and its ingredients determines not only the “look and feel” of the final end customer product, but also the dissolution of the particles in water and the quality of the washing process.
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EPS
Expanded Polystyrene is a lightweight, rigid, plastic foam insulation or packing material. For the final product properties (e.g. density) it is important to have a profound knowledge of the particle size distribution. The CAMSIZER can deliver reliable information on particle size and shape.
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Fertilizer
Fertilizers are organic or inorganic nutrients for plants which may be either liquid or granular. They are used to enrich the soil in order to improve the quality and/or quantity of plant growth. The CAMSIZER is needed for quality assurance as the fertilizer needs to have a very defined size distribution to ensure a certain dilution time and controlled release of nutrients.
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Glass Beads
Glass beads are used in a wide variety of applications, e.g. as reflective paints for road signs and road markings. They are made from new or recycled crushed glass (cullet). The size distribution of these beads ranges from 50 μm to approx. 2 – 3 mm. Due to the imprecise manufacturing process, which also produces non-round beads, it is important to control the process and the quality of the finished product.
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Metal Powders
Metal powders and ores are used in many different industries and research fields, ranging from mining and steel production to aerospace or defense. The powders are used for example as coatings, catalysts, battery electrodes or as raw materials for powder metallurgy (PM). PM produces highly engineered, sophisticated parts like special gears and motor parts for the automotive industry, manifolds for oil rigs, medical scissors etc.
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Nuts, Granulated Chocolate, Coconut Flakes
The food industry has very strict regulations for the quality control of raw materials as well as final products. This relates not only to their chemical composition and biological aspects but also to the particle size. Size analysis and control of the product appearance is carried out in almost every production facility, as the particle size and shape not only influence the final products, but are also important indicators for the production process itself.
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Petroleum Coke
In the Metal Industry monitoring of the raw material for electrodes is exceptionally important to increase the quality of the finished product. With the aid of the CAMSIZER many customers in this sector have been able to improve their production processes.
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Pharmaceutical Granules
Granules, which contain a mixture of medical agents and various carrier substances like polymers, sugar, cellulose or polysaccharides, are widely used in the pharmaceutical industry. The granules are used in different pharmaceutical forms: directly filled in a dispenser (Globuli) or processed and filled e.g. into gelatine coated capsules or pressed into soluble tablets. During the production process of pharmaceutical granules both size and shape analysis of the globules are important for a reliable release rate of the drug.
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Rice
Since rice is a basic foodstuff, its product quality has to be controlled carefully.
Particle size analysis and control of the product appearance is carried out in almost every plant, as the size and shape not only influence the taste or appearance of the final products, but are also important indicators for the production process itself.
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Salt
Salt (NaCl, KCl) is used mainly in the chemical industry (85%), but also in the production of food, washing powder, for de-icing and as organic and inorganic fertilizer which can be either liquid or granular. It can be recovered in different ways, either by mining from underground or open deposits(dry mining, rock salt) or by extracting it from sea water (wet mining).
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Sand
Sand is a universally applicable material and an essential raw material in a vast range of industrial areas: as filter material to filter small particles from the liquid, as an aggregate for concrete, mortar and plaster, for the manufacture of sand molds for industrial castings, or as blasting abrasive. These are just a few applications. The CAMSIZER is able to measure particle size and shape of the material to guarantee the compliance with quality specifications and –standards.
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Sugar
Sugar is an essential ingredient in a lot of foodstuff. The annual global sugar production amounts to approx. 145 Mio tons. The size range of crystal sugar spreads between icing sugar (0.024 mm) and rock candy (>10 mm). Most common table sugars are in the size range of 0.5 mm (“granulated sugar”). Different product sizes are either produced by sieving the refined sugar, or by milling the crystals down to the finest powder sizes.
Subject to technical modifications and errors
Sample division – as important as the analysis itself
Sample preparation errors can no longer be corrected even by the most up-to-date analytical instruments. This is why Retsch Technology offers a range of sample dividers for obtaining representative part-samples.
Sample preparation errors can no longer be corrected even by the most up-to-date analytical instruments. This is why Retsch Technology offers a range of sample dividers for obtaining representative part-samples.
