Particle size determination, electrical

Holmes, J. C., J. E. Hardcastle and R. I. Mitchell, The determination of particle size and electric charge distribution in cigarette smoke, Tobacco Science, 3 148-153 (1959). 

ISO 13319 Determination of particle size distributions - Electrical sensing zone method, 450... 

Multiple techniques can be used to measure the particle size distribution, for example electrozone sensing, sedimentation, laser diffraction, and microscopy. With the exception of microscopy, they all require calibration and the results depend on the technique. For example, in a round-robin study reported in Reference 4, the commonly used electrical sensing zone technique (Coulter Counter) was compared to microscopy and sedimentation. The average particle size determined by the electrical sensing zone method was by about 25%... 

RW O Brien. Determination of particle Size and Electric Charge. US Patent 5 059 909, 1991. 

BS ISO 13319, Determination of Particle Size Distributions - Electrical Sensing Zone Method, 2000. 

Any difference in physical properties of the individual solids can be used as the basis for separation. Differences in density size, shape, color, and electrical and magnetic properties are used in successful commercial separation processes. An important factor in determining the techniques that can be prac tically applied is the particle-size range of the mixture. A convenient guide to the application of different solid-solid separation techniques in relation to the particle-size range is presented in Fig. 19-1, which is a modification of an original illustration by Roberts et al. 

While several factors determine ESP collection efficiency, ESP size is most important. Size determines treatment time, the longer a particle spends in the ESP, the greater its chance of being collected. Maximizing electric field strength will maximize ESP collection efficiency. Collection efficiency is also affected to some extent by dust resistivity, gas temperature, chemical composition (of the dust and the gas), and particle size distribution. 

The electrical low-pressure impactor was used to measure the number concentrations of diesel exhaust particles. The particle size distribution ranges from 30 nm upward were then determined using the aerodynamic diameter as the characteristic dimension. ... 

The most useful parameters commonly measured to assess the effect of stress conditions on emulsions include phase separation, rheological property determination, electrical property measurements, and particle size analysis. 

Different methods are available for the determination of the particle-size distribution of powdered solids [30]. These are optical microscopy (usually combined with image analysis), sieve analysis, laser light scattering of suspended particles, and electrical zone sensing. 

There are several different approaches that are commonly used to determine particle size distributions in air. One of them, impaction, has been discussed earlier. Multistage impactors with different cut points are used extensively to obtain both mass and chemical composition data as a function of size for particles with diameters > 0.2 /xm. Others, including methods based on optical properties, electrical or aerodynamic mobility, and diffusion speeds, are described briefly in the following section. The condensation particle counter (CPC) is used as a detector in combination with some of these size-sorting methods. 

---