Particle Characteristics and Product Development

Particulate products have a major share in the market of chemical products. These products show up in a wide variety. Examples given in this book include the constructive materials fine ceramics and concrete, the delicacies chocolate and ice cream, pharmaceutical powders and medical inhalers, sun screen and liquid and powder paints. Size distribution and shape of the particles have different functionalities in these products. Some functions are general, others specific. General functions are powder flow and – at the typical particulate concentrations of these products – that the particles cause adequate rheological behavior during processing and/or for product performance. Particle packing as well as its relation to powder flow and rheological behavior is treated in this book. Product specific functionalities are often also relevant for comparable product groups. Their general relations to particle size are also discussed, e.g. for color and sensorial aspects of particles. These functionalities include for example:- sufficient strength to constructions and pills, in relation to optimum particle contacts and porosity
- desired sensorial properties (mouthfeel) to delicacies
- effective dissolution, flowing and compression properties for pharmaceutical powders
- desired protection and esthetical appeal for objects through color and hiding power by paints
- desired protection of our body against sun light by sun screen
- effective particle transport to desired locations for medical inhalers and powder paints. Particle size distribution, shape and porosity of particulate products have to be designed in order to reach optimum product performance. This requires adequate management of design and development as well as sufficient knowledge of underlying principles of physics and chemistry. Moreover, flammability, explosivity and health hazards of powders during handling is taken into account, since great risks may be involved. In all aspects, the most relevant parameters of the size distribution (and particle shape) have to be selected.
In this book, experts in the different product fields have contributed to the product chapters to provide optimum information on which particulate aspects are most relevant for behavior and performance of specified industrial products and how optimum results can be obtained. It differs from other books in the way that the critical aspects of different products are reported so that similarities and differences can be identified. We trust that this approach will lead to improved optimization in design, development and quality of many particulate products.

Dr Henk G. Merkus has been working at Delft University of Technology for about 35 years, the last 20 years of it in Particle Characterization in the Particle Technology Group of prof. Brian Scarlett. Also, for about 15 years he has been a member of ISO/TC24 on Sieving and Other Methods for Particle Size Measurement and he still is. Retired now the author is active in giving courses on this subject, in the Netherlands as well as in Sweden and the United Kingdom. Dr Merkus is the author of the Springer book “Particle Size Measurements” (2009). Dr Ir Gabriel M.H. Meesters is affiliated to DSM Food Specialities and Delft University of Technology Delft. He has 10 patents filed and 5 issued, and will be one of the organizers of the technical program of PARTEC 2013 in Nuremberg, Germany.