Particle Size Enlargement

Book excerpt: Handbook of Powder Technology, Volume 1: Particle Size Enlargement is the first of a series which will together form a Handbook of Powder Technology, primarily intended for engineers and scientists working in industry. The scope of the Handbook can be defined as being concerned with that part of chemical engineering which deals with processes involving the handling and treatment of material in solid particulate form. This book deals with methods used to create larger entities from fine particles so that the bulk properties of particulates can be improved. These so-called ""size enlargement"" methods evidently concern a broad spectrum of technical disciplines and industries ranging from the relatively small scale requirements of pharmaceutical manufacturers through the tonnage requirements of the fertilizer and minerals processing industries. A primary objective in preparing this book was to present a generalized account of the many size enlargement techniques scattered throughout these diverse industries, with emphasis on similarities and unifying characteristics whenever possible. The book devotes one chapter to each of the principal methods used to bring particles together into agglomerates: agitation methods— tumbling agglomeration, agitation methods—mixer agglomeration, pressure methods, thermal methods, spray and dispersion methods, and agglomeration from liquids.