Novel Analysis Techniques for Particulate ProductsG

许多常用材料都是颗粒状的，包括食品、药品、涂料、颜料和肥料。这种材料的一个常见的质量控制问题是它们倾向于由称为结块的现象形成不需要的、光泽的附聚物。多年来，这一直是通过使用化学品，称为防结块剂。然而，现在市场上的新材料正在按照更高的客户规格生产，这些规格将这些额外的成分视为污染。这个问题，加上在更极端条件下的储存和运输以及粉末更浓缩的趋势，意味着需要对防止结块进行更系统的研究。以前的研究着眼于块状规模上的结块，但这项研究将通过使用原子力显微镜（AFM）来检查颗粒规模上发生的事情。AFM可以在纳米尺度上绘制表面，也可以用于测量颗粒的机械硬度。也可以使用AFM测量结块颗粒之间的结合强度，并且该值可以用于估计在结块过程中形成的团块的强度。通过更深入地了解结块的机制，公司将能够生产更好的粉末产品，这些产品应该更耐结块，以及通常与防结块剂不相容的配方。

Many materials in common use come in particulate form, including food, pharmaceuticals, coatings, pigments and fertilizers. A frequent quality control problem with such materials is their tendency to form unwanted, lumpy agglomerates from a phenomenon known as CAKING. Over the years this has been combated by using chemicals, known as anti-caking agents. However, new materials on the market are now being produced to higher customer specifications that regard such additional ingredients as contamination. This issue, combined with the storage and transportation at more extreme conditions and the trend towards powders being more concentrated, means that a more systematic study into combatting caking is required. Previous studies looked at caking on a bulk scale, but this study will examine what happens on the particle scale by using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). AFM can map out surfaces on the nanoscale and can also be used to measure the mechanical hardness of particles. The strength of bonds between caked particles can also be measured using AFM and this value can be used to estimate the strength of lumps formed during the caking process. By gaining a greater understanding of the mechanisms of caking, companies will be able to to produce better powdered products that should be more resistant to caking, as well as formulations that would normally be incompatible with anti-caking agents.