Solids Processing
Powder and Bulk Solids Handling:
Particle Size and Distribution Analysis
The size and size distribution of particles are important determining factors in
the design and operation of many process operations involving dry particles and
powders. Follow this guidance to understand the impact of these key characteristics
John Lawrence
Kansas State University
B
ulk solids are dry particles
with particle sizes that
range from a few millimeters
to a few nanometers. The
characteristics of bulk solids change
with particle size and particle-size
distribution. As such, particle size is
one of the key parameters in powder
characterization [1].
Information about the particle-
size distribution of a powder is also
an important step in many chemical
process operations, and improper
particle-size analyses can result in
poor product quality and high rejec-
tion rates, which leads to economic
losses. Particle size and its distri-
bution also have a significant effect
on the bulk density, mechanical
strength, and electrical and thermal
properties of the finished product [2].
Meanwhile, particle-size distribution
determines a variety of important
physical and chemical properties
such as mechanical bulk behavior,
surface reaction, taste, miscibility,
filtration properties, and conductivity
[3]. Based on 1993 British Standards
[4], any discrete particles whose
sizes are less than 1,000 m are
called powders.
Understand these key attributes
The importance of particle size and
particle-size distribution in various
bulk-solids-handling operations is
discussed further here, and then
discussion of several measurement
techniques of particle size follows.
Storage and flow. Particle size in-
fluences the flowability of a mate-
rial. Flowability is the ratio between
the cohesive forces acting on the
particles (which make them stick to-
gether) and the normal forces (which
are trying to break them apart) [5].
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Unconfined yield strength, c
FF=1
No flow
e
siv
ohe
r yc
Ve
esiv
Coh
Easy-flowin
Free-flowing
Consolidation stress, 1
FIGURE 1. Shown here are flow function values
for easy-flowing materials (higher flow-function,
or FF, values) and cohesive or difficult-flowing
materials (lower FF values)
For example, for a material that has
two particle sizes (D50 = 30 m and
40 m), there will be significant vari-
ance in flowability. Finer particles
have higher cohesive strength com-
pared to coarse particles.
The flowability of each sample can
be determined by measuring the flow-
function (FF) characteristics of the ma-
terial using a ring-shear tester. FF is
defined as the applied normal load di-
vided by the unconfined yield strength,
according to Equation (1):
Normal stress
FlowFunction (FF) =
Unconfined yield strength
Higher unconfined-yield-strength
values yield lower FF values (which
signifies a difficult material, in terms
of its flowability). Lower unconfined-
yield-strength values create higher
flow-function values (which signifies
an easy or free-flowing material), as
shown in Figure 1.
For example, for a normal stress
of 4 kilo Pascal (kPa), easy-flowing
materials have an unconfined yield
strength between 0.4 and 1 kPa,
which yields FF values between 10
and 4. By contrast, difficult materi-
als have an unconfined yield strength
NOVEMBER 2017
FF=2
Large particles
e
FF=4
g
FF=10
Fine particles
FIGURE 2. This diagram shows what happens
when particle-size differences lead to percolation
segregation inside of a hopper or vessel
between 4 and 2 kPa, which yields
FF values between 1 and 2.
For the same material, if the par-
ticle size decreases, its cohesive
strength increases, reducing its flow-
ability. During the design of a mass
flow hopper, the flow-function (flow-
ability) determines the ideal hopper
angle, and dictates whether its walls
are steeper or more shallow, as well
as the ideal outlet dimension (open-
ing size). Mass flow behavior refers
to first-in, first-out material flow in a
hopper. Easy-flowing materials with
a higher FF value require the hopper
(1) angle to be more shallow, whereas
materials with a lower FF value (that
is, difficult-flowing materials) require
a steeper wall angle and wider outlet
dimension in order to ensure mass
flow during operation.
By way of example, consider two
samples of fluegas-desulfurization
gypsum with 11% moisture, one
with a D50 median particle size of 25
m and the other 35 m. The 25-m
particle size demonstrates higher
unconfined yield strength compared
to the sample with 35-m particle
size [5]. This means that, to ensure
mass flow, the 25-m size particles
would need a steeper hopper angle,
55

FIGURE 3. Particles typically have an irregular
shape; to measure particle size and size distribu-
tion, simplifying assumptions must be made using
spherical shapes as a proxy measurement
compared to that required for the
35-m size particles.
Particle-size distribution also has a
major effect on the wall-friction angle,
which also determines the hopper
angle that is required to ensure mass
flow. Higher wall-friction angle corre-
lates to difficult-flowing material (those
with lower FF values). For example, in
Ref. 5, when the same samples de-
scribed above were used to study
the wall-friction angle on a mild steel
plate, it was demonstrated that 25-m
particle required a higher wall-friction
angle, compared to that of the 35-m
particle size sample.
As the particle size decreases, the
effect of van der Waals forces and
liquid bridges increases. This hap-
pens because the increase in the
number of particle contacts that oc-
curs with shrinking particle size leads
to an increase in the overall cohesive
strength of the material.
Pneumatic conveying. Particle
degradation during conveying is one
major problem that is associated
with dilute-phase pneumatic convey-
ing. Dilute-phase pneumatic convey-
ing systems refer to those systems
that provide pneumatic conveying at
relatively high velocity (greater than
4,000 ft/min) and relatively low pres-
sure (on the order of 515 psi). At
this high velocity, conveying material
impacts on the elbows, resulting in
particle degradation. For instance,
when conveying granulated sugar
in a dilute-phase system, the mate-
rial impact on piping elbows often
causes many of these particles to be
degraded into a finer powder form.
Operators in many industries want
to keep particle-size distribution
constant during pneumatic convey-
ing. However, in many instances,
bulk solids experience an increase
in particle-size distribution as a result
of impact-force degradation. One
way to monitor and analyze particle
56
100
90
80
70
Cumulative mass, %
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
20 40
D10=47 m
FIGURE 4. Particle-size distribution of bentonite powder with D10, D50, and D90 sizes
degradation is to track the particle
size before and after conveying.
The pick-up velocity is an essen-
tial aspect to consider during the
design of dilute-phase pneumatic
conveying systems. This velocity
is influenced by the mean particle
size of the material. The higher the
mean particle size of the material,
the higher the pick-up velocity, and
vice versa. Similarly, the particle size
also influences the feedrate of the
material in a particular size pipeline.
Mills [6] found that if the mean par-
ticle size of flyash was reduced from
110 to 75 m, the capacity would be
increased one-fold.
Segregation. Particle size and its
distribution also determine the seg-
regation tendency of the products.
Wider particle-size distribution typi-
cally results in higher segregation
based on the differences in particle
size and density. Different types of
segregation such as sifting, per-
colation segregation, fluidization and
dusting occur as a result of the
materials particle-size distribution.
Sifting segregation occurs during
silo filling and chute discharge, as
larger particles tend to move away
from the discharge point and finer
particles tend to settle near the
discharge point
Percolation segregation (Figure
2) occurs during transportation,
when larger particles tend to move
up and finer particles tend to settle
at the bottom of the vessel
Fluidization and dust segrega-
tion causes larger particles to
settle due to greater density, and
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Bentonite Powder: Particle-Size Aanalysis
60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Particle size, m
D90=127 m
D10=80 m
finer particles tend to move to the
top of the vessel
Production processes. During
chemical-manufacturing processes,
the particle-size distribution of bulk
solids are typically analyzed at differ-
ent stages in the production process.
The process faces the risk of signifi-
cant production losses if the particle-
size distribution is not monitored ac-
curately to ensure an optimal value
or range. During the manufacturing
of powders, and during grinding and
sieving operations, routine analy-
sis of particle-size distribution must
be carried out until the material has
reached the final acceptable quality
required by the final product.
Measuring size and distribution.
The measurement of particle size
is very complex, because most fine
particles have a shape that is neither
regular nor uniform (Figure 3). There-
fore, for these types of irregularly
shaped particles, size is often ex-
pressed in terms of a circle or a sphere
(as a simplifying assumption), which
is deemed to be equivalent to the ir-
regularly shaped particle; it is called
the equivalent spherical diameter.
This means the volume or surface of
irregular shape is converted to an
equivalent volume or surface of
sphere or circle and expressed as an
equivalent spherical diameter.
For example, an irregularly shaped
particle has a surface area of 0.002
mm2, its equivalent diameter is 0.05
mm. Particle-size distribution is de-
fined as the size and frequency of
particles in a population and di-
mensional measurement of irregu-
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 TABLE 1. PARTICLE-SIZE-MEASURING
TECHNIQUES AND SIZE RANGES
Instrument Techniques Size range, m
Mechanical sieving (dry) 38 to 100,000
Mechanical sieving (wet) 20 to 3,000
Air jet sieving 20 to 200
Ultrasonic sieving 5 to 100
Gravimetric 1 to 3,000
sedimentation
Coulter counter 0.5 to 300
Laser-light diffraction 0.02 to 1000
Centrifugal sedimentation 0.01 to 10
Microscopic image 0.01 to 1
analysis
larly shaped particles [7]. It is also
expressed as D10, D50 and D90
terms. D10 is the diameter of particle
at which 10% of a samples mass is
comprised of smaller particles in that
sample size; D50 is the diameter at
which 50% of a samples mass is
comprised of smaller particles in that
sample size and D90 is the diameter
at which 90% of a samples mass is
comprised of smaller particles in that
sample size.
There is no single standard
method to measure particle size;
each method has its own pros and
cons. Some of the standard meth-
ods that are used to measure par-
ticle size and size ranges are shown
in Table 1, and several of them are
discussed next.
Mechanical sieving
Mechanical sieving is one of the old-
est methods for measuring particle
size and carrying out size-distribu-
tion analysis of free-flowing, dry bulk
solids and powders. It is the most
widely used method since it pro-
vides reliable results. This approach
involves shaking or vibrating a sam-
ple through a series of woven-wire
sieves of known mesh size.
Sieve analysis is done by pass-
ing a known weight of sample ma-
terial through a set of sieves that is
arranged from coarse mesh at the
top to finer mesh at the bottom of
the stack. The amount of material
retained on each sieve is weighed
to determine the percentage weight
in the size fraction retained on each
sieve. Some of the common mesh
numbers and aperture sizes are pro-
vided in Table 2. The mesh number
system is a measure of the num-
ber of openings per linear inch in a
screen; the higher the number, the
lower the mesh opening size.
Based on the data collected after
sieving (as shown in Table 3), the
58
TABLE 2. COMMON SIEVE MESH
NUMBERS AND APERTURE SIZES
US Mesh Number Aperture size, m
10 2,000
30 500
60 250
120 125
230 63
mean particle size is calculated using
the formula in Equation (2):
Where:
dpm = Arithmetic mean of adjacent
sieve sizes
M = Summation of sample mass
collected in each sieve
dp = Mean particle size of the sample
For example, if the following data
were obtained from a sieve test
(Table 3), the mean particle size is
calculated using Equation (3):
Note that this method is only appli-
cable for particles larger than 0.038
mm (38 m). Since the length of the
particle does not affect its passage
through the sieve opening, the par-
ticle size goes with the maximum
width and maximum thickness of the
particle, which may not represent its
actual size. This is one drawback to
using sieving technology.
As noted, the particle-size distri-
bution is calculated by tabulating the
sieve size and the amount of sample
that is retained in the sieve. Then
the cumulative mass percentage is
calculated in terms of sieve size and
cumulative mass percentage. These
data are plotted in a graph, such as
the one shown in Figure 4. From the
graph, the particle sizes for D10, D50
and D90 are calculated by correlating
the particular cumulative mass per-
cent and particle size. D10, D50 are
the particle sizes correlated at 10%
and 50% cumulative mass percent-
ages and so on. Figure 4 shows the
particle-size distribution of bentonite
powder. The particle sizes of benton-
ite powder at the D10, D50 and D90
cumulative mass percentages of that
sample size are 47 m, 80 m and
127 m, respectively.
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TABLE 3. SAMPLE DATA WERE OBTAINED
FROM A SIEVE TEST
Sieve number, m Sample weight, g
230 (63 m) 40
170 (90 m) 71
120 (125 m) 54
70 (212 m) 35
Total 200
Sieve options
Dry mechanical sieving. Dry me-
chanical sieving systems can be op-
erated in two different ways with
a vertical or horizontal orientation.
(2) Similarly, two types of vertical siev-
ing systems are available, in terms of
mechanism of action vibrational
sieving and tapping sieving. With
horizontal sieving, the sieves move
in horizontal circles in one plane [3].
This type of sieve is widely used.
With vibrational sieving, an elec-
tromagnetic drive creates vibrational
motion that is transmitted to the
stack of sieve trays. The amplitude
of vibration varies from 0 to 3 mm.
With tapping sieving, the tapping
motion is achieved using the me-
chanical eccentricity (Figure 5).
Advantages of a mechanical sieve
(3) include the following:
Easy to operate
Low equipment cost
Reliable and repeatable
Disadvantages of a mechanical
sieve include:
May result in agglomeration of fine
powders (this can be avoided by
using wet sieving if the material is
not hygroscopic)
In many cases, the particle sizes
are too small for separation by
sieving
Below 38-m sieve size, it will be
very difficult to get material to pass
through
The amount of energy used to
sieve the sample is arbitrarily de-
termined
Over time, the sieving operation
may cause attrition of the particles
and increase the particle-size dis-
tribution, while insufficient time of
operation may fail to break down
loose agglomerates, which can
alter the actual results in both
cases. Therefore, observing an
optimum time of operation is es-
sential, which can be established
by experiment.
Chain, brushes and rubber cubes
are often used as sieving aids for ma-
terials that are sticky in nature due to
electrostatics and additives [3].
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FIGURE 5. In this tapping-type mechanical sieve,
mechanical eccentricity is used to create a tap-
ping motion that forces the particulate material to
pass downward through the stack of sieve trays
Air-jet sieve analysis. This type of
sieve analysis is used for powdered
materials that require sufficient dis-
persion and de-agglomeration [8].
This equipment consists of a rotating
slotted nozzle, which is placed un-
derneath the sieve and lid (Figure 6).
A negative pressure (vacuum) pneu-
matic system is designed to gener-
ate a strong jet of air that allows the
particles to disperse and be sucked
through the slotted nozzle.
Air-jet sieves operate differently
than mechanical sieves. In a me-
chanical sieves, large particles are
separated first, followed by next
smaller, and finally the very finest-
mesh particles. However, in air-jet
sieving, very fine particles are re-
moved first, followed by next bigger
and finally the largest particles.
The material that has a particle
size smaller than that of the mesh
size of the sieve is conveyed to the
solid-gas separation unit by either
a cyclone or air filter system. The
material that is larger than the sieve
mesh is retained, weighed, trans-
ferred to next sieve in line for air-jet
stream operation. This keeps fine
particles from agglomerating.
ASTM International (American
Soc. for Testing Materials, West
Conshohocken, Pa.; www.astm.
org) E11 Standard Specification
for Woven Wire Test Sieve Cloth and
Test Sieves, and ISO (International
Organization for Standardization;
Geneva, Switzerland, www.iso.org)
3310 Test sieves [9] provide techni-
cal requirements for the sieves and
appropriate testing methods for
sieve analysis.
Laser-diffraction techniques. An-
other important, widely used method
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FIGURE 6. The rotating nozzle in an air jet sieve
helps to minimize agglomeration for powdered
materials that are susceptible to it
(Source: Hosokawa)
to measure particle size is based on
laser-diffraction techniques. This
method is particularly well-suited for
measuring particle size less than 38
m. However, it can be used to mea-
sure particle size between 0.1 and
3,000 m. The equipment tends to
be costly, however (on the order of
$50,000 or more).
The principle of measurement is
the halo of the diffracted light pro-
duced when a laser beam passes
through a dispersion of particles sus-
pended in air. The light that is scat-
tered at various angles by different
size particles is measured by a multi-
element detector, and the magnitude
of the scattered light intensities are
recorded [7]. Large particles scat-
ter light at small angles relative to
the laser beam, while small particles
scatter light at larger angles.
The angular-scattering intensity
data are analyzed to calculate the
size of the particles that are respon-
sible for creating the scattering pat-
tern, using the Mie theory of light
scattering. The particle size is then
reported as a volume-equivalent
sphere diameter [9], using sophisti-
cated data-processing methods and
automation. This generates a con-
tinuous measurement for analyzing
process streams.
Sampling techniques
Proper sampling is a very important
operation when determining reliable
testing options for assessing parti-
cle-size distribution. Operators must
follow the golden rules of sampling
in order to avoid discrepancies in the
data. They are as follows:
1. A powder should be sampled
when in motion
2. The whole stream of powder
should be taken for many short in-
crements of time rather than part
of the stream being taken for the
whole of the time
NOVEMBER 2017
Capturing a representative sample is
crucial in particle-size analysis. Im-
proper sample collection may lead
to incorrect particle-size distribu-
tion, which may lead to lower-quality
product and production losses.
Particle-size measurement is es-
sential when handing powders, to
minimize both quality and produc-
tion losses. Particle-size measure-
ment by mechanical sieve gives ac-
curate results if the particle size is
more than 38 m. Laser-diffraction
equipment is widely used for mea-
suring particle sizes less than 38 m
and up to 0.1 m. n
Edited by Suzanne Shelley
References
1. Herdan, G., Small Particle Statistics, Butterworth, Sev-
enoaks, U.K., 1952.
2. Jillavenkatesa, A., Dapkunas, S. J., Lum, L. H., Particle
Size Characterization. National Institute of Standards and
Technology, Special Publication 960-1, U.S. Government
Printing Office Washington: DC., 2001.
3. Retsch, The Basic Principles of Sieve Analysis, 2004; Ac-
cessed at www.ninolab.se/fileadmin/Ninolab/pdf/retsch/
documents/af_sieving_basics_2004_en.pdf
4. British Standards, Glossary of terms relating to particle
technology; BS 2955 1993.
5. Schulze, D., Powders and Bulk Solids: Behavior, Charac-
terization, Storage and Flow, Springer-Verlag, Berlin and
Heidelberg, 2008.
6. Mills, D., Pneumatic Conveying Design Guide, Elsevier
Butterworth-Heinemann, Burlington, Mass., 2004.
7.Stanley-Wood, N., Particle characterisation in bulk pow-
ders, in Characterization of Bulk Solids edited by Mc-
Glinchey, D., Publisher: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, U.K.,
2005.
8. Retsch, Air Jet Sieving Machine AS 200 jet; accessed
at www.retsch.com/products/sieving/sieve-shakers/as-
200-jet/function-features/, 2017.
9. Malvern, Laser Diffraction; Accessed at www.malvern.
com/en/products/technology/laser-diffraction, 2017
Author
John Lawrence serves as the
research director of KSU Bulk Sol-
ids Innovation Center at Kansas
State University (Email: jlawren@
ksu.edu), and manages the re-
search, education, training and
testing activities of the center. He
is a bulk-solids-handling special-
ist, focusing in the areas of hopper
and bin design, material-flow
properties, material quality and processing, and pneu-
matic conveying and modeling. Lawrence formerly
served as the lead researcher and director at Intelli-
Farms, a grain-management company in Missouri. He
holds a Ph.D. in agricultural and biological engineering
from Purdue University, and did postdoctoral research at
the University of Arkansas and at Kansas State Univer-
sity (Manhattan). Lawrence is also an associate editor
for the ASABE journals, and serves as program chair for
the PRS 702 group Crop & Feed Processing & Storage
of ASABE. He has published many articles and pre-
sented his research at several scientific and profes-
sional conferences. He is a member of both AIChE and
American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engi-
neers (ASABE)..
59