ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with some general observations and with the description of laboratory-type monitors that are capable of analyzing small, intermediate, and large samples. Accurate determination of particle size and distribution is critical in many industrial processes, such as grinding, agglomeration, crystallization, and emulsification. Particle sizing techniques differ with respect to size range, resolution, concentration, and measurement principle. Optical microscopy is a standard method for particle size analysis which is often used to calibrate other particle-sizing instruments. A large number of particles must be counted to convert a number distribution to a weight distribution, especially when there is a large range of sizes. Automating the analysis of the image of a particle field reduces much of the tedium of counting large numbers of particles. A particle distribution is suspended in an electrolyte and the particles are drawn through a small orifice, which is immersed between two electrodes.
