Particle Technology

The inspiration for translating this classic text came during a sabbatical year spent at the University of Karlsruhe in 1974. Under the leadership of the late Professor Hans Rumpf, the Institut fUr Mechanische Verfahrenstechnik, Karlsruhe, from the early 1960s onwards, by extensive research and advanced teaching had promoted the discipline of mechanical process technology, a branch of process engineering which had been rather neglected, especially in many chemical engineering depart­ ments of universities in the English-speaking world. There is a need for texts of this kind, particularly for the more specialized teaching that has to be done during the later stages of engineering courses. This work, which is really a monograph, serves as a concise and compact introduction, albeit at an advanced level, to all those functions of process engineering that have to do with the handling and treatment of particulate matter and bulk solids. Much of this information has previously been scattered around journals and other books and not brought together in one work. Furthermore, Rumpf has emphasized the physical and theoretical foundations of the subject and avoided a treatment that is simply empirical.

1 Introduction.- 1.1 The definition of mechanical process technology.- 1.2 The purpose of mechanical process technology.- 1.3 Main topics and processes.- 2 The characteristics of systems and their changes of state.- 2.1 Disperse systems.- 2.2 Representing the characteristics of particle assemblies.- 2.2.1 Measures of dispersity: fineness parameters.- 2.2.2 Equivalent diameter.- 2.2.3 Particle shape.- 2.2.4 General representation of particle assemblies.- 2.2.5 The Gaussian or normal distribution.- 2.2.6 Particle distributions and distribution functions approximating to them.- 2.2.7 Similar distributions.- 2.3 The separation of disperse systems.- 2.3.1 Material balances.- 2.3.2 Grade efficiency and grade efficiency curve, cut size and sharpness of cut.- 2.4 Mixing of disperse syetems.- 2.4.1 The state of a mixture and the degree of mixing.- 2.4.2 The variance of the concentration distribution during the mixing process.- 2.4.3 Evaluation of mixing experiments.- 2.5 Packing of granular solids.- 2.5.1 The states of packing systems.- 2.5.2 The particle and void system.- 2.5.3 Packing structure.- 2.5.4 Liquid filling of voids.- 2.5.5 Capillary pressure and porosimetry.- 2.5.6 Forces transmitted in the packing.- 3 Fundamental physical processes and particle metrology.- 3.1 The motion of particles in a flowing medium.- 3.1.1 The forces on a single particle.- 3.1.2 The motion of a single particle.- 3.1.3 The dynamic interaction of particles in a fluid.- 3.2 Flow through packings.- 3.2.1 Dimensional analysis.- 3.2.2 Empirical perfusion laws.- 3.3 The mechanics of the fluidized bed.- 3.3.1 Phenomenology.- 3.3.2 Perfusion law.- 3.3.3 The stability of the fluidized bed.- 3.4 The continuum mechanics of packings: powder mechanics.- 3.4.1 Coefficient of pressure at rest.- 3.4.2 State of stress.- 3.4.3 Yield criteria for packings.- 3.4.4 The design of bunkers using Jenike’s method.- 3.5 Deformation and fracture of solids.- 3.5.1 Fracture criteria.- 3.5.2 Deformation and fracture of particles under stress.- 3.5.3 Comminutive properties of materials.- 3.6 Adhesion.- 3.6.1 Liquid bridges.- 3.6.2 van der Waals forces (dispersion forces).- 3.6.3 Electrostatic forces.- 3.6.4 Solid bridges.- 3.6.5 Comparison of the first three adhesive mechanisms and the influence of the surface roughness.- 3.7 Particle metrology.- 3.7.1 Sampling and sample splitting.- 3.7.2 Dispersion.- 3.7.3 Counting methods.- 3.7.4 Sedimentation methods.- 3.7.5 Separation processes.- 3.7.6 Techniques for measuring surface area.- 3.7.7 Pore size measurement.- 4 Processes.- 4.1 Separation processes.- 4.1.1 Separations in streams of fluids.- 4.1.2 Sink-and-float sorting.- 4.1.3 Electrical and magnetic separation processes.- 4.1.4 Separation processes using wall friction.- 4.1.5 Sifting.- 4.1.6 Cake filtration.- 4.2 Mixing processes.- 4.2.1 Mixing of gases.- 4.2.2 Mixing of a gas into a liquid (aeration).- 4.2.3 Dispersing of a liquid into a gas (nebulization).- 4.2.4 Mixing of liquids.- 4.2.5 Dispersing of solids in gases.- 4.2.6 Dispersing of solids in liquids.- 4.2.7 Mixing of solids.- 4.3 Agglomerating and coagulating processes.- 4.3.1 Cumulative granulation.- 4.3.2 Agglomeration by compaction.- 4.3.3 Sintering.- 4.3.4 Coagulation.- 4.4 Comminution processes.- 4.4.1 Crushers.- 4.4.2 Roller mills.- 4.4.3 Mills with loose milling implements.- 4.4.4 Impact-grinding machines.- 4.4.5 Cutter mills.- 4.4.6 Wet milling.- 4.5 Conveying, storing and feeding of bulk solids.- 4.5.1 Conveying.- 4.5.2 Storing and feeding.- References.- Books.- Journal publications.