What's Powder Technology?
The term "Powder Technology" refers to engineering research and development devoted to dealing with powders or particulate materials. It covers the physics and chemistry of powders, powder production, handling and processing, equipment design and operation, evaluation of industrial tests, instrumentation, etc. Knowledge of most of these subjects remains more an art than a science, and unsolved problems are ubiquitous. Accordingly, close collaboration between fundamental and applied fields is necessary to promote advances in technology. To develop further, industry must apply results from research in both materials and process engineering. Important subjects in materials research are the measurement of particle size, shape and specific surface area, mechanical properties, adhesion and agglomeration, packing, and flow characteristics. Active research in process engineering concerns processing methods and equipment for comminution, classification, dust collection, mixing, granulation, filtration, sedimentation, drying, transportation, feeding, and storage. The diversity of powder technology may be recognized by the fact that members gather from a wide variety of industries. Powder Technology is also important in our daily lives, through the pollution of the atmosphere and of water.