Grant: Idea to Innovation

A novel technique for online measurement of particles characteristics in dense and opaque systems will be demonstrated by building a working prototype of the novel particle size distribution (PSD) measurement technique. This technique has been developed and advanced in our laboratory over the last few years. It is mainly based on attenuation spectroscopy of ultrasonic wave propagating through the media and requires rapid acquisition of the time domain signal for online applications. The proof of concept and online measurement capability of this technique for bench scale applications have been demonstrated using available hardware in our laboratory. For rapid processes such as crystallization a faster data acquisition rate will facilitate signal averaging and enhance the quality of the output. The new hardware prototype will be a single unit capable of rapidly generating, receiving and digitizing stabilized broadband ultrasonic pulses with online control of the signal characteristics. The graphical user interface developed in our laboratory for data acquisition, processing and display of particle size distribution will be integrated with the customized hardware. The prototype will be used to study applicability of the unit for control at different stages of selected crystallization processes. The accuracy of measurements under upset or abnormal conditions will be studied to provide additional information and appropriate warning. The effects of particle form, shape and structure on signal characteristics and final measured PSD will be investigated in detail and compared with other techniques.