THE USE OF LASER BACKSCATTER INSTRUMENTATION FOR THE ONLINE MEASUREMENT OF THE PARTICLE-SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF EMULSIONS

The response of the Partec laser backscatter particle size analyzer ha s been tested under a variety of conditions. Various materials posessi ng different light scattering characteristics have been examined and t he response of the Partec instrument has been evaluated. In particular the system response to transparent particle systems (e.g. oil in wate r emulsions) has been studied. It has been found that the Partec laser backscatter instrument provides reasonably accurate and reproducible results when used to characterize opaque, highly reflective particles such as hydrated alumina, but suffers from a lack of sensitivity to fi ne transparent particles such as oil droplets. The instrument does, ho wever, readily detect the presence of opaque particle contaminants in oil-water emulsions.