SCANNING ELECTRON-MICROSCOPIC INVESTIGATI ONS OF FLOURDUST

Scanning electron microscopy offers the opportunities, not only to pro vide topographical information, but also to analyse the specimen surfa ce simultaneously, e.g. with characteristic x-rays. The composition of flour-dust, being made up of starch- and gluten granules, and the occ urence of fungal spores and pollen grains and other components can be presented clearly. The chemical elements of the specimens can be analy sed with x-ray detectors as well. Images with an analytical content an d the energy-spectra belonging to are compared with the topographical information of the corresponding images formed with secondary electron s.