Malvern /Cemex collaboration further improves cement particle sizing

Working in close collaboration with Cemex, a leading global producer of quality cement and ready-mix concrete products (www.cemex.com), Malvern Instruments has developed a specialised version of its Scirocco 2000 dry powder feeder that exactly meets the sample dispersion needs of customers measuring cements and other abrasive bulk chemicals. Cemex has approved the new Scirocco 2000 for use and the dry powder feeder is about to be installed at 12 sites in Mexico and at further sites throughout the US later this year.

The Scirocco 2000 is one of a range of sample dispersion systems for Malvern’s well-established Mastersizer 2000 laser diffraction-based article size analyzer. It has been designed to facilitate routine, reproducible dry powder analysis, can be operated either manually or automatically, and for abrasive materials is fitted with ceramic components to ensure that abrasion is reduced during operation. The new Scirocco 2000 includes a vibrating hopper feed system that ensures reproducible sample delivery in the laboratory, where materials can now quite simply be poured into the hopper prior to analysis. Pressing the ‘go’ button then runs a predefined standard operating procedure (SOP) during which sample delivery, dispersion and cleaning of the sample tray after each measurement is controlled.

The enhanced Scirocco 2000 design helps avoid sample cross-contamination, assures control of the sample feed-rate and consequently delivers highly reproducible results. The system can also be used with Malvern’s DoubleAgent automation software, enabling remote operation of the Scirocco within automated robotic labs. This extends the capabilities of the Malvern Mastersizer 2000 within the cement industry, allowing routine analysis from 0.02 to 2000 microns, covering each stage of the cement production process.

Malvern Instruments’ FPIA-2100 automated particle size and shape analyzer is providing essential information in the manufacture of complex metal components in the automotive industry. By enabling variations in the ceramic mould used in the lost foam casting process to be measured and minimized, the FPIA-2100 is playing an important role in improving efficiency by enhancing casting quality and reducing waste.

Waste reduction is a key factor in determining the more widespread use of lost foam casting. This method of casting has the advantage of using almost a quarter less energy and a third less molten metal than conventional casting methods. It also enables the joining of several components within a single casting, saving downstream machining and assembly. But to date its use has been hindered by excessive scrap rates, caused by problems with the permeability of the ceramic moulds formed during the casting process.

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