Using our advanced line of high energy screeners, Elcan Industries has developed new methods to assist companies with the process of deagglomerating powders. Often times, powders can pick up moisture, causing them to agglomerate and no longer meet a particle specification. Whether the powder has picked up moisture, or simply become compressed, Elcan can help return the powder to its natural, free flowing state. The ability to convert unusable powders into a sellable product can save companies thousands of dollars in disposal and inventory related costs.
Elcan’s line of high energy powder screening machines are capable of breaking up soft agglomerates due to the high amount of energy on the screen surface. Deagglomerating powders can be a tricky process using a conventional sieve as they do not have the necessary energy to break up any agglomerates in the powder. The Elcan systems employ a strong vertical energy that causes powders to jump on the screen surface. The fines then stratify as they are separated from the now, nonexistent agglomerate. Deagglomeration of powders typically requires a course mesh to help break down any larger agglomerations and then use a fine mesh to help classify the powder at the original, desired specification.
The Hi-Sifter system is what Elcan typically uses to help deagglomerate powders. This system can make fine separations down to ten microns in a single pass. The video below/above shows an agglomerated graphite powder being sieved on one of these systems. As shown in the video, the agglomerates are easily broken down by the energy and pass through the customers desired screen size. Breaking down these agglomerates on a tolling basis allowed the customer to recover all of their powder without having to be capitally committed to equipment. This is ideal for companies that may only have a few batches of agglomerated powder that they need recovered.