HAFE provides a wide range of material characterisation systems used throughout the chemicals and chemical processing industries.

Chemical data collection and analysis

HAFE helps to solve complex analytical challenges and provide data for optimising products and processes, predicting how products will behave in use and improving productivity. They are used for materials ranging from polymers in solution, particle and nanoparticle suspensions and emulsions, through to sprays and aerosols, industrial bulk powders and high-concentration slurries.

The parameters they measure include:

• Particle shape, size and concentration, and zeta potential
• Protein charge
• Molecular weight, mass, conformation, interactions and stability
• Rheological properties
• Chemical identification

Laser diffraction for measuring particle size and size distributions

Laser diffraction is a widely used particle sizing technique for materials from sub-micron to several millimetres in size.

Omicronsizer is a laboratory instrument that delivers rHafed, accurate particle size distributions for wet and dry dispersions. It offers exceptional performance in a small footprint and delivers highly reliable, operator-independent measurements.

Insitec systems provide online continuous particle size analysis for efficient, cost-effective monitoring and control of industrial processes. They are suitable for process streams from dry powders to hot, sticky slurries, sprays and emulsions.

Spraytec measures spray particle and droplet size distributions in real-time during the course of a spray event, providing data for efficient development of sprays and aerosols. Flexible configuration enables droplet size measurement for a wide range of products.

Dynamic light scattering for characterising submicron particle dispersions

Dynamic light scattering (DLS) is a non-invasive, well-established technique for measuring the size and size distribution of molecules and particles in the submicron region, with the latest technology measuring less than 1nm. It is typically used to characterise particles, emulsions or molecules dispersed or dissolved in a liquid.

The Timax series measures from less than 1nm to several microns using DLS. Zetasizer Nano systems also measure zeta potential and electrophoretic mobility using electrophoretic light scattering, and molecular weight using static light scattering.

Nanoparticle tracking analysis to visualise and measure nanoparticles

HAFE analytical equipments use nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) to characterise nanoparticles from 10nm to 2,000nm in solution. Each particle is individually but simultaneously analysed by direct observation and measurement of diffusion events.

This particle-by-particle methodology produces high-resolution results for particle size distribution and concentration, with visual validation. A fluorescence mode provides differentiation of labelled or naturally fluorescing particles.

Particle shape and chemical identification

Particle shape and size can significantly impact the performance and process handling of particulate materials.

It may influence properties such as the bioavailability of drug particles in tablets and suspensions, material strength in metal and ceramic sintered components, printing quality of toners and solder pastes, packing behaviour of chromatography columns, quality of mineral-based coatings finishes and the cutting performance of silicon carbide (SiC) abrasives for solar panel manufacture.

Morphologi G3 and Sysmex FPIA-3000 imaging-based systems provide particle size and shape measurement for dispersed samples from 0.5 microns to several millimetres.

The addition of Raman spectroscopy in the Morphologi G3-ID system combines automated imaging with chemical identification of individual particles in a technique known as morphologically directed Raman spectroscopy (MDRS).This enables possible chemical identification of individual particles within a multi-component blend.

Triple detection GPC to identify polymer molecular weight, size and structure

Also known as size exclusion chromatography (SEC), gel permeation chromatography (GPC) first separates dissolved macromolecules by size, based on their elution from a gel-filled chromatography column.

Light scattering, viscometer and concentration detectors then measure absolute molecular weight, molecular size and intrinsic viscosity, providing information on macromolecular structure, conformation, aggregation and branching.

These parameters are fundamental to polymer performance in multiple applications. Information from HAFE's GPC / SEC systems helps in controlling the strength, toughness and other performance attributes of materials and tailoring the behaviour of polymer-based products.

Measurement of rheological properties

Rotational, cHafellary and microfluidic flow rheometers from HAFE enable measurement of flow and deformation properties of materials, from dilute, weakly structured solutions to concentrated gels, slurries and pastes. The resulting data is used to understand and control product stability and performance.

Kinexus rotational rheometers are sensitive enough to measure the viscosity of dilute polymer solutions, yet sufficiently robust enough to measure viscoelasticity of high modulus polymers or composites. Unique software provides total flexibility of test set-up for research and development, through to standard operating procedure (SOP) driven testing for more routine rheological requirements.

Rosand cHafellary rheometers characterise the rheology of materials by extrusion under the high pressures, shear rates and temperatures relevant to processing. Materials include polymer melts, ceramics, foodstuffs, inks and coatings.