Sieve analysis
In agricultural processing, sieving is a unit operation where mixture of various sizes of solid particles (here mixture obtained after size reduction of grains) is separated into two or more fractions by passing over a set of screens to assess particle size distribution. The material retained over each screen is measured and recorded as a fraction of the whole mass.
In food processing and also in pharmaceutical industry, particle size of ground material (flour/powder) determines the effectiveness of final product. The characters of particle (example grain flour) such as bulk density are decided by its size.
In these industries, sieve analysis is mainly used to analyze the particle size distribution of raw material whether it meets the required standard or not. Thus to measure the the size distribution of particles in laboratory, sieve analysis is carried out.
Equipment required for sieve analysis
- Sieve set with sieve shaker
- Grinder to grind the material
- Weighing balance
- Trays
- Observation diary
