Abstract
The optical particle counter (OPC) described here counts and sizes particles in the range 0.25–4.00 μm diameter, going well below Coulter counter and optical microscope bottom ranges (0.8 μm at best). At a nominal flow rate of 1 ml min −1, the maximum concentration of insoluble particles should not exceed 15,000 particles/ml. Above this limit, due to coincidence in the sensing volume, the size distributions are shifted towards larger sizes and the counting efficiency decreases drastically. Below 15,000 particles/ml, the counting efficiency varies between 1.13 and 0.88, with a strong correlation with the concentration of particles. Because of its simple set-up, continuous monitoring and chemical pretreatment-free samples, we found that the OPC is a convenient alternative method to Coulter counter and microscopes for size distributions and concentrations of insoluble particles in the aqueous phase.
Published Version
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