Surface Area Analyzers

BET Sorptometer  |  Liquisorb Sorptometer  |  Capillary Flow Porometer  |  Liquid Extrusion Porosimeter
Envelope Surface Area Analyzer  |  Mercury/Non-Mercury Intrusion Porosimeter

BET Sorptometer

BET Sorptometer

The BET Sorptometer uses Liquid Nitrogen for its tests

Available Tests:
  • Total Pore Volume
  • Mean Pore Size
  • Pore Size Distribution
  • Single- and Multi-point Surface Area
  • Adsorption and Desorption Isotherms
  • Chemisorption
Operating Conditions:
  • Normally subzero temperatures
  • Test substance - Any pure gas
Features:
  • Automated Control
  • A variety of chemicals for chemisorption

PMI's BET Sorptometer has a multitude of applications in industries worldwide. Industries that utilize the versatile BET Sorptometer include the automotive, battery, and pharmaceutical. Specific applications include the characterization of catalysts in the chemical industry, pulp characterization in the paper industry, and porosity testing of the powder pre-cursors to predict adhesion and final porosity in the powder metallurgy industry.

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Liquisorb Sorptometer

Liquisorb Sorptometer

The Liquisorb Sorptometer uses water for its tests

Available Tests:
  • Total Pore Volume
  • Mean Pore Size
  • Pore Size Distribution
  • Single- and Multi-point Surface Area
  • Adsorption and Desorption Isotherms
  • Chemisorption
  • Liquid Vapor Adsorption
Operating Conditions:
  • Test substance - Water, hydrocarbon solvents
Features:
  • Automated Control

A recent extension of the classic BET technique now allows for the automated, volumetric characterization of adsorption of the vapor of a liquid as a function of increasing or decreasing partial pressures of the liquid vapor. Liquids used include water and other organic liquids such as benzene, hexane, and acetone. Specific applications for the Liquisorb Sorptometer include evaluating how quickly building materials will deteriorate based on their adsorption properties, properties of nonwovens such as moisture vapor transmission and adsorption, and properties of ceramics, including repulsion and adsorption.

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Capillary Flow Porometer

Capillary Flow Porometer

Available Tests:
  • Bubble Point (largest pore)
  • Mean Pore Size
  • Pore Size Distribution
  • Integrity
  • Gas, Liquid, Gurley, and Frazier permeability
  • Hydro-Head test
  • External Surface Area
Operating Conditions:
  • Compression/Cyclic Compression
  • Tension
  • Elevated Temperature
  • Test gas - Air or Noncorrosive gas
  • Test liquid - A variety of chemicals usable
Features:
  • Nondestructive
  • Automated Control
  • No toxic material or subzero temperature used
  • Minimal effect on pore structure due to the use of low pressures

PMI's Capillary Flow Porometer is versatile - it allows the user to test samples under compression, tension, elevated temperature, or an appropriate chemical environment, thereby simulating operating conditions. Industries worldwide, ranging from the filtration to nonwovens to battery industries, utilize the PMI Capillary Flow Porometer for R&D and quality control. Samples tested include filter media, membranes, paper, and battery separators.

This instrument can also be customized for different testing options listed below:

Advanced Capillary Flow Porometer, Microflow Porometer, In-Plane Porometer, Clamp-On Porometer, and Quality Control Porometer.
Advanced Capillary Flow Porometers yield very objective, accurate and reproducible results, considerably reduce test duration, and require minimal operator involvement. Advanced Porometers are fully automated, and they are designed for linear turbulance-free test gas flow. The pressure is measured close to the sample and therefore the correction term in the differential pressure management is minimized. Required amount of pressure is uniformly applied on the o-ring seals on the sample and the need for hand tightening the cap on the sample chamber to apply pressure on the o-rings is eliminated. Automatic addition of wetting liquid reduces test time appreciably. This sophisticated instrument has found applications in a wide variety of industries.
The PMI Microflow Porometer is a Capillary Flow Porometer but with the ability to measure permeability in nearly impermeable materials. This instrument is user-friendly and nondestructive. The Microflow Porometer is an asset to quality control and R&D environments. The PMI Microflow Porometer is typically used to characterize membranes with very low permeability (gas separation membranes). Packaging, rubber and specialty gas manufacturing companies will find this instrument beneficial.
The PMI In-Plane Porometer - a Capillary Flow Porometer - has a sample chamber that allows gas to displace liquid in pores to move radially from the center to the periphery of a sheet shaped sample. Suitable sample configurations give in-plane pore structures of multi-layered materials.
The PMI Clamp-On Porometer is a porometer with a sample chamber that permits the test material to be clamped between two test heads on any desired location. There is no need for a sample to be cut from the bulk material. The bulk material can slide through the test head. Many tests can be performed rapidly on many locations on the bulk material without damaging the bulk material in any way.
The PMI Quality Control Porometer is a Capillary Flow Porometer that has fixed test parameters so tests can be performed without worrying about appropriate test parameters. Operator involvement is minimal and the tests are rapid. The instrument is suitable for quality control applications.

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Liquid Extrusion Porosimeter

Liquid Extrusion Porosimeter

Available Tests:
  • Total Pore Volume
  • Mean Pore Size
  • Pore Size Distribution
  • Liquid Permeability
  • Porosimetry Surface Area
Operating Conditions:
  • Compression/Cyclic Compression
  • Tension
  • Elevated Temperature
  • Test gas - Air or Noncorrosive gas
  • Test liquid - A variety of chemicals usable
Features:
  • Nondestructive
  • Automated Control
  • No toxic substance used in tests

The Liquid Extrusion Porosimeter is employed for the characterization of porous materials used in many industries, such as biotech, pharmaceutical, filtration, food and environmental, without fear of harmful effects on employees or the environment from porosity testing.

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Envelope Surface Area Analyzer

Envelope Surface Area Analyzer

Available Tests:
  • External Surface Area
  • Test gas - Air or Non-corrosive gas
Operating Conditions:
  • Elevated Temperature
Features:
  • Nondestructive
  • Automated Control

PMI's External Surface Area Analyzer (ESA) offers a simple, fast, and reliable technique for external surface area testing - a measurement not readily achieved by static nitrogen adsorption (BET) methods. The ESA's innovative use of flow permeametry combined with its sophisticated self-adjusting viscous-flow controller enables testing of a wide range of powder samples, including materials with surface areas of only several square meters per gram. Providing the user with a surface area measurement in less than five minutes, the main application of the ESA is quality control. The ESA is utilized for this function in several industries, ranging from the pharmaceutical to the ceramic industry. Samples tested include pharmaceutical powders, electrode components, and ceramic powders.

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Mercury/Nonmercury Intrusion Porosimeter

Mercury/NonMercury Intrusion Porosimeter

Available Tests:
  • Total Pore Volume
  • Mean Pore Size
  • Pore Size Distribution
  • Particle Size Distribution
  • Porosimetry Surface Area
  • Bulk Density
  • Absolute Density
Operating Conditions:
  • Normally high pressures
  • Test liquid - Mercury
Features:
  • Automated Control

The PMI Mercury/Nonmercury Intrusion Porosimeter is an excellent R&D tool. Used in various industries ranging from automotive and pharmaceutical to paper, the Mercury/Nonmercury Intrusion Porosimeter has tested samples such as brake pads, catalytic converter materials, coated papers, and powder precursors. With unlimited user-defined data-points, automated data collection and reduction, and the least mercury exposure of any porosimeter on the market, PMI's Mercury/Nonmercury Intrusion Porosimeter is safe, reliable, and precise.

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