Flowability of wet granules is an important indicator for design and control of manufacturing processes. In this study, we aimed to develop a method to evaluate the flowability with simple equipment and operation. We measured the stirring torque under constant normal stress and the resistance force acting on the plate penetrating into the granules layer. The stirring operation did not properly measure the flowability of strongly cohesive wet granules because voids around the stirring impeller were generated. The penetration operation was able to evaluate the flowability over a wide range of water content conditions by two different indices. Furthermore, the theory of bearing capacity was applied to the penetration tests.

In the wet granule compression method using a polymer-binder, the factors influencing the tensile strength of compressed powder bed were experimentally investigated. It was revealed that there was a binder concentration at which the strength of compressed powder bed was maximized when the powder contains moisture during crushing. It was also found that the strength did not increase monotonically with the binder concentration when the ball diameter in crushing operation and the sieve opening in sieving operation were changed. In any cases examined, particle size distribution of the agglomeration had a bimodal distribution and the fractions of agglomerations under 100 μm were varied by the conditions. The adhesion force calculated from the tensile strengths had a maximum value near the fraction of 0.7. This fact shows that the particle size distribution of agglomeration is one of the governing factor for the strength, and there exists a size distribution which maximizes the strength.

Soap-free emulsion polymerization was carried out to synthesize polymer nano particles using the packed reactor with glass beads whose sizes were ranging from 15 to 90 μm. The hydrogen bonding between water and glass bead reduced the fluidity of water solvent. As a result, the motions of the particles through the polymerization were suppressed to decrease their collision frequencies for growth. The particle size was under 100 nm and controllable with the glass beads size. The packed reactors was change to be ice reactor by freezing, which enabled the polymer nano particles to be synthesized.

This study presents the application of electrical tomography (ET) in analyzing battery slurry powder flow. ET, a non-destructive and non-contact technique, reconstructs images of battery slurry by measuring impedance or capacitance, which is categorized into electrical impedance tomography (EIT) and electrical capacitance tomography (ECT). ET allows for the visualization of particle dispersion, aggregation, and volume fraction within the battery slurry. Implementing ET, which leads to better control and optimization of the battery slurry mixing process, enhances the uniformity and quality of the battery. The ET setup includes impedance analyzer, capacitance meter, multiplexer, sensor, and control software, which work together to provide real-time insights into the slurry’s characteristics, potentially improving battery efficiency and performance.

The thermal decomposition of inorganic salts, including carbonates and oxalates, produces porous oxides while maintaining the particle shape. However, the formed pore size is limited to nanopores smaller than 50 nm. This paper shows that Mn₃O₄ microspheres consisting of open macropores exceeding 50 nm can be synthesized through the thermal decomposition of MnCO₃ microspheres in water vapor. Water vapor promotes the decomposition reaction and particle growth at low temperatures, resulting in the spontaneous formation of maze-like open macropores. Single-particle measurements of macroporous Mn₃O₄ microspheres reveal intrinsic compressive relaxation properties and electrochemical performance. In addition, the maze-like pore structure enables the collection of fine particles, which can be applied to fabricating functional composite materials. Thermal decomposition in water vapor will be a simple method of synthesizing macroporous particles without using pore-forming agents and templates.