Effect of Particle Size on Detergent Powders Flowability and Tabletability

Detergent powders are sometimes processed into compact tablets for cleaning purposes based on the advantage of dosage, minimised dusting and packaging its offers over their powder counterpart. The flow-ability greatly influences handling. The particle size within the powder plays a key role on handling, flow-ability and the strength of the produced compact detergent tablet. The Ariel powder used in this study was separated into different size ranges via sieving; thereafter flowability, compression and compaction were carried out. The compressibility of the powder under 2 KN compaction force was analysed using Heckel equation. It was found that at the same compaction pressure, smaller size particle powders formed compact of greater tensile strength than larger particle. However, the powder with size range of 125-180 μm showed higher flowability compared to other size range.