Powder and Particle Technology

Powder and particle technology encompasses the production, characterisation and manipulation of discrete solid particles for a wide range of industrial and scientific applications. Central themes include the generation of particles by comminution, atomisation or crystallisation; the control of size, shape and internal structure to tailor flow, packing and reactivity; and the deployment of powders in processes such as additive manufacturing, catalysis, fluid‐solid separation and pharmaceutical formulation. Key unit operations include gravity and centrifugal classification, spray and ultrasonic atomisation, plasma spheroidization, powder metallurgy and high‐pressure grinding. Process intensification strategies exploit advanced diagnostics—such as in situ imaging and tracer techniques—coupled with data‐driven models to optimise energy consumption, yield and product performance. Fundamental phenomena governing particle behaviour range from van der Waals and capillary forces in fine systems to inertial and centrifugal effects in coarse suspensions. Across sectors, tailored particle systems contribute to sustainable resource utilisation, from high‐efficiency solar particle receivers to low‐emission comminution circuits and next‐generation inhalation therapeutics.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Innovations in single‐particle imaging have been achieved by adapting positron emission particle tracking to living systems, enabling three‐dimensional real‐time mapping of tracer particles with submillimetre precision. This technique reveals local flow heterogeneities and residence‐time distributions in dense particulate assemblies, informing the design of mixers, reactors and fluidised beds. In parallel, studies of torque-driven microroller assemblies have demonstrated that active granular media can generate counter‐intuitive bulk flows, forming heaps with negative angles of repose. By applying a rotating magnetic field to individual particles, researchers have identified two distinct fluidisation regimes and shown that collective motion scales analogously to classical granular flows. Cohesion‐inclusive models accurately predict the apparent negative friction, opening pathways to engineer self-organising bed structures.

Powder and Particle Technology publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in powder and particle technology across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Aerodynamic diameter: The diameter of a unit-density sphere having the same terminal settling velocity in a gas as the particle of interest.

Spray drying: A process in which atomised droplets are dried by hot gas, with morphology controlled by Péclet number and skin-formation kinetics.

Plasma spheroidization: Conversion of irregular metal powders into spheres by surface melting and resolidification in a high-temperature plasma jet.

Discrete Element Method (DEM): A numerical technique that computes individual particle interactions and trajectories to predict bulk flow, breakage and wear.

Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT): A radiotracer method for in situ three-dimensional mapping of particle motion with high spatiotemporal resolution.

References

1. In vivo real-time positron emission particle tracking (PEPT) and single particle PET. Nature Nanotechnology (2024).
2. Microrollers flow uphill as granular media. Nature Communications (2023).
3. Production of Spheroidized Micropowders of W-Ni-Fe Pseudo-Alloy Using Plasma Technology. Metals (2024).
4. Effect of the Addition of Diblock Copolymer Nanoparticles on the Evaporation Kinetics and Final Particle Morphology for Drying Aqueous Aerosol Droplets. Langmuir (2023).
5. DEM analysis of wear evolution and its effect on the operation of a lab-scale HPGR mill. Minerals Engineering (2023).