Porosimeter is an analytical technique used to determine different aspects of a porous material structure such as pore diameter, surface area, bulk, and pore volume.
The technique involves the intrusion of a non-wetting cloth, and with the help of a porosimeter, high pressures are applied to the material.
There are many different types of porosimeter in the market, so let's talk about the Mercury Intrusion Porosimeter and Aquapore Water Intrusion Porosimeter. Both these machines are suitable for every manufacturing industry and are great to determine different materials.
What is the Mercury Intrusion Porosimeter?
Mercury intrusion porosimeter is an instrument used to determine properties such as pore size distribution, surface area, total pore volume, and absolute densities of solid and powder samples. This industrial instrument further includes unlimited user-defined data points, automated data collection, and reduction.
This equipment ensures the least mercury exposure of any porosimeter for the sample and the user. However, there is still a little exposure left even after trying hard.
Jumping to this porosimeter's features and characteristics, the window-based software handles all control, data collection, and measurement. Users also have an option to run it manually. Furthermore, it displays both extrusion and intrusion curves with a real-time graphical test display, which shows testing results and status throughout the operation. The best thing about the Mercury Intrusion Porometer is that it has an automa5tic mercury refill and clean-up, including pressure generator features and continuous stepwise scanning.
What is Aquapore Water Intrusion Porosimeter (AWIP)?
Aquapore is a liquid intrusion porosimeter used for hydrophobic pores. The water present in this intrusion porosimeter does not wet the hydrophobic pores this is because the water found in the pores only occurs on the application of pressure.
This equipment measures the intrusion volume of water yields pore volume, and measured intrusion pressure yields pore diameter, just like any other porosimeter.
It further uses no toxic materials like mercury and is a completely automated window-based simple operation. Additionally, this machine also has a minimal distortion of pore structure and an order of magnitude lower intrusion pressure than mercury.
However, the AWIP is a less expensive instrument compared to the mercury intrusion porosimeter and ranges from 20 to 0.002 microns. The maximum pressure applied to the AWIP is 30,000 psl to 60,000 psl, which is an excellent way to start.
What's the Difference?
The difference is quite clear, a Mercury Intrusion Porosimeter has many characteristics and features, but it has mercury involved in the process, which can be harmful in certain ways.
However, an Aquapore Water Intrusion Porosimeter is mercury-free but doesn't have as many characteristics and features and the mercury porosimeter. If you need a machine that is safe to use but doesn't have enough features to offer, then you can go for the AWIP. If you want to work with different characteristics, then you know what to do. The choice is yours now!
Ending Note!
Porosimeter is an analytical technique used to determine the pore structure and particle pore size of a material. The Mercury Intrusion Porosimeter and the Aquapore Water Intrusion Porosimeter are both used in the manufacturing industry and can make any procedure completed within a couple of minutes.
In fact, both the porosimeter machines are called the new face of technologies because of the work they do!
If you have any questions regarding Mercury Intrusion Porosimeter and the Aquapore Water Intrusion Porosimeter, feel free to ask in the comment section below. If you liked our blog, then leave your feedback and let us know.
