Whether you’re packing nutrition powders, spices, or medicinal powders, there are a number of elements to consider in order to guarantee that the powder packaging process goes smoothly. The tremendous expansion of the food business industries in both developing and established countries has increased the demand for more efficient powder packaging methods. In this blog, you will know Why it is essential to pack your essential powders safely.
However, the efficiency of your packing methods will be determined not just by your powder filling equipment, but also by your understanding of the aspects that affect powder product packaging. Why it is essential to pack your essential powders safely-
3 Properties Of your Power that You Should Consider
The three primary qualities of your powder product that you should consider while packing are listed below.
1. Flow Characteristics
Free Flowing Powder :Your powder is said to be free-flowing if the particles are not tightly bound together. Table salt and granulated sugar are examples of free-flowing powders. When you dispense them, you’ll note that they flow freely. Even if you apply more pressure to certain powder kinds, their particles will not compress and will lose their shape if you manipulate them.
Non- free Flowing Powder: Your powder product, on the other hand, is non-free-flowing if the particles are cohesive. Non-free-flowing powders include things like powdered milk and brown sugar. When you manipulate their particles, they usually preserve their shape. You can also use pressure to condense them.
How to Determine?
The finger testing method is an unscientific way to determine whether your powder product is free-flowing or non-free-flowing. All you have to do now is poke your powder product into a container.
If the powder compresses when you remove it and the depression produced by your finger remains visible after you remove it, your product is likely non-free-flowing. However, if you removed your finger from the powder and it did not leave any permanent impression, your product is most likely free-flowing.
Why Should You Know This?
Knowing whether your powder product is free-flowing or not is critical to the performance of your powder packaging line. This is because whether your powder is free-flowing or non-free-flowing will determine the sort of filling equipment required to effectively dispense your product into your chosen packaging.
In general, volumetric or auger powder fillers can be used in free-flow powders. An auger powder filler built specifically for correctly distributing cohesive goods is required for non-free-flow powders.
2. Bulk Density
The bulk density of a powder describes its flowability and how much it compacts when pressure is applied to it. It is just the ratio of its mass to its volume, plus the volume of the contribution from the inter particle vacuum. It’s normally measured in g/ml, but because it’s done with a cylinder, the international unit is kg/m3. It’s also possible to represent it in g/cm3.
Free-flowing, dry powders, such as granulated sugar, usually do not compress much and have low bulk densities. Powdered sugar, powdered drink mixes, powdered milk, and other non-free-flow powders, on the other hand, will have high bulk density values. The more compressed things are, the higher their bulk density.
Factors Affecting Their Bulk Density
The bulk density of a powder product is influenced by a number of factors, including the following:
- The amount of air contained in the particles of the powder
- The total density of the particles, which is determined by their constituents
- The distance between each powder particle in terms of air.
- The form of the particles
- The size of the particles
Why Should You Know This?
Using the following example, we’ll show how the bulk density of your powder product affects your powder packaging equipment selection: Assume you’re packaging 50g of coffee beans and 50g of ground coffee. The type of packing and its size will change depending on the quantity of vacant space within and around the objects, even if their weight is the same.
Because there will be fewer empty areas in the ground coffee, it will be more compressed when packaged, allowing for smaller containers. On the other side, coffee beans will have more vacant areas and will not compress as much, necessitating the use of larger containers. As a result, the bulk density of your powder items must be considered because it will determine the following:
- Characteristics and dimensions of the containers you’ll be using
- The type of filling machine required
- The packaging speed
3. Dustiness
Some powder goods, such as flour, which is a non-free-flowing powder, produce dust clouds when dispensed. Packagers who have worked with these products before know how far the dust cloud can fly and how well it can adhere to any surface.
Because of the loose dust particulates, your powder packaging equipment may have major mechanical troubles. When packing dusty powder products, you may wish to consider the powder packaging machine recommendations below.
- To safeguard the machine’s working parts, the jaw drive should be enclosed.
- Choose an equipment with a dust-tight and dust-protected IP Rated enclosure. This will ensure that dust cloud particles are not allowed to enter the machine.
- To help remove dust particles, make sure your machine has a dust hood or dust extraction tool.
- To keep the powder product flowing into the containers at a steady rate, use a high-speed powder packing equipment. This will aid in the collection of stray particles in the container.
Your Targeted Customers
Don’t try to appeal to everyone with your packaging; you’ll end up appealing to no one. Create a flexible packaging that can connect with your customers and will “speak” to them on its own. If you’re targeting teenagers, make sure they can relate to your package by incorporating design elements that appeal to them the most.
Size of The Containers
Not every customer will purchase in quantity. Make sure your powder product is packaged in a range of shapes and sizes to appeal to both retailers and distributors. You should build easy-to-carry packaging for products that you intend to sell directly to your customers.
Conclusion
Knowing the fundamentals of powder packing will go a long way toward ensuring your company’s success. Even if you have a high-efficiency sealing equipment on your production line, if you don’t know how to package your items appropriately, your investments will be wasted. So, hopefully, you learned a lot from this tutorial to assure the success of your powder packing project.
