3 things you should know about powder packaging

Let’s face it: consumers demand for convenience and industry demand for packaging sustainability won’t be going away soon. This is the reason why increasing number of companies is choosing a pouch as a container for a broad range of products. It is expected that the powder packaging market will continue to grow due to rising popularity of convenience products. Ground coffee, flour, spices, salt or instant drink mixes - The Premade pouch is a suitable packaging for all these products. Pouch protects the product from moisture and helps it to maintain its properties, so it is also a great choice for baby-food powder, tea powder, milk or protein powder. The Premade pouch is also utilized for non-food powders like enzymes, detergent powder or chemical additives.

Good and reliable packaging equipment manufacturer can develop a powder packaging solution according to your specific demands, but in order for him to provide the best piece of equipment there are three main things you need to know about powder packaging:

Free-Flowing or Non-Free-Flowing?

Powder with not cohesive particles is considered free-flowing.  These powders 'flow freely' when dispensed, like granulated sugar or table salt. These types of powders aren’t compactable under pressure and they don't hold their shape during manipulation.

Powder with cohesive particles is considered non-free-flowing. These powders can be compacted under pressure and tend to hold their shape when manipulated like brown sugar or powdered milk.

Flowability of your product dictates the type of filler you need for proper dispensing of your powder product into the pouch. Free-flowing product falls easily with the force of gravity. Non-free-flowing product because of its cohesiveness needs to be compacted and 'helped along' during packaging. Free-flow powder can be packed with the help of volumetric or free-flow auger product fillers. Non-free-flow powders are packed with the help of auger filler for dispensing of cohesive products.

What about Dusty products?

Let’s take a non-free-flow powder product like flour for an example. Dispersal of flour inevitably results in a cloud of dust. Dust particles cling to almost any surface and they can travel very far. Dust proof enclosures are very important for powder packing, because they prevent mechanical issues due to airborne particulates. Machines with washdown properties are a good solution for two reasons: Machine enclosures are water proof, so no water or dust can enter the machine. Dust particles will probably stick to some surfaces on the machine, but they can easily be removed with a spray of water.

 

What about Bulk Density and why is it important?

'Flowability' of the powder and how compactable it is under the pressure represent third measure called bulk density.  Bulk density is calculated through a basic formula: total mass divided by total volume. Bulk density is usually represented as g/cm3.

Dry, free-flowing products have a low bulk density and usually will not compress very much. Cohesive non-free-flowing products have a higher bulk density that gets even higher when compacted.

So what is the connection between bulk density and powder packaging machinery? Imagine 50g of moist sand vs. 50g of roasted coffee beans. The Weight is the same, but the package dimensions and types vary because of the empty space around and inside of the products. The sand can go in a smaller pouch, because it contains less empty space and is more compressed within the package. The coffee beans will need a much larger pouch because they cannot be easily compressed under the pressure and there is more empty space between the beans. This is why it is important to consider bulk density when packaging powders. Bulk density directly affects the pouch sizes and attributes, the type of filler required, and packaging speeds that can be attained.

If you are in a search for a compact sized, competitively priced and efficient powder packaging solution, check out our ROO-100. TheROO-100 is compatible with all standard filling options for powders; it can feature a washdown structure and allows for a 30 second changeover between a wide range of pouch sizes!