Malvern Instruments and the Institute of Agrophysics in Lublin, Poland, are to host a two-day conference on 'Modern Techniques for Measuring the Particle Size Distribution of Soil and Sediments'.
The event will take place on 11-12 March 2010 at the Centrum Falenty, Poland.
Dr Wojciech Lipinski, director of the Regional Chemical Agricultural Station in Warsaw, will talk about the use and benefits of laser diffraction particle size analysis for soils and sediments.
He will explain how funding was addressed in his organisation and the rationale behind the proposal to the Polish government to equip all soil stations with laser diffraction systems.
Dr Andrzej Bieganowski, associate professor at the Institute of Agrophysics, will consider the practical requirements of applying laser diffraction for the measurement of soil and sediment size distributions.
Presenting alongside Dr Anne Virden, laser diffraction technical specialist from Malvern Instrument, he will consider the theory and background to particle sizing and laser diffraction, the requirements for sample preparation, and how the technique can enable the rapid analysis of soil texture.
Other topics will include the use of laser diffraction data, comparisons with more-established techniques for soil analysis, and some preparatory work for a new ISO standard that will cover the application of laser diffraction in this field.
