Powder and Bulk Engineering, January 2002 1

Size reduction solutions for hard-to-reduce

materials
Scott Wennerstrum, Tom Kendrick, John Tomaka, and Jerry Cain The Fitzpatrick Co.

Size reduction can present numerous challenges. Some are

industry-specific, while others depend on your material’s
Chances are, some of the bulk solids you use in your properties. In any case, many mills designed to overcome
manufacturing process aren’t optimally sized when these challenges are available. Let’s cover some size reduc-
they arrive at your plant. If the bulk solids are too tion basics before discussing how to mill hard-to-reduce
large, you must use size reduction (also called materials.
milling or comminution) to make them smaller be-
fore introducing them into your process. This article
Understanding size reduction forces
discusses the size reduction forces at work in various
size reduction machines, solutions for reducing var- To reduce a material’s particle size, large particles or
lumps must be fractured into smaller particles. To initiate
ious hard-to-reduce materials based on the mater- fractures, external forces are applied to the particles. Gen-
ial’s characteristics, and size reduction equipment erally, the amount of particle reduction caused by an exter-
features for difficult applications. The information nal force depends on the amount of energy applied to the
concentrates on mills that incorporate a shaft and particle, the rate at which it’s applied, and the manner in
blade assembly as well as a classifying screen. which it’s applied. The application of size-reduction
forces can be broken into four categories.

Impact milling. Impact milling occurs when a hard object

that applies a blunt force across a wide area hits a particle
to fracture it. This milling action is produced by a rotating

S
ome of the most common reasons for reducing a ma- assembly that uses blunt or hammer-type blades. Another
terial are to type of impact mill is a jet mill. A jet mill uses compressed
gas to accelerate the particles, causing them to impact
• Create appropriate particle sizes for subsequent process- against each other in the process chamber. Impact mills
ing or end use. can reduce both fine powders and large chunks of friable
material — such as pharmaceutical powders, sugar, salt,
• Create a free-flowing material. spices, plastics, coal, limestone, chemical powders, and
• Improve material blending and prevent segregation by fertilizer — down to 50 microns with mechanical impact
making different sized products with similar particle size mills and less than 10 microns with jet mills. Mechanical
distributions. impact mill types include hammermills, pin mills, cage
• Increase the material’s surface area to improve a mater- mills, universal mills, and turbo mills.
ial’s reactiveness (or availability) or drying efficiency.
• Control a material’s bulk density by creating a particle Attrition milling. In attrition milling, nondegradable
size distribution consisting of a matrix of larger particles grinding media continuously contact the material, system-
with smaller particles filling the voids between the larger atically grinding its edges down. This milling action is typ-
particles. ically produced by a horizontal rotating vessel filled with
2 Powder and Bulk Engineering, January 2002

grinding media and tends to create free-flowing, spherical materials — such as minerals, chemicals, and some food
particles. Attrition mills can reduce 1,000-micron (20- products — down to 800 to 1,000 microns. Types include
mesh) particles of friable materials — such as chemicals roll mills, cracking mills, and oscillator mills.
and minerals — down to less than 1 micron. One type is
the media mill (also called a ball mill).
Most mills use a combination of these principles to apply
more than one type of force to a particle. This allows mill
Knife milling. In knife milling, a sharp blade applies high, manufacturers to custom-design their equipment based on
head-on shear force to a large particle, cutting it to a prede- a material’s characteristics and enables mills to reduce var-
termined size to create smaller particles and minimize ious materials.
fines. This milling action is produced by a rotating assem-
bly that uses sharp knives or blades to cut the particles, as
shown in Figure 1a and 1b. Knife mills can reduce 2-inch Milling hard-to-reduce materials
or larger chunks or slabs of material, including elastic or Crystalline materials that are nonhygroscopic and not
heat-sensitive materials — such as various foods, rubber, heat-sensitive typically don’t pose milling problems.
and wax — down to 250 to 1,200 microns. Mill types in- Many other materials, however, can cause problems. A
clude knife cutters, dicing mills, and guillotine mills. material’s physical properties often determine the ease or
difficulty in reducing the material to an appropriate parti-
cle size. The following material characteristics are some of
Direct-pressure milling. Direct-pressure milling occurs
the most common that can present milling challenges.
when a particle is crushed or pinched between two hardened
surfaces. Two rotating bars or one rotating bar and a station-
ary plate generally produce this milling action. Direct-pres- Fibrous materials. The major problem with reducing fi-
sure mills typically reduce 1-inch or larger chunks of friable brous materials is that they’re typically nonfriable, which
means they require more energy for milling. This often
creates excessive heat that can damage the particles and
cause greater wear to the mill components. Examples of fi-
Figure 1 brous material include corn, oat hulls, celery, carrots, vari-
ous spices, and cellulose-based materials. Solutions for
reducing fibrous materials can be as simple as installing
a. Mill that uses a cut-milling action the appropriate blade or classifying screen or using an ap-
propriate method, such as vacuum conveying, for assist-
ing material flow through the mill and its screen to
eliminate material buildup inside the grinding chamber.

Nonfriable materials. Nonfriable materials — such as

polymers, resins, waxes, and rubber — can’t be shattered
or fractured using regular impact or direct-pressure
milling. Knife milling often can’t reduce a nonfriable ma-
terial to a very fine particle size range. Solutions for reduc-
ing nonfriable materials typically require turning the
nonfriable material into a friable material by freezing it.
This includes injecting a cryogen — such as liquid carbon
dioxide or liquid nitrogen — into the grinding chamber. In
b. Hardened cutting blades mounted on a rotating drum certain cases, preconditioning or exposing the particles to
a cryogen may be necessary.

For low-temperature milling with cryogens, make sure

your mill is constructed of materials suitable for low-tem-
perature operation. Over time, cryogenic processing at
low temperatures can cause components to become brittle
and certain lubricating greases to lose their viscosity and
freeze. To avoid this, you should specify appropriate mate-
rials of construction that prevent embrittlement, such as
Type 300 stainless steel mill components, as well as low-
temperature-rated rubber belts and grease.

Heat-sensitive materials. If heat is created during milling,

heat-sensitive materials can melt or soften in the grinding
3 Powder and Bulk Engineering, January 2002

Size reduction challenge: ver dollar. The resiliency, ductility, Cutting parameters — such as blade
and stickiness of the synthetic rub- angle, blade pattern, and rotational
ber make impact, attrition, and direct speed of the drum or rotor — all af-
pressure milling methods ineffec- fect the mill’s power requirement
Synthetic tive. A mill that uses a knife milling
action, as shown in Figure 1a, is the
and cutting efficiency. More sophis-
ticated units may employ a series of

rubber bales best alternative. path cutters mounted before the

blades to score and draw the bale into
the cutting area more effectively.
Suitable components for this appli-
cation typically include hardened
cutting blades that are mounted on a The bale’s reduction results from the
rotating drum or an open-caged path cutters grabbing and scoring the
rotor, as shown in Figure 1b, which material so that the rotating blades

O
ne difficult milling applica- is a series of disks mounted on a can perform a guillotine cutting ac-
tion involves the size reduc- shaft. As the bale is processed, heat tion as they pass by a shear plate. The
tion of synthetic rubber is generated by the cutting action. synthetic rubber bales are fed to the
bales. The various uses of synthetic This can cause material to build up rotor or drum by a ram or gravity-
rubber require that it be melted and on a drum’s surface, which reduces feed chute. An effective bale-cutting
blended with other materials. The the mill’s cutting efficiency. mill can reduce a synthetic bale in 2
typical bale size is 3 to 7 inches thick minutes or less.
by 16 inches wide by 30 inches long.
In order to reduce the heating and One advantage of the opened-caged
blending time, the bale needs to be rotor is that the heat that’s generated —Scott Wennerstrum,
reduced to pieces that have the ap- is more effectively dissipated, im- Tom Kendrick, John Tomaka,
proximate size and thickness of a sil- proving processing efficiency. Jerry Cain

chamber or on the classifying screen, reducing the mill’s moisture) don’t present major size reduction problems. How-
overall efficiency. Examples of heat-sensitive materials ever, some semisolid materials or fatty materials can be ex-
include thermal plastics, polyester and epoxy resins, nu- tremely difficult to reduce or delump because the material can
traceuticals, waxes, gelatin, spices, and sugar-based mate- stick to or get trapped in the mill’s classifying screen, plug-
rials. Solutions to this melting or softening problem ging the screen’s holes. The material can also stick to the
typically involve cooling the mill, cooling the surfaces in- grinding chamber’s sides. Examples of such wet, fatty, or
side the grinding chamber, or cooling the material prior to sticky materials include cheeses, waxes, pepper sauces, and
milling. Examples include water-jacketing the mill’s criti- baby foods. Solutions to these sticky problems include in-
cal components, as shown in Figure 2, directly injecting a stalling a custom-designed screen that allows the appropriate
cryogen into the grinding chamber, or exposing the mater- sized particles to pass through without sticking or plugging
ial to a cryogen prior to milling. and internal air or water injectors that clean the mill’s internal
surfaces, removing any stuck or trapped particles.
Wet, fatty, or sticky materials. Generally, low-moisture ma-
terials (containing less than 5 percent moisture) and high- Hygroscopic and deliquescent materials. Hygroscopic
moisture materials (containing greater than 50 percent and deliquescent materials have a tendency to absorb and re-
tain moisture from the air. When exposed to air, hygroscopic
materials such as some chemical powders, become sticky,
Figure 2 while deliquescent materials such as calcium gluconate melt
or dissolve into a liquid. This can become a problem because
both actions can impair your mill’s effectiveness and effi-
Water-jacketed mill ciency and reduce your final product’s quality. Solutions for
reducing hygroscopic and deliquescent materials involve
limiting the material’s exposure to air or humidity. This can
be done by reducing the material in an inert environment —
created by purging the mill’s grinding chamber with nitrogen
or argon gas — or by installing a dehumidifier to remove
moisture from the grinding chamber air.

Dense or hard materials. Reducing extremely dense or

hard materials — such as calcium carbonate, minerals, and
4 Powder and Bulk Engineering, January 2002

silica-based materials — can cause excessive damage and jective, it’s often necessary to isolate upstream and down-
wear to the mill’s contact surfaces, hammers or blades, and stream areas with a 10-bar-rated rotary valve, fast-acting
classifying screens. One way you can avoid these problems valve, or isolation system. You can also install an explo-
is to mill in multiple passes rather than trying to achieve sion-venting system that directs the pressures and forces
your particle size goal in one pass. Multiple passes allow caused by an explosion safely out of the grinding chamber
for greater material capacities, require less horsepower, and and away from workers, acting as a kind of release valve.
reduce parts-replacement costs. You can also install wear-
resistant components in the mill or apply wear-resistant
coatings to the mill’s contact surfaces. Wear-resistant coat- Another way to eliminate the effect of an explosion is to
ings include tungsten carbide and stellite. Wear-resistant install an explosion-suppression system in your milling
components include D-2 tool steel or other hard materials. process. When the system detects an explosion, it injects
an inert material such as carbon dioxide into the grinding
chamber to snuff out the explosion.
Equipment features for difficult applications
As you can see, several material characteristics can ad- When reducing toxic materials, remember to keep the ma-
versely affect a mill’s efficiency. In addition to cryogenics terial and the mill operator completely separated. This can
and wear-resistant components and coatings, other equip- be accomplished by installing a mill and related equip-
ment features can also help you handle difficult applications. ment that completely contains the material and by-prod-
ucts such as dust, as shown in Figure 3. The milling
process should have a venting system that vents the
Corrosion-resistant construction. Certain materials may process gas away from the process chamber while con-
react with your mill’s construction materials. So, make sure taining the dust in the chamber. The process should also
you specify a material of construction that’s compatible have a system that cleans the contaminated air from the fil-
with the material you’ll be processing. ters before exhausting or recirculating it. It’s important
that the milling process has a leak-detection system that
shuts down the entire process if a vessel leak is detected.
Sanitary features. If you reduce more than one material in
Working together, these systems prevent toxic material
your mill, make sure the mill has sanitary features that allow
from escaping into your plant and keep your workers safe.
easy cleaning between runs to prevent cross-contamination or
contamination from external sources. In addition to being easy
to disassemble and assemble, the mill should have internal Figure 3
wash lines that spray water or a cleaning solution into the
grinding chamber to wash away any remaining materials, al-
lowing it to be cleaned in place. The mill should also have pro- Mill with a material containment system
visions for easy inspection that allow you to validate that the
grinding chamber has been cleaned. To ease the cleaning
process and ensure that any residue will be easily washed out,
make sure that all of the edges in the grinding chamber are ra-
diused to prevent cracks or crevices where material can collect.

Explosion control and toxic material containment fea-

tures. Reducing explosion-prone materials or toxic mate-
rials can be very dangerous for your workers and the area
surrounding your plant if you don’t take necessary precau-
tions. You can eliminate explosion risks in the process by
using a mill that processes in an inert environment or con-
tains, vents, or suppresses an explosion.

Supplying an inert environment in the mill will reduce the

oxygen level and thereby reduce the explosion risk. In
most cases, without oxygen a spark is unable to ignite a
flammable material, thus preventing an explosion.

To contain an explosion, the mill’s grinding chamber must

be constructed to withstand the pressures and forces cre-
ated by an explosion without breaking or bursting. For
many materials, a grinding chamber constructed to resist
shocks up to 10 bar works well. If containment is the ob-
 Powder and Bulk Engineering, January 2002 5

Some mill selection advice Scott Wennerstrum is the marketing and technical director
Typically, a mill manufacturer has experience reducing at The Fitzpatrick Co., 832 Industrial Drive, Elmhurst, IL
many materials. However, if the manufacturer doesn’t 60126; 630-530-3333, fax 630-530-0832 (info@
have experience with your material, it’s crucial to test the fitzmill.com). Tom Kendrick is director of process technol-
material on the manufacturer’s equipment before purchas- ogy, John Tomaka is Midwest sales manager, and Jerry
ing and installing it in your plant. That way, the manufac- Cain is laboratory manager at the company.
turer can modify the mill if its action adversely affects
your material or your material adversely affects the mill
and its components.

Also, consider your space requirements before purchasing

and installing a mill. For example, an air classifying mill
or jet mill generally takes up a small amount of floor space.
However, auxiliary equipment — such as air-handling
equipment — often requires more floor space for proper to get
installation. This can be a problem if space in your plant is
tight.

Another issue concerns installing the mill. Some manufac-

turers provide an engineering service that will install the
mill and related equipment for you; some don’t. After in- and check out what’s new at
stalling the mill in your plant, some manufacturers provide
field technicians that travel to your plant to help you main-
tain your new mill; others don’t. So before purchasing a
mill, you need to consider which services are included
with your mill’s installation and how each will affect your
installation time and costs, your maintenance time and
costs, and the overall time and costs involved with training
your workers to perform the necessary tasks. PBE