Reduction in Physical Dimensions

A process of reducing large solid masses into small units,

or coarse particles to fine particles

COMMINUTION is another term

for size reduction
 Size Reduction
Size reduction is a process of reducing large solid masses
into small unit, coarse particles to fine particles.
• The important reasons for size reduction are easy handling
or disposal, increase in surface area per unit volume and
separation or purification of components, to enhance
solubility, reactivity, absorptivity etc.
i. Diamonds are censored to improve shining.
ii. Uneven sizes are cut according to a specific design.
iii. Smaller sizes or shapes increase load bearing capacity to
causes resistance against external forces,

In pharmaceutical, cement and fertilizer manufacturing,

size reduction is one of the most extensively used and
vital unit operations.
Rough Stones Powder form
T
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C
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Granular form
L Non- Sticking wax Ball
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 SIZE REDUCTION TECHNOLOGY
The selection of grinding & milling technology
depends on
he mixing of powders or granules is required for various
industrial processes and must be adapted according to the
properties of the raw materials used and final product
specifications

• Physical & Chemical characteristics of the material

• Specifications of the final product
• The economics of the process (Cost of operation & asset cost)
• The performance of the equipment ( efficiency and
production rate)
• Occupational Health & Safety
• Comminution is the reduction of solid materials
to an average size by crushing, grinding, cutting,
vibrating, or other processes.
• In geology, it occurs naturally during decay of the
upper part of the Earth's crust.
 Factors affecting size reduction
 Hardness/ Abrasiveness - It a surface property of
materials,
 Hardness is measured in Moh’s Scale ( 1 is for
graphite and 10 for diamond)
 Harder the material the difficult to reduce in size,
 Material structure,
 Softening temperature
 Moisture content ( Materials do not flow well if
moistures are 5-50% )
 Crushing strength, Stickiness, Explosiveness
 Dust yielding properties Most Important Factor
Energy & power requirements
 Friability
(Latin adjective verb "friare," means "to crumble or rub"),
( in English a noun from "friction” used to describe something that
Energy And Power Requirement

 The cost of power is a major expense in crushing and

grinding
 During size reduction, the particles of feed material are
first distorted and strained
 The work necessary to strain them is stored temporarily in
the solid as mechanical energy of stress, just as mechanical
energy can be stored in a coiled spring
 As additional force is applied to the stressed particles, they
are distorted beyond their ultimate strength and suddenly
rupture into fragments
 New surface is generated
Energy & Power Requirement
In Size Reduction
 The law provides an approximate energy estimate

 Rittinger's Law is applicable mainly to that process where

new surfaces are created by fine grinding and increase in
surface area per unit mass of material is large,
 Since a unit area of solid has a definite amount of
surface energy, the creation of new surface requires
work, which is supplied by the release of energy of
stress when the particle breaks
 By conservation of energy, all energy of stress in excess
of the new surface energy created must appear as heat
Crushing Laws And Work Index
 Rittinger’s and Kick’s Law:
 The work required in crushing is proportional to the new surface
created. This is equivalent to the statement that the crushing efficiency
is constant and, for a giving machine and material, is independent of
the sizes of feed and product. The relationship between the diameter of
the particles and the energy required for grinding is expressed from
the equation below:
𝐾𝑑 𝐷𝑝
d𝐸 = − where K and n are constant.
(𝐷𝑝 )𝑛
 For n = 2 and if the sphericities Фa (before size reduction) and Фb (after
size reduction) are equal and the machine efficiency is constant,
the Rittinger’s law can be written as
where P is the power required,
m is the feed rate to crusher,
D1 is the average particle diameter before crushing,
D2 is the average particle diameter after crushing,
2 1 and Kr is Rittinger’s coefficient
Kick’s law:
 for n =1, the work required for crushing a given mass of
material is constant for the same reduction ratio, that
is the ratio of the initial particle size to the finial
particle size

 where Kk is Kick’s coefficient.

Bond’s Law:
 for n= 1.5

Kb – a constant that depends on the type of machine

and on the material being crushed

Work Index, Wi - defined as the gross energy

requirement in kilowatthours per ton (kWh/ton)of
feed needed to reduce a very large feed to such a size
that 80% of the product passes a 100µm screen
 If Dp in mm, P in kW, in ton/hr

 If 80% of feed passes a mesh size of Dpa mm and 80% of

the product a mesh of Dpb mm,

or

(English unit)

 The work index includes the friction in the crusher and

the power given by the above equation is gross power
Exercise 1
 What is the power required to crush 100 ton/h of
limestone if 80% of the feed passes a 2-in. screen and
80% of the product a 1/8-in. screen?
Solution 1
 From Table 28.2,the work index for limestone is
12.74.Other quantities for substitution into

 are:

 The power required is:

Exercise 2
 It is desired to crush 10 ton/h of iron ore hematite.
The size of the feed is such that 80% passes a 3-in
(76.2 mm) screen and 80% of the product is pass to
1/8-in (3.175-mm) screen. Calculate the gross power
required in English unit. Use a work index Wi for iron
hematite is 12.68
Solution 2
Exercise 3
 Calculate the power ratio to crush the coffee extract
from 38 mm to 17 mm and from 10 mm to 6 mm. Use
Rittinger’s law.
Solution 3
 From Rittinger’s Law:

2 1

1 1
 𝑃1 = 𝐾r . 𝑚( - )
17 38
1 1
 𝑃2 = 𝐾r . 𝑚( - )
6 10
𝑃1 𝑃2
 = 0.4875 or = 2.051
𝑃2 𝑃1
 Particle Size Reduction Equipment

• Factors that affect the choice of equipment are

material hardness, toughness, stickiness, moisture
content, softening point, abrasiveness, and material
structure.
• Critical factor is initial and final size requirement
i. Coarser specifications require less energy and
simpler grinding equipment.
ii. Finer materials require more energy and often more
complex size reduction systems with specific internal
classification are required.
iii. Ultra Fine Grinding Machine, Processing and
equipment costs are very high; classified equipment
are used e.g. Flaker Machine, Pin Mill Machine, Ball Mill,
Micro Ultra Fine Machine and Impact Pulverize etc
 Energy + Material
= Size Reduction

α(Money)+β (Money
= Σ (Money)
Size Reduction Equipment
• Size reduction involves successive cutting or
shearing , with the help of sharp knives,
• Used for finer than 80 to 100 mesh size,
Both Mortar and Piston rotate and uses attrition
and impact action
Compress and crush on application of stresses.

Materials are crushed, shattered, or pulverized upon impact of hammer.

• BALL MILL grinds and blends materials

for mineral dressing, processes, paints,
pyrotechnics, ceramics and selective laser
sintering.
• The grinding media is the balls, made of
steel (chrome steel), stainless steel,
ceramic, or rubber
Ball Mill Operation
• A Ball Mill grinds material by rotating a cylinder
with steel grinding balls, causing the balls to fall
back into the cylinder and onto the material to be
ground.
• The point where the mill becomes a centrifuge is
called the "Critical Speed", and ball mills usually
operate at 65% to 75% of the critical speed.
A Ball Mill grinds material by rotating a cylinder with steel
grinding balls, causing the balls to fall back into the cylinder and onto
the material to be ground. The rotation is usually between 4 to 20
revolutions per minute, depending upon the diameter of the mill. The
larger the diameter, the slower the rotation.

A Ball Mill Critical Speed (actually ball, rod, AG or SAG) is the speed at
which the centrifugal forces equal gravitational forces at the mill shell's
inside surface and no balls will fall from its position onto the shell. ...
Pebble mills are usually run at speeds between 75 and 85 percent
of critical speed

Ball milling is a method of production of nano materials. This process is

used in producing metallic and ceramic nano materials. These mills are
equipped with grinding media composed of wolfram carbide or steel. Ball
mills rotate around a horizontal axis ,partially filled with the material to be
ground plus the