Determination of breakage parameters in laboratory scale ball mill and scale-up of ball milling

Birol Sönmez
Research Assistant, Hacettepe University, Mining Engineering Department, Beytepe, ANKARA

Halim Demirel
Prof.Dr., Hacettepe University, Mining Engineering Department, Beytepe, ANKARA

ABSTRACT: In this study, the specific rate of breakage and primary breakage distribution functions for silver ore
sample taken from Gümüköy silver plant, Turkey, were determined in a laboratory size ball mill(30.5* 30.5 cm).
The specific rate of breakage was determined by using monosize fraction method, while two different methods (BII
and BIII) were used for the primary breakage distribution function. Then, the model parameters were scaled up by
applying the relationships between the specific rate of breakage, and mill design and operating variables, developed
by Austin and coworkers. Ball mill was simulated by using the breakage functions and retention times based on plug
flow assumption. The samples taken from grinding circuit of the plant were screen analyzed.

In order to simulate ball milling by using the breakage

1 INTRODUCTION
The objective of construction a simulation model for a
ball milling is to predict product size distribution as a
function of mill design and operating conditions. For this
purpose many researchers have been attempted to
construct mathematical models of grinding operations.
In the kinetic model approach used for formulation of
these grinding models comminution is considered as a
rate process and the mill products are predicted by
solving the batch grinding equation together with the
specific rate of breakage(S) and primary breakage
distribution(b) functions, and a retention time distribution
(RTD)
There are two general methods used for
determination of the breakage functions. The first is the
direct experimental determination method in which S
and b functions are directly determined in a laboratory-
scale or pilot-scale mill operated under batch grinding
conditions. The second is the back-calculation method.
In this method RTD, feed and product size distributions
are measured on a full-scale mill and then, using these
data S and b functions are determined by back-
calculation.
functions determined in a laboratory-scale ball mill the
relationships between these functions and mill design and
operating variables should be defined well.
In this study, breakage functions for silver ore taken
from Gümüköy silver plant, Turkey were determined
in a laboratory-scale ball mill(30.5* 30.5 cm) and
scaled-up by applying the relationships between the
specific rate of breakage and design and operating
variables, developed by Austin and coworkers(1984).
2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
When an efficient breakage occurs in a mill, the
breakage of a given size fraction of material usually
follows a first-order law. Thus, breakage rate of
material which is in the top size can be expressed as;
dw 1
− = S1w 1 ( t ) (2.1)
dt
Assuming that S1 doesn’t change with time, this equation
integrates to
 BIII method requires an estimate of the S values.
S t The equations used are given below;
log( w 1 ( t )) − log( w 1 (0)) = − 1 (2.2)
2.3
∆w = w 1 (0) − w 1 ( t ) (2.6)
where w 1 ( t ) and w 1 (0) are the weight fraction of size
1 at time t and zero, respectively. S1 is the specific rate w 2 ( t ) − w 2 (0)(1 − A ) r
∆2 = *
of breakage (min -1) of size 1 and t is the grinding time. A + (1 − A ) r − 1 (2.7)
[ ][ ]
S
A straight line whose slope is − 1 is obtained from 1 − (1 − A ) r − rA + 1 − (1 − A ) r w 2 (0)
2.3
plot of w 1 ( t ) on log scale versus t on linear scale. In
some cases, however, some deviations from first-order A = ∆w / w 1 (0) (2.8)
kinetics occur because of the differences in material
characteristics and grinding conditions. The reasons for
these deviations have been discussed by Austin
[
r = S 2 t / ln 1 / (1 − ∆w / w 1 (0)) ] (2.9)

(1977,1982) and Gardner(1975).

The specific rate of breakage function has a general B 3,1 = [ P3 ( t ) − P3 (0) − ∆ 2 ] / ∆w (2.10)
mathematical formula proposed by Austin et al.(1984)
P ( t ) − Pi (0) ∆
B i,1 = i − B i − 1,1 2 −
ax i α ∆w ∆w
Si = (2.3) 3 B i − k + 1S k t[ w k (0) + w k ( t )]
(2.11)
Λ
x 
1+  i  ∑ 2 ∆w
n≥i≥4
µ k = i −1

where x i is the upper limit of the size interval i, mm, and Bi,j can be fitted to an empirical function (Austin et al.,
1984)
a, α, µ and Λ are the model parameters that depend on
the properties of the material and grinding conditions. γ β
x  x 
Equation 2.3 allows interpolation and extrapolation to
obtain estimates of S values for all size intervals
B i, j = φ j  i − 1 
 xj 
( )
+ 1 − φ j  i − 1 
 xj 
i> j (2.12)

involved.
The weight fraction of the material broken from the −δ
size interval j which appears in the size interval i before xj
φ j = φ1   (2.13)
rebreakage of the fragments occurs is defined as the  x1 
primary breakage distribution function, bi,j . It is
convenient to represent this function in the cumulative where δ, φ 1, γ and β are the model parameters that
form: depend on the properties of the material. Thus, B
functions are the same for different ball filling ratios, mill
i diameters, etc. (Austin et al., 1984). If Bi,j values are
B i, j = ∑ b k, j (2.4)
independent of the initial size, i.e. normalizable, then δ is
k=n
zero.
Using the S and b functions described above a
BII and BIII methods were proposed by Austin et
complete size-mass balance on the batch grinding
al.(1984) for determination of the primary breakage
system leads to derivation of a batch grinding equation
distribution function from the size analysis of breakage
set as follows,
products of monosize feed. According to BII method
i −1
B i,1 =
[ ]
log (1 − Pi (0) ) / (1 − Pi ( t ) )
i >1 (2.5)
dw i ( t )
= −S i w i ( t ) + ∑ b i, jS j w j ( t ), n ≥ i ≥ j ≥ 1 (2.14)
log[ (1 − P2 (0)) / (1 − P2 ( t ))]
dt j=1
i >1

where Pi (t) is the fraction by weight less than size i at

time t.
The equation set can be analytically solved provided that
 D 
N1 
S and b functions are independent of grinding time. C3 =   . 
D < 381
 DT  
The material entering the mill leaves the mill after a  (2.20)
N1 N1 − ∆
certain time. The time period in which the material held  381
.   D  
C3 =   .  D ≥ 381
. 
in the mill is defined as retention time. However, some  DT   381
.  
of the material entering the mill may leave the mill
immediately, while some may hold up in the mill for  1 + 6.6J 2.3  − c( U − U )
longer periods of time. Thus, a retention time C4 =  e T (2.21)
 2.3 
distribution is defined instead of retention time. The  1 + 6.6J T 
retention time distribution of ball mills can be measured
by using tracer tests. This requires detailed experimental  Φ − 01 .   1 + e15.7( Φ cT − 0.94) 
C5 =  c .  (2.22)
studies, so plug flow assumption are made for definition .   1 + e15.7( Φ c − 0.94) 
 Φ cT − 01
of RTD. Plug flow is defined as emergence of all the
material entering the mill after the mean retention time,τ.
There is no forward or backward mixing as the material where the subscript T refers to the laboratory test mill
moves along the mill. conditions. N0, N1, N2 and ∆ are constants (N 0≈1,
N1≈0.5, N2 ≈0.1 to 0.2 and ∆=0.2 for larger mills). C1,
C2, C3, C4 and C5 are the multipliers that describe
Hold - up in the mill (e.g. m 3 )
τ= (2.15) variation of S with design and operating variables such
Feed rate (e.g. m 3 / h) as the mill and ball diameter, ball load, the fraction of
critical speed and powder load.
In order to determine hold-up in the mill Austin et The overall S values for a mixture of balls is
al.(1982a) have suggested the following equation to estimated from
describe the variation of U with solid flow rate, F, in a
wet overflow mills Si = ∑ S i, k m k (2.23)
k
 F 
U = 0.63  (2.16) where mk is the weight fraction of balls of the size
 
 Φ c D 3.5  interval denoted by k

Austin and coworkers have suggested some

empirical equations described how the specific rates of 3. EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES
breakage function vary with mill design and operating
variables(Austin et al., 1984, Austin and Klimpel, 1985, A silver ore sample taken from the feed of ball mill
Shoji et al., 1980,1982, Tangsathitkulchai and Austin, grinding circuit in the Gümüköy silver plant, Turkey
1985,1989). The multipliers determined from these was used as the experimental material. The ore contains
equations are joined into equation 2.17 about 56.74 wt % siliceous tuff, 17.65 wt % dolomite
and 8.24 wt % Limonite-Manganese and some clay. Six
ax i α monosize fractions (-1.7+1.18 mm,-1.18+0.85 mm,-
S i (d ) = C 2 C 3C 4 C 5 (2.17)
Λ 0.85+0.6 mm, -0.6+0.425 mm, -0.425+0.3 mm, -
 x 
1+  i  0.3+0.212 mm) were prepared and ground batch wise
 C1µ  in a laboratory-scale ball mill for determination of the
breakage functions. A sampling survey was also carried
N2 2
 D   d  out in the existing grinding circuit for comparison and
C1 =     (2.18)
 DT   dT  model verification.
A 30.5* 30.5 cm ball mill used for the batch tests.
N0 The mill design and operating variables of both
d 
C2 =  T  (2.19) laboratory-scale and full-scale ball mills are presented in
 d  Table 1.

Table 1. The mill design and operating variables

 Lab.-scale mill Full-scale mill 1
Mill diameter, D, m 0.305 3.85 -1.7+1.18 mm
Mill length, L, m 0.305 5.75 -1.18+0.85 mm
Ball size, d, mm 29.8 100 -0.85+0.6 mm
Volume load balls, J 0.2 0.33 -0.6+0.425 mm
(based on 0.434 (based on 0.4 -0.425+0.3 mm

w1 (t)/w1 (0)
porosity) porosity) -0.3+0.212 mm
Fraction of Critical 0.808 0.743 0.1

speed, Φ c
Ore specific gravity 3.0 3.0
Interstitial filling, U 0.7 1.032
Solids by weight, % 70.0 63.93

Wet grinding tests were performed on each monosize 0.01

fraction samples. The sample and the balls were loaded
to the mill and the mill was run for
different time intervals. After each grinding period
whole mill charge was discharged and a representative
sample was taken for sieve analysis after the ground
material had dried. Then, the material retained on the
sieves were combined with the rest of mill discharge as a
feed for next grinding period. Sieving was carried out
wet through 8 in. sieves.
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Determination of S function from six monosize
fractions
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Grinding Time, min
Figure 1. First-order plots for various feed sizes of silver
ore ground in a laboratory-scale ball mill
The specific rates of breakage of each monosize
fractions that exhibited first-order grinding kinetic
behavior were determined from the slope of straight-line
portion of the first-order plots. The model parameters
a, α, µ and Λ were calculated from equation 2.3 by a
non-linear regression technique. The values of these
parameters were estimated as 1.586, 0.92, 1.228 and
2.623, respectively. Estimated and measured values of
S are shown at Figure 2.
10
-1
Specific Rate of Breakage, min

The first-order plots for various feed sizes of silver ore Experimental
are illustrated in figure 1. The results indicated that Estimated
grinding of fine size fractions could be described by the
first-order law. However, the coarse size fractions (- 1

1.7+1.18 mm, -1.18+0.85 mm) showed deviations

from it. It occured in the abnormal breakage region
where particles were too large to be properly nipped by
the balls. In the abnormal breakage region a mean 0.1
specific rate of breakage value defined by the time to 0.1 1 10
break 95 % of the material was determined. Upper Limit of Size Interval, mm

Figure 2. Specific rates of breakage of silver ore as a

function of particle size

4.2 Determination of B function

By definition, the values of B were determined from the

size distributions at short grinding times where there is
predominantly size 1 material breaking and only small
amounts of smaller sizes to rebreakage. The values of B
for -1.7+1.18 mm and -1.18+0.85 mm fractions were
BIII Method
not determined since breakage of material in these sizes 1
was abnormal. measured, -0.85+0.6

Cumulative Primary Breakage

estimated, -0.85+0.6
Methods BII and BIII gave identical B values which measured, -0.6+0.425

Distribution Function, B
estimated,-0.6+0.425
were non-normalizable. For two methods the model measured,-0.425+0.3
parameters, δ, φ, γ and β were calculated from the data estimated,-0.425+0.3
measured,-0.3+0.212
for B values versus particle size by a non-linear estimated,0.3+0.212
regression technique. The estimated and measured
values of B values for the two methods are illustrated in
Figure 3 and 4.

0.1
0.01 0.1 1
4.3 Determination of retention time Reduced Size

Figure 4. Measured and estimated cumulative primary

The solid feed rate to the grinding circuit in the plant was
breakage distribution function for Gümüköy silver ore
measured directly. After the mass balance and
adjustment of the raw data, the solid flow rate to the
ball mill was calculated as 223.28 t/h. Using equation
4.4 Scale-up
2.16, first U and then from this value the hold-up in the
mill were determined. The hold-up volume of 9.12 m³
The specific rates of breakage determined in the
and the retention time of 2.73 minute were estimated.
laboratory batch tests were scaled to the full scale mill
using the equations 2.17-2.22. The multipliers used for
scale-up were calculated from equations2.18-2.22 are
BII Method C1=18.7, C2=0.298, C3=3.545, C4=0.49 and
1.00
measured, -0.85+0.6 C5=0.978
estimated, -0.85+0.6 The literature values of constants (N 0, N1, N2 and ∆)
Cumulative Primary Breakage

measured, -0.6+0.425
Distribution Function, B

estimated,-0.6+0.425 were used to calculate the multipliers used for scale-

measured,-0.425+0.3
estimated,-0.425+0.3
measured,-0.3+0.212
estimated,0.3+0.212
0.10
0.01 0.1 1 program.
Reduced Size
Figure 3. Measured and estimated cumulative primary
breakage distribution function for Gümüköy silver ore
up(Austin et al., 1984).
In order to predict the product size distributions of
both laboratory-scale and full-scale ball mills a computer
program was written. The laboratory values for the
model parameters of S and B values, the retention time
for full-scale and grinding time for laboratory-scale, and
feed size distributions were used as input to the
The predicted size distributions for laboratory-scale
batch grinding are in very good agreement with
experimental values at the fine size range which follows
first-order law, while there are very big differences at
the coarse size range which used a mean S value.
The product size distributions of full-scale ball mill
predicted by using scaled S values are somewhat closer
to the experimental values. The results are illustrated in
Figure 5. It seems very likely that better results than
those in Figure 5 will be obtained if the more detailed
experimental studies are conducted for determination of
RTD and S values for different ball sizes.

Estimated Cumulative Undersize(5
100.000
80.000
60.000
40.000
20.000
20.000 40.000
Measured Cumulative Undersize(% )
Figure 5. Measured and Estimated Product size
distributions of full-scale ball mill.
5 CONCLUSIONS
Several conclusions were drawn from this study;
• The results indicate that it may be possible to design
industrial-scale ball mill by using the data obtained
from laboratory-scale batch grinding tests, providing
that these data are interpreted and scaled correctly.
• It should be systematically investigated that the
constants, N0, N1 and N2, are always the same for
different materials or not.
• The appropriate S for abnormal breakage region
where there are deviations from the first-order
grinding kinetic should be described and
appropriately scaled
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