9/18/2023

ChE 4755
Particle Technology

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo

Assistant Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering
Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology

Particle Size Reduction

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Topics
 PARTICLE FRACTURE MECHANISM
• Hooke’s law for fracture mechanism
• Proposal of Inglis, Gilvary, Griffith et al

 ENERGY REQUIREMENT
• Rittinger’s postulate
• Bond’s law
• Kick’s law

 PRODUCT SIZE DISTRIBUTION

• Rate of breakage
• Breakage distribution function

 COMMINUTION EQUIPMENT
• Crushing equipment
• Grinding equipment

Introduction
 Size reduction (or comminution) is mainly used to
i. Reduce the particle to a particular size and shape,
ii. Increase the surface area for the ease of chemical reaction,
iii. Liberate minerals entrapped within particles.

About 5% of total electricity generated is used in various size reduction processes.

Explain the statement “There is great incentive to improve the efficiency of size
reduction processes which are currently very inefficient.”

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 4

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Particle Fracture Mechanisms

 The first fracture mechanism discussed is based on Hooke’s law.

• Consider a ionic crystal as a brittle

material where the combination of
attractive and repulsive force
between ions helps reach an
equilibrium.

• If the interatomic distance is

changed by applied (tensile or
compressive) stresses, a net resulting
force will restore the atoms to a new
equilibrium position. In a very
narrow interatomic distances, the
shape of the crystal is recovered
upon removal of the stresses. This is
the elastic deformation range.

Particle Fracture Mechanisms

• If applied stress is increased beyond this limit, permanent fracture may result. This
is the plastic deformation range. The corresponding stress to just break the particle
is called the elastic limit or yield stress or the strength of the materials.

 If we consider all the atomic bonds get stretched upon application of stresses, then
the theoretical energy requirement is way higher than the actual and if we
consider only those which breaks gets stretched, we get a very low estimation.

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 6

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Particle Fracture Mechanisms

 Inglis proposed that the strain energy induced due to application of tensile stresses
is not uniformly distributed, but concentrated around various defects such as
holes, cracks or edges.
According to his formula,
𝐋
𝐊 = 𝟏+𝟐
𝐑

Here,
K is the stress concentration factor defined as local stress/mean stress.
L is half the length of the defect
R is the radius of the tip of the defect.

Based on the formula,

K = 3 for a round hole [?]
K = 201 for a 2 μm long crack with a tip radius equal to half the interatomic distance
1 Å [?]

Particle Fracture Mechanisms

 Based on the proposal of Griffith, following remarks can be made:
 Strain energy created due to tensile stress must exceed the surface energy for
fracture to occur.
 A crack propagation mechanism should exist.
 There is a minimum crack length corresponding to a mean stress for which
enough stress concentration may be induced in the crack for it to propagate.
 Multiple fraction is a common phenomena.
 Without presence of cracks (or if it is very small); strain energy becomes almost
equal to the theoretical value.

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 8

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Particle Fracture Mechanisms

 Learn about
• Proposal of Gilvary
• Proposal of Evans et al
• Cracks in tough materials
• Difficulty in breaking smaller particles compared to larger materials.

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 9

Energy Requirement
 Models predicted for energy requirement:
 Rittinger’s postulate: Energy required for size reduction is directly proportional to
the new surface created.

If particles of original size x is reduced to new size x , then

The number of particles of new size x
x
x
And the new surface created from one original particle will be,

x 𝟏 𝟏
k x −k x ; or 𝐤 𝐬𝐱𝟏 𝟑 −
x 𝐱𝟐 𝐱𝟏

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 10

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Energy Requirement
 So, the new surface per unit mass:

1 1 1 k 1 1 1
k x − × = −
x x k x ρ k ρ x x

As, breakage energy per unit mass is proportional to this amount,

𝟏 𝟏
𝐄𝐑 = 𝐂𝐑 −
𝐱𝟐 𝐱𝟏
In differential form,
𝐝𝐄𝐑 𝟏
= −𝐂𝐑 𝟐
𝐝𝐱 𝐱
Units of C ?

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 11

Energy Requirement
 Kick’s Model: Energy required per unit mass is proportional to the ratio of the
size change to the original size. Mathematically,

∆x
∆E = −C
x
If the equation is expressed differentially,
𝐝𝐄𝐊 𝟏
= −𝐂𝐊
𝐝𝐱 𝐱
Upon integration,
𝐱𝟏
𝐄𝐊 = 𝐂𝐊 𝐥𝐧
𝐱𝟐
For smaller particles, this law becomes highly unrealistic as it assumes that same
energy is required to reduce in any size range if the ratio remains same.

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 12

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Energy Requirement
 Bond’s Model: Energy required per unit mass can be written as,

𝟏 𝟏
𝐄𝐁 = 𝐂𝐁 −
𝐱𝟐 𝐱𝟏
A more useful form of the expression is,

𝟏𝟎 𝟏𝟎
𝐄𝐁 = 𝐖𝟏 −
𝐱𝟐 𝐱𝟏
Here,
W is the Bond work index which theoretically is defined as the energy required to
reduce a particle of infinite size to 100 μm; but usually is found empirically.

In differential form,
𝐝𝐄𝐊 𝟏
= −𝐂𝐊 𝟑⁄𝟐
𝐝𝐱 𝐱
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 A general differential equation for energy requirement in size reduction operation

can be formed,
𝐝𝐄 𝟏
= −𝐂 𝐍
𝐝𝐱 𝐱
With

Model N values Applicability Application

Very small Ultrafine

Rittinger 2
particles grinding

Coarse
Kick 1 Large particles
crushing

Intermediate Industrial
Bond 1.5
particles grinding

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 14

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Energy Requirement
 Illustration: A material consisting originally of 𝟐𝟓 𝐦𝐦 particles is crushed to an
average size of 𝟕 𝐦𝐦 and requires 𝟐𝟎 𝐤𝐉/𝐤𝐠 for this size reduction. Determine the
energy required to crush the material from 𝟐𝟓 𝐦𝐦 to 𝟑. 𝟓 𝐦𝐦 assuming
i. Rittinger’s law,
ii. Kick’s law and
iii. Bond’s law.

Solution:
i. Applying Rittinger’s formula,
𝟏 𝟏
𝐄𝐑 = 𝐂𝐑 −
𝐱𝟐 𝐱𝟏
We get, C = 194.4 kJ mm/kg
Inserting this value and x = 3.5 mm,

𝟏 𝟏
𝐄𝐑 = 𝟏𝟗𝟒. 𝟒 − = 𝟒𝟕. 𝟖 𝐤𝐉/𝐤𝐠
𝟑. 𝟓 𝟐𝟓 15

ii. Apply Kick’s law and solve by yourself.

iii. Applying Bond’s law,
𝟏 𝟏
𝐄𝐁 = 𝐂𝐁 −
𝐱𝟐 𝐱𝟏

Hence, C = 112.4 kJ mm . /kg and inserting x = 3.5 mm,

𝟏 𝟏
𝐄𝐁 = 𝟏𝟏𝟐. 𝟒 − = 𝟑𝟕. 𝟔 𝐤𝐉/𝐤𝐠
𝐱𝟐 𝐱𝟏

 Which among these is most suitable for the given size range?
 What is the additional energy required to reduce the particle from the intermediate
size of 7 mm to the product size 3.5 mm ?

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 16

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Product Size Distribution

 Comminution processes are modeled on the basis of the two following functions.

Mass fraction of particles in interval

Rate of Breakage 𝐒𝐣
j that gets broken at a certain time

60 % of the materials in interval 1

𝐒𝟏 = 𝟎. 𝟔 gets broken at a certain time

Mass fraction of particles that

Breakage distribution
𝐛(𝐢, 𝐣) breaks from interval j and falls into
function
interval i

25 % of the materials broken from

𝐛 𝟒, 𝟏 = 𝟎. 𝟐𝟓 interval 1 falls into interval 4.

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 17

𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐬 (𝐤𝐠) 𝐛(𝐢, 𝐣) 𝐁 (𝐢, 𝐣)

0.9 0.15 1

1.8 0.3 0.85

1.5 0.25 0.55

1.2 0.2 0.3

0.6 0.1 0.1

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Product Size Distribution

 The rate of change of mass of particles in size interval 𝐢 in the product can be
expressed by the following equation:

𝐣 𝐢 𝟏
𝐝𝐦𝐢
= [𝐛 𝐢, 𝐣 𝐒𝐣 𝐦𝐣 ] − 𝐒𝐢 𝐦𝐢
𝐝𝐭
𝐣 𝟏

Mass broken into interval 𝐢 from Mass broken from interval 𝐢 into
other intervals above it subsequent intervals

This equation can be written in terms of mass fraction also.

𝐣 𝐢 𝟏
𝐝𝐲𝐢
= [𝐛 𝐢, 𝐣 𝐒𝐣 𝐲𝐣 ] − 𝐒𝐢 𝐲𝐢
𝐝𝐭
𝐣 𝟏

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 19

Product Size Distribution

Illustration: A sample of a material has the following feed size distribution.

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐥 1 2 3 4 5 6
𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 0.2 0.4 0.3 0.06 0.04 0.00

The particles are broken in a grinding mill keeping grinding time to 1 minute. The
resulting product has the following properties [𝐒𝐣 & 𝐛(𝐢, 𝐣)].
Use the information to find product size distribution.

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 20

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𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐥 1 2 3 4 5 6

Size of interval
212 − 150 150 − 106 106 − 75 75 − 53 53 − 37 37 − 0
(𝛍𝐦)

𝐒𝐣 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.35 0.3 0

𝐛(𝟏, 𝐣) 0 0 0 0 0 0

𝐛(𝟐, 𝐣) 0.32 0 0 0 0 0

𝐛(𝟑, 𝐣) 0.3 0.4 0 0 0 0

𝐛(𝟒, 𝐣) 0.14 0.2 0.5 0 0 0

𝐛(𝟓, 𝐣) 0.12 0.2 0.25 0.6 0 0

𝐛(𝟔, 𝐣) 0.12 0.2 0.25 0.4 1.0 0

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 21

Solution:
Applying the equation for the rate of change of mass fraction in size intervals in the
product.

• Size interval 1:
dy
= [b i, j S y ] − S y = 0 − S y = −0.14
dt
So, 𝐲𝟏 (in product)= 𝟎. 𝟐 − 𝟎. 𝟏𝟒 = 𝟎. 𝟎𝟔.

• Size interval 2:
dy
= [b 2, j S y ] − S y = b 2,1 S y − S y = −0.1952
dt
So, 𝐲𝟐 (in product)= 𝟎. 𝟒 − 𝟎. 𝟏𝟗𝟓𝟐 = 𝟎. 𝟐𝟎𝟒𝟖.

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 22

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• Size interval 3:

dy
= [b 3, j S y ] − S y = b 3,1 S y + b 3,2 S y − S y = −0.012
dt

So, 𝐲𝟑 (in product)= 𝟎. 𝟑 − 𝟎. 𝟎𝟏𝟐 = 𝟎. 𝟐𝟖𝟖.

Similarly,
𝐲𝟒 (in product)= 𝟎. 𝟏𝟖𝟏𝟔; 𝐲𝟓 (in product)= 𝟎. 𝟏𝟒𝟐𝟗 ; 𝐲𝟔 (in product)= 𝟎. 𝟏𝟐𝟐𝟕

 Show the calculations. How can you check the consistency of the results.
 Perform the whole problem in Excel and express the results in a tabulated form.

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 23

Types of Comminution Equipment

 Factors affecting the selection of equipment:
• Stressing mechanism
• Size of feed and product
• Material properties
• Carrier medium
• Mode of operation
• Capacity

 Two most common types of stress mechanisms include:

 Stress applied between two surfaces at low velocity (as in crushing).
 Stress applied at a single solid surface at high velocity (as in grinding).

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 24

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Types of Comminution Equipment

 Crushing equipment:
 Jaw crusher:
• Operates by compression and can break very large lumps into small size, such as
primary breaking of rocks, ores or coal.
• Two jaw forms a “V” structure. One of them
is static and other one swings towards it.
• Jaw faces are usually slightly bulged by
horizontal grooves or teeth.
• Reciprocating speed: About 250 −
400 times⁄min
• Size reduction: From 2 m to 250 mm in
primary crusher and up to 50 mm in a
secondary crusher.
• Capacity: About 1200 ton⁄hr

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Types of Comminution Equipment

Also learn about
• Gyratory crusher
• Crushing roll machine
• Horizontal table mill

Working of a Jaw crusher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3np_Ipw3R-A

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 26

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Types of Comminution Equipment

 Grinding equipment:
 Ball mill:
• Consists of still balls of about 𝟏𝟐 − 𝟏𝟐𝟓 𝐦𝐦 size that is rotated with the horizontal
body to a certain height and falls of with impact to collide with the materials to
cause the grinding.
• Abrasion resistant covering on the inside ensures a low friction between balls and
wall.
• Feed materials can extend up to about 𝟓𝟎 𝐦𝐦 size. Efficiency usually increases
with increasing hold up time.
• The balls wear an tear constantly and get replaced by newer balls. The large new
balls deal with the feed and the smaller balls are effective for grinding solids to fine
product.

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 27

Types of Comminution Equipment

Factors affecting the size of the product:
• The rate of feed
• The size and properties of feed
• Weight and size of balls
• Slope of the wall
Learn the affects of these variables.

• Rotation speed: At low to moderate speed, balls usually just rolls over the feed and
not much grinding occurs. At high speed, balls fall from a high enough distance to
cause impact grinding. At even higher speeds there is probability of the balls
getting rotated along with the body not causing any grinding. The minimum speed
at which this occurs is called the critical speed of the mills. Actual rotation speed
should be about 𝟖𝟎% of the critical speed.
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Critical speed calculation:

r

Critical speed is achieved when

A centrifugal force equals the radial
component of the gravity force

mg

At critical speed, α = 0 i.e. the speed is

enough for the balls to rotate all the
way with the body.

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 29

Types of Comminution Equipment

Radial component of the gravity,
F = mg cos α
Centrifugal velocity,
F = mω R − r = m 2πn (R − r)
Where, n is the revolution speed.

Equating these two forces and setting α = 0 we get the critical speed as,

𝟏 𝐠
𝐧𝐜 =
𝟐𝛑 𝐑 − 𝐫

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 30

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Types of Comminution Equipment

Also learn about
• Pin mill
• Hammer mill
• Sand mill
• Colloid mill

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 31

Types of Comminution Equipment

 Self study:
• Equipment selection based on size of the product required.
• Material properties
• Open circuit milling and closed circuit milling

Akib Atique Khan Dhrubo, AP, ChE 32

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