SIZE REDUCTION

by

Engr. Alexis T. Belonio, PAE, Fellow PSAE

Associate Professor and Chair
Department of Agricultural Engineering and Environmental
Management
College of Agriculture
Central Philippine University
Iloilo City
Email: atbelonio@yahoo.com
 Introduction
 Size reduction is usually refers to cutting,
crushing, grinding, and milling of solid mass.
 The size reduction in size of the product is
brought about by mechanical means without a
change in chemical properties of material and
the uniformity in size and shape of the individual
grains and units of the product is usually
desired.
 Examples of Size Reduction
Processes
 Cutting of fruits and vegetables for canning
 Shredding of sweet potato for drying
 Chopping corn fodder
 Grinding limestone for fertilizer
 Grinding grains for livestock feed
 Milling flour
 Etc
 Milling
 This is the trade term used relative to the
reduction of grain into meal or flour.
 The milling process includes
– Size reduction
– Hulling
– Scarifying
– Polishing
– Sorting
– Mixing
 Size Characteristics
 Machine performance in reducing the size
of material is characterized by the
following:
– Capacity
– Power required per unit of material reduce
– Size and shape of the product before and
after reduction
– Range of size and shape of the resulted
product
Classifications of Reduced Materials

Class Size

Dimension Range Size 1/8 in or more

Sieve Range 0.125 to 0.0029 in

Microscopic Range less than 0.0029

 Sieves
 These are the
simplest method of
classifying granular
materials by passing
the them into series
of Tyler sieves
 Tyler Standard Screen Sieve
Mesh No. Openings to Diameter of Wire, in. Size of Opening
in.
- 0.1050 0.5250
3 0.0700 0.2630
6 0.0360 0.1310
8 0.0320 0.0930
10 0.0350 0.0650
14 0.0250 0.0460
20 0.0172 0.0328
28 0.0125 0.0232
35 0.0122 0.0164
48 0.0092 0.0116
65 0.0072 0.0082
100 0.0042 0.0058
150 0.0026 0.0041
200 0.0021 0.0029
 Fineness Modulus
 This indicates the uniformity of grind in the
resultant product.
 It is the sum of the weight fractions retained
above each sieve divided by 100.
 Sieve used are: 3/8-, 4-, 8-, 14-, 28, 48-, and
100-in mesh
 Standard samples is 250 grams oven dried to
constant weight to 100 C and shaken to Ro-Tap
for 5 minutes.
Determine the fineness modulus for the following data obtained
using a hammer mill:

Mesh Size of Opening Percent of Material Multiplied by

Retained
3/8 0.371 0.0 7= 0
4 0.185 3.7 6 = 22.2
8 0.093 20.4 5 = 10.7
14 0.046 36.1 4 = 144.4
28 0.0232 17.8 3 = 53.4
48 0.0116 10.1 2 = 20.2
100 0.0058 7.0 1 = 7.0
Pan 4.9 0= 0
257.9

Fineness Modulus = 257.9 / 100

= 2.57
 Particle Size

D = 0.0041 (2) FM

where:
D - average grain size, inches
FM - fineness modulus, dmls

Using the data above, the particle diameter D = 0.0041 (2) 2.57
is 0.024 inch
 Size Reduction Procedure
 Cutting – It is a separation or reduction
which produce by pushing or forcing a thin,
sharp knife through the materials to be
reduce.
 Crushing – This is the reduction by applying
a force to the unit to be reduced in excess
of its strength.
 Shearing – This is the combination of
cutting and crushing. This can be done
either singly or in combination.
 Cutting
 Minimum deformation and rupture of the reduce
particles.
 New surfaces produce by this sharp knife are
relatively undamaged.
 Well adopted to fruits and vegetables.
 Knife of extreme sharpness and as thin as
possible is the most satisfactory cutting device.
 Knife with edge that has sawing component
provides a smoother cut with probably less
energy.
 Crushing
 Characteristics of the new surfaces are irregular
in size and shape.
 The characteristics of the new surfaces and
particles are dependent upon the type of
material and the method of force application.
 Crushing by means of rigid roll or bed are
example of static force application.
 Hitting the product with hammer is example of
dynamic force application.
 Shearing
 It is usually used for reducing materials of
a tough fibrous nature where some
crushing may be advantageous and the
resulting units are of large uniform size.
 For beast performance, the clearance
between the bar and the knife should be
small as possible and the knife as sharp
and thin as possible.
 Size Reducing Devices
 Hammer Mill – reduction caused by impact
– Fixed Hammer
– Swinging Hammer
 Attrition Mill or Burr Mill or Plate mill – reduction caused
by twisting pressure
 Crushers – reduction cause by simple normal pressure
– Jaw
– Gyratory
– Roller mill
 Cutter Mill - reduction cause by cutting
 Hammer Mill
 It consist essentially of a
rotating beater and heavy
perforated screen.
 The material is introduced
into the housing and the
beater that rotates 1500
to 4000 rpm beats and
pounds the material until
it is small enough to pass
through the screen.
 The fineness of the
material is controlled
mainly by the size of holes
of the screen.
 Hammers are rigidly
fixed to the shaft or
swing.
 The striking edge of
the hammer is
designed in great
many ways.
 The swinging hammer
are usually reversible.
 Advantages of Hammer Mill
 Simplicity
 Versatility
 Freedom from significant damage due to
foreign objects
 Freedom from damage when operating
empty
 Hammer wear does not materially reduce
its efficiency
 Disadvantages of Hammer Mill
 Inability to produce uniform grind
 High power requirement
 Attrition, Burr, or Plate Mill
 It consists essentially of two
roughened plates, one
stationary and other rotating.
 The material is fed between
the plates and is reduced by
crushing and shear.
 Over feeding reduces the
effectiveness of the grinder
and excessive heating results.
 Operating speed is usually less
than 1200 rpm.
 The fineness of reduction is controlled by
the type of plates and by the spacing.
 It is heavy –duty precision used for
preparation of feed and food.
 Each burr rotates and is driven
independently, speed are much higher,
and design and construction are more
precise.
 Advantages of Burr Mill
 Low initial cost
 Product may be relatively uniform
 Power requirement are very low
 Disadvantages of Burr Mill
 Foreign objects may cause breakage
 Operating empty may cause excessive
burr wear
 Worn burrs yield poor results.
 Crushers
 It reduce the material by pressing or
squeezing it until the material breaks.
 Crushers includes the following:
– jaw crusher – cheaper and slower used for
smaller operation.
– gyratory crusher – cone in shape smoother
operation and capacity is higher
– roll crusher – Used for primary reduction of
material following attrition or hammer mill.
Roller Mills Used for Slicing Noodles into Sizes
 Cutter Mill
 It is best for reducing the size of fibrous
materials like forages, straws, and weeds
 Performance Characteristics
 Product uniform as to size
 Minimum temperature size during
reduction
 Minimum power requirement
 Trouble free operation
 Product Size
Hammer Mill Vary the size of screen opening

Burr Mill Vary spring pressure on the burrs

Roller Mill Vary opening between roll

Cutter Mill Vary the rate of feed of material

with respect to the cutter rpm
 Uniformity of the Product
 Attrition mill does not significantly produce
a more uniform product than hammer mill.
 Power Requirement
 Affected by the type of materials, moisture
content, fineness of grinding, rate of
feeding, type and condition of mill, etc.
 Fibrous materials requires more power
than crystalline materials.
 Moist grain are difficult to grind than dried
grains.
 The power required to operate empty
increases swiftly are the speed of the mill
increases.
 Capacity of hammer mill is limited by the
power available.
 Energy Requirement of Feed Grinding
(kW-hr/ton)
Material Hammer Mill Burr Mill

Shelled Corn 7.4 3 – 5.8

Oats 11.5 – 14 5 – 14

Barley 9 – 14 4 – 10

Ear Corn 6–8 -

Hay 8 - 16 -
 Temperature Rise
 The energy for grinding is dissipated as heat
energy and raises the temperature of the ground
product , the mill and the ambient air.
 Some heat is lost in vaporizing moisture.
 Temperature may rise higher when grinding
fibrous materials particularly when producing fine
materials.
 Hammer mill produces a cooler product because it
uses air for conveying the materials.
 High temperature contributes to decomposition of
ground materials especially if the moisture
content is high.
 Material Temperature Rise During Grinding
Material Type of Grinder Fineness Temp
Modulus Elevation
Oats Burr 2.73 50

Hammer 2.70 18

Barley Burr 3.66 8

Hammer 3.66 2

Shelled Corn Burr 3.96 7

Hammer 3.13 10

Ear Corn Burr 3.07 14

Hammer 3.05 13
 References
 Henderson, S. M, and R. L. Perry. 1976.
Agricultural Process Engineering. Third
Edition. The AVI Publishing Company,
Inc. Westport Connecticut. 442pp.
 Hunt, D. Farm Power and Machinery
Management. Iowa State University
Press. Ames, Iowa. 365pp
Thank you very much
and God bless!!!