SIZE REDUCTION/COMMUNITION

SIZE REDUCTION-Is the breakdown of solid materials through the application of mechanical forces
REASONS FOR SIZE REDUCTION
1. In order to extract desired constituent from a composite structure e.g. floor from wheat grains
or juice from sugar cane
2. Reduction to a definite size range may be a specific product requirement e.g. as in the
manufacture of icing sugar, preparation of spices and in chocolate refining
3. To increase the rate of processing by increasing the surface area of the material
4. For easy mixing and blending
NATURE OF FORCES USED IN SIZE REDUCTION
 Impact forces
 Compressive forces
 Attrition/shear forces
1: IMPACT FORCES – are general forces and are used for medium and fine grinding of
materials
2. Compressive forces
Used for crushing coarse and hard materials
3. ATTRITION/ SHEAR are extensively used in a machine for comminution of softer non-
abrasive materials in small size line
N/B
Crushing produces coarse product while grinding produces powdered products

NUMBER OF REDUCTION STAGES FOR A GIVEN PROCESS

In a comminution process the product particle form a mill varies widely in size. It is necessary
to classify these particle into particular ranges of size. A product spec………..
A typical size reduction flow sheet employs three reduction stages
a) Coarse crushing
b) Intermediate crushing
c) Fine crushing
Flow sheet
Skip ten lines for a diagram
 The feed is passed through the crushing jaw for coarse crushing. Generally impact forces
are applied. The product from crushing jaw is passed through a series of classifying
screens which allow intermediate and fine materials to pass through while retaining
coarse once on the upstream of the screen.
The retained material are recycled back for coarse crushing and the process continues
until all the materials passes through the screen
The intermediate materials that passes through the next set of screens in the series are
passed through intermediate crushing rolls where they are reduced further. From the
crushing rolls, the materials are taken for fine grinding after which they are passed
through a series of classifying screen where the oversized materials are recycled back for
fine grinding while others are collected as fine products

SIZE REDUCTION RATION

¿ the feed
Size reduction ratio=
¿ the product
Size reduction ratio is used in predicting the likely performance of a particular machine
i.e. coarse crushing machine has a ratio of 8:1 but for fine grinding the ratio as high as
100:1 is realized

CONSIDERATION GOVERNING SIZE REDUCTION EQUIPMENT SELECTION

1. Economic factors- this include capital , operation and maintenance cost, alternative
machine in case of breakdown of the one in use
2. Characteristics of the feed:

 Hardness and abrasiveness of the feed

 Moisture content of the feed
 Temperature sensitivity of the feed
HARDNESS AND ABRASIVENESS OF THE FEED
In general hard materials are more difficult to comminute. More energy is required and the
resident time in the action zone must be longer. This result into:
 Slower through put of the given mill
 A larger capacity mill to satisfy given duty
Harder materials are usually abrasive so tear and wear of working surfaces can be pronounced.
These surfaces should be fabricated in a hard to wear materials of construction e.g. manganese
and steel and should be easily replaceable
To reduce wear of the size reduction mill, the mill should be relatively slow moving
MOISTURE CONTENT OF THE FEED
The presence of moisture can hinder comminution process.
In many materials, moisture content in excess of 23% can lead to clogging of the mill.
Throughput of the grinding efficiency may suffer. Agglomeration or balling can occur in the
presence of moisture. This is undesirable if free flowing finely powdered food is required
Dusty formation from dry milling can cause many problems. In food industry it is frequently
necessary to strictly control moisture content of the feed.
TEMPERATURE SENSITIVITY OF THE FEED
Action zone of a mill is generally hot. This can result into degradation of food. Therefore cooling
facilities may be required around the action zone if heat sensitive materials are being handled.
Cryogenic commination using solid carbon dioxide or liquid nitrogen mixed with the food can be
used to prevent loss of heat labile components during size reduction

SIZE REDUCTION EQUIPMENT

Machines of various types and sizes are available for comminution of food materials. Larger
types of coarse crushers e.g. jaw crushers and gyratory crushers are not normally encountered
in the food industry.
CRUSHING ROLLS/ ROLLLER MILLS
In this machine, two or more heavy steel cylinders revolve towards each other. Particles of feed
are nipped and pulled through the rolls, experiencing a compressive force which crushes them.
In some machines a differential speed if maintained between the rolls and shear forces also
arise.
The through put of this unit is governed by the roller length, diameter and by the speed of
rotation. With larger diameters speeds of 50-300rpm (revolutions per minute) are usual. And
the Sze reduction ratio are very low.
The diameter of the rolls, the differential speeds and the nip (the spacing between the rolls) can
be varied to suit the feed size and the throughput rate required. An overload compression
spring protects the roller surface from damage but hard foreign bodies should be removed
before crushing
Diagram
 Angle of nip this is the angle formed by tangents to the rolls at the point of contact between a
particle and the rolls. It is important in specifying the size of a pair of rolls for a given duty.
If A=angle of nip
Df= average diameter of the feed
Dp= average diameter of the product particle
Dr= diameter of the roll
A Dr + DP
Then cos =
2 Dr+ Df
For limiting case when the particle is just pulled into the rolls by friction, the n
A
Tan =M
2
Where M is the coefficient of friction between the particles and the rolls
CAPACITY OF CRUSHING ROLLS
The theoretical capacity of this unit is the volume of continuous ribbon of the product
discharged from the roll. For a machine with diameter Dr (M) and length face L (M) when the
nip is Dp (M) and the roll speed is N (rpm) then volumetric capacity Q is given by
πDrNDpL
Q= (M3/S)
60
Knowing the bulk density of the discharge stream, the approximate mass flowrate may be
estimated. In practice, the actual capacity is found to lie between 0.1-0.3 of the theoretical
capacity
Crushing rolls are used for intermediate crushing and find wide application in the milling of
wheat and in the reining of chocolate.

HAMMER MILL
IS an impact or percussion grinder common in the food industries?
A high speed rotor carries a collar bearing a number of hammers around its periphery. When
the rotor runs the hammer heads swing through a circular path inside a closed fitting casing
containing a toughened breaker plate. Feed passes into action zone where the hammer drive
the materials against the breaker plate.
Reduction is mainly due to impact forces although under choked conditions, attrition forces can
also play part in the size reduction
Hammers may be replaced by cutters or bars. The hammer mill is regarded as a general
purpose mill that handles crystalline solids ferrous materials vegetable matter and sticky
materials.in the food industry, it is used for grinding pepper, spices, dried milk etc.
Diagram

DISC ATTRITION MILL

Mills are utilizing attrition or shear forces for size reduction.it plays a major part in finer
grindings.it is used in food industries for the production of very fine particle sizes. There are two
major types of disc attrition mill
1) Single disc mill
In this device, the feed stock passes between a high speed rotating grooved disc and the
stationary casing of the mill. There is intense shearing action resulting in comminution of the

feed.

The gap is adjustable depending on the feed size and the product requirement

Double attrition mill

In this modification, the casing contains two rotating discs. The disc rotate in opposite direction
giving greater degree of shear than that attainable in single disc mill. This type of attrition disc
mill is widely used in cone, rice and cereals preparations
 Buhr mill
Is an older method of disc attrition mill. They are used for flour milling. Two circular stones are
mounted on a vertical axis. The upper stone is often fixed while the lower stone rotates and
feed is being feed from above as the lower rotates. Feed material passes between the gap
between the upper and the lower stone. The materialism subjected to shear forces developed
between the stones.in some models the stone rotate in opposite direction.
4 tumbling mills
a) Ball mill
Balls of steel are tumbled inside a rotating cylinder the balls are lifted slightly along the walls of
the cylinder by friction between the balls and the cylinder. The balls are brought down by
gravity where they tumble against each other as a result a lot of shear or friction are created
against the surfaces.
Balls generate impact forces on the grains and break the materials held in the cylinder. The
balls are carried higher and higher and drop down from the top center under gravity.
If critical speed is attained beyond, the balls are attached to the wall by centrifugal forces and
fall back to the bottom of the cylinder. At this point, there is no comminution taking place
Critical speed of a mill or trammel is the speed at which small spheres inside the mill begin to
centrifuge.

It is given by
42.3
Nc= where NC=Critical speed
√D
D= diameter of the reel
This type of mill is extensively used in the food industry for finer of powder grinding. As with all
grinding mills, the working surfaces gradually wear so product contamination must be guarded
against.in practice the optimum operating speed is about 75% of the critical speed and should
be determined under the plant operating conditions.

b) Rod mill
In the rod mill, high carbon steel rods are used. Impact and attrition are still involved but the
effect of impact force are less pronounced.
Rod mills are recommended for use with sticky charges where balls can be trapped in the mass
of the charges and become ineffective.
The rods run the full length of the mill and as with ball mill, the rod mill occupy about 50% of
the mill.

WET MILLING
If the feed material is not wet, it can be wetted without degrading the quality. The food
material is carried through the action zone in a stream of water. The material to be ground is
suspended in water.
Advantages of wet milling
 Dust problem is eliminated
 Used to separate components of the feed e.g. stich from the grains
Disadvantages of wet milling
 High power consumption
 Increased wearing of the material surface thus risk of contamination by metal particles

Nb wet milling is used where powder products are required. Disc attrition mill is used in wet
milling
MODES OF OPERATING THE MILL
1. Open circuit grinding
The simplest method of mill operation
Feed enters the mill /action zone and drops out as a product.
The materials are pushed by the incoming raw material in the mill
CHARACTERISTICS
 No classifying screens
 No recycling of oversized particles
DISADVANTAGES
  Because some are able to pass out rapidly, smaller particles may overstay in the mill
zone thus there will be wide range in the sizes of the products
 Poor utilization of power due to overgrinding of smaller particles as a result of extensive
retention in the action zone for a longer period

Product
Action zone
Feed

2. Free crushing method

Materials fall rapidly through the action zone under gravity. Residence time is kept short.
Accomplished by feeding the material from above under gravity to the bottom. Thus
unnecessary breakdown of the particles are minimized

Advantages

Economical in terms power consumption because of short residence time

No overgrinding

Feed

Action
zone

Product

3. Choked feeding
In this method of mill operation, the mill discharge is restricted by inserting a screen in the
outlet from the machine thus the material will remain choked in the mill until it is reduced too
size capable of passing through the screen. Residence time is lengthy hence excessive grinding
of the material thus production of undersized particles.

Advantages
Uniform size ranges of the particle due to the presence of the screen.
Used when a fine product is required
 Disadvantages
Uneconomical due to high power consumption

Feed

Action
zone

Screen

Product

4. closed circuit grinding

In this method, the residence time in the mill zone is very short. The material passes through the mill
very rapidly

The material leaving the mill passes through the screen to separate fine materials from the oversized.
The oversized materials are recycled for regrinding

Oversize recycle

Feed ground product

Mill zone Screen

Advantages

 efficient power consumption

 no overgrinding
 uniform particle size of the product

This method is used in industrial milling

ENERGY REQUIREMENTS

The energy applied in a mill effect the following

 breakage of materials to cause new faces

 deformation of materials within their elastic limit
During the breakage of materials energy is released inform of heat. This energy increases temperature
hence the risk of heat damage.

The little energy supplied is used to break the material. Up to 98% of the input energy is transformed
into heat energy to deform the particles. The 98% of the input energy is used during deformation of
materials within their elastic limit and the friction between the particles themselves.

LAWS OF COMMUNITION

1. RETTINGERS LAWOF COMMUNITION

The energy required for comminution of a material is directly proportional to the new surface produced.
Rettinger assumed that the power (n) in the above equation is two

dE K
=
dX X 2
An equation for energy required to comminute materials in a mill can now be calculated to be

1 1
E=K ( 1 - 1)
2
X 2 X 12

Where x1= is the size of the material

X2= is the size of the product

K=1.2X102 Kw/ton

Rettingers law is required for fine grinding where there is large surface area. K is constant for Rettingers
and is a constant for a particular machine.

2. KICKS LAW OF 1885

The law was developed out of necessity because when rettingers law was applied practically it was
found that it gave excessive results/energy required in the mills. The used energy was much less than
the theoretically calculated energy.

Kicks law states that energy required for a particular size reduction is directly proportional to the size
dE K
reduction ratio =
dX x
x1
thus E=K ln
x2
 x1
where =¿ ratio .
x2
Example

In a mill wheat flour grain is milled from an average diameter of 2mm to flour of average diameter 20
μm . If Rettingers constant was 1000kw/hr. determine the energy used
The kicks law have been more accurate for coarser crushing where most of the energy is used for
fracturing the solid materials. The theoretical energy obtained though the kicks law was found to be too
low to the energy consumed by the mill after many years of trial experimentally

FC BOND LAW 1952

A third version of the comminution law is the one attributed to Bond , who considered that,

The work necessary for reduction was inversely proportional to the square root of the size produced.

In Bond’s consideration n takes the value of 3/2,  Where x1 and x2 are measured in micrometers and E
in kWh/ton, K = 5Ei,  Where Ei is the bond work index.

He took the value of n to be 3/2 or 1.5

dE K
= 3
dX
X2
1 1
Thus E= 2k ( 1 - 1)
2 2
X 2 X 1

And x1 and x2 are measured in μm

And E is measured in kw/ton

And k=5Ei

Ei is the bond work index

BOND WORK INDEX

Is the energy required to reduce a unit mass of a material from an infinite particle size to that size that
80% of the material will pass through 100 μm screen or sieve

METHODS USED TO DISINTERGRATE HARD FIBROUS MATERIALS

1. SLICING- involves cutting materials into parallel portions of uniform thickness of slices.
 Slices fruits are in great demand as the dessert products in catering premises. Sliced fruits have
attractive appearance and offer convenient product to serve for a consumer.
Sliced fruits are available in the market as processed products e.g. pineapples, pears mangoes
etc.
Machines for slicing include
 Rotary knives
2. DICING – cutting materials into cubes of uniform sizes. Materials meant for dicing are usually
sliced first which are then cut crosswise to obtain the cubes. the cubes are used to make the
fruit salad
3. SHREDDING- tearing of materials fragments into different sizes. mainly done to materials prior
to drying hence drying becomes more efficient