WET FINE GRINDING IN A LABORATORY STIRRED BALL MILL

10th International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference - SGEM2010, www.sgem.org, SGEM2010 Conference Proceedings/ ISBN 10: 954-91818-1-2, June 20-26, 2010, Vol. 1, 691-698 pp

ABSTRACT

Fine grinding involves a large number of parameters in its operation. In this study, the
effect of some parameters such as initial particle size, filling volume of the ball and ball
size distribution on fine grinding of calcite powders (-200, -150 and -100 μm) using a
laboratory stirred ball mill was studied under wet conditions. Zirconia beads (ZrSiO4)
were used as grinding media with 1.0-1.2, 2.0-2.2 and 2.8-3.0 mm. A series of batch
experiments using 2 3 full factorial designs was conducted to determine optimum
grinding parameters. The main and interaction effects on specific surface area (m2.g-1)
in fine grinding were evaluated using Yates’ analysis. The test results showed that the
ball filling ratio is the most important effect.

Keywords: stirred ball mill, wet fine grinding, statistical analysis