CRUSHING AND MILLING

Department of Mining Engineering and Safety

 COMMINUTION
❑ In practice, crushing and milling is called the collective name of
mechanical disintegration - COMMINUTION

❑ Comminution is particle size reduction of materials

❑ It is one of the most important industrial process in the plant, but also in
many other industries, such as chemical, ceramic, cement and food
industries.
 REASONS OF DESINTEGRATION
❑ to reduce the size of grains and pieces in the processed raw material

❑ to reduce the grain size to increase the grain surface (for leaching,
melting or the chemical industry as adsorbents)

❑ to liberation the particles of utility minerals from one another and the
taillings

❑ to achieve physical and chemical changes in the raw material such as

mechanical activation, breakage of grids in ultrafine milling
 ❑ the border between crushing and milling is not yet clearly defined

❑ according technical norm – technical document comminution is devided

as follows
Way of comminutuon Size of reduced grains
▶

1. Coarse crushing Bigger than 125 mm

2. Medium crushing Bigger than 25 mm

3. Final crushing Smaller than 25 mm

4. Milling Smaller than 1.25 mm

5. Fine milling Smaller than 0.08 mm

❑ In comminution, the size reduction of particles is done by four
types of forces: compression, impact, shear and attrition.
1. Compression, shear and impact forces are extensively used in crushing
operations

2. Attrition is the dominant force in milling

❑ Most crushers and mills use two or more ways of comminution

power to disconnect
▶
 ❑ The least undesirable particles of dust are produced by shearing
the grains - can only be applied to fragile rocks.

❑ Most of the dust particles are formed by attrition (combination of

pressure and shear).

❑ We can make comminution dry or wet - crushing is usually dry.

❑ Milling is usually done in wet conditions, because the following

separation of the milled material takes usually place in water.

▶
 REDUCTION RATIO (degree of
comminution)
❑ is one of the main characteristics of crushers and mills
❑ it is the portion of the grain size of the feed material to the grain size of
the product of comminution
❑ to determine degree of comminution we have to know grain composition
before grinding and after grinding
❑ the degree of crushing is given by the following relation:
D - diameter of the largest grains in the feed

d - diameter of the largest grains in the crushing product

 ❑ The size of the grains of an irregular shape can not be exactly
defined.
❑ In practice, the size of the grains is usually determined by the sieves

Dt - size of the sieve holes by which t % of the crushed material passes (index t - how
much percentage of materials passes through the sieve
dt - size of the sieve holes by which t % of the product of crushing passes
❑ crushing t = 80% (index t - how much percentage passes through the
sieve) s = 6-20
❑ milling t = 95% s = 30-100
❑ large degree of crushing – performance of crushing devices
decreases and the cost of crushing increases
❑
 Two crushing and grinding
technologies are used
❑ In the open circuit (first screening and then crushing the oversized)
- reduces the load of the crushing machines, their wear and also
reduces the energy consumption

❑ In a closed circuit (first crushing, then screening and oversized

again crushing) – deficient crushed grains are returned from the
screeners back to the crushers, used for milling ores
▶
 CRUSHING

❑ is the first mechanical stage in the process of comminution

❑ It is generally a dry operation and is usually performed in two or three

stages

❑ it used in closed circuit with screeners

 JAW CRUSHERS
❑ the material is crushed by pressure,
in part also by breaking, in the
space between the fixed and
movable plate
❑ the crushed material falling down by
outlet hole – exit gap (slot) - the
width is changeable - allowing the
product to be obtained
❑ used for rough and medium
crushing of hard and tough raw
materials, not ideal for humid
material
▶
 GYRATORY CRUSHERS (cone)
❑ conical crushers are used for
rough, medium and fine crushing
of very hard and difficult to crush
rocks

❑ the material is crushed between a

rotating crushing cone and a
stationary crushing case
❑
ROLLER CRUSHERS
❑ crush the material most often between
two opposite rotating rollers

❑ they have one, two or more cylinders –

the most common are two cylinders

❑ one of the cylinders is spring-loaded

and has the function of a fuse

❑ the surface of the rolls can be smooth,

channeled, geared or barbed – it
depends on crushed material
▶
 IMPACT AND HAMMER CRUSHERS
❑ material is crushed by intense hit
(impact) of the grains on stationary
armor plates

❑ the rotating hammers (crushing bars)

crush the material by impact the plate
- there is a grain breakdown by
impact

❑ they are used to crush mainly brittle

ores, barites, limestones etc.
▶
MILLING
❑ comminution of materials to a size below 1.25 mm

❑ is the last stage in the process of comminution

❑ particles are reduced in size by a combination of impact and abrasion, either

dry or in suspension in water (which is more common)

❑ is used before flotation treatment of non-ferrous metal ores, graphites, fluorites,

❑ It may be in open or closed circle

 MILLING
❑ mostly in rotary cylindrical steel
drums known as tumbling mills

❑ these contain the grinding

medium—which is free to move
inside the mill, thus comminuting
the ore particles.

❑ the grinding medium may be steel

rods or balls, hard rock, or in some
cases the ore itself
▶
BALL MILLS
❑ the grinding medium – balls of different sizes - fill the grinding space up to
50%
❑ the material is grinded by falling and over-rolling balls by stroke, pressure
and attrition
▶
❑ are the most
common secondary
mills for preparing
the material for the
following
concentration
process
▶
ROD MILLS

❑ to grinding is used long steel rods - fill up to 35-45% of the

space in mill - rod diameters are in the range of 25 to 100
mm.
❑ they are used in wet grinding of minerals, but also dry
grinding in the chemical industry, when milling limestone,
gypsum or coal
 TUBE MILL
❑ very long ball mills – length is about 12-14 m

❑ they use for very fine grinding (below 0,03 mm) in cement works and
ceramic industry
▶
❑ they usually
have 2 or more
chambers
❑
AUTOGENOUS MILLS

❑ grinding medium is crushed ore

❑ on suitable ores, these mills eliminate
grinding medium costs and may produce
lower percentages of slimes and fines than
conventional rod and ball mills.
❑ have a larger diameter and shorter length
than rod and ball mills
▶
 VIBRATORY MILL

❑ their grinding space is not rotated

❑ the mill body is mounted on two

sets of springs

❑ they use usually in laboratories for

preparing analytical samples