MT 221: 2.

0 Principles of Comminution 2015

2.0 Introduction

The word comminution is simply the reduction in size or simply 'to make small'. In the
widest sense it might be regarded as:

Those mechanical operations such as turning, drilling, saving, carving or planning in

which objects are individually changed in shape, usually to previously determine and
closely controlled dimensions. Making small particles out of large particles is a
surprisingly pervasive human technology. A modern industrial civilization cannot exist
without exploiting a wide range of comminution technologies, from the coarse crushing
of mined ore and quarry rock, to very fine grinding for material production.

Comminution in its earliest stages is carried out in order to make the freshly excavated
material easier to handle by scrapers, conveyors, and ore carriers, and in the case of
quarry products to produce material of controlled particle size. Explosives are used in
mining to remove ores from their natural beds, and blasting can be regarded as the first
stage in comminution. Indeed, there is increasing evidence that integrating the
comminution stages of mining and mineral processing in a holistic way, rather than
seeing them as decoupled or even competitive elements of the production process, can
produce substantial economic benefits.

In mine site context, the term 'comminution' encompasses the following unit operations:

Table 2.0 Unit Operations.

Crushers Tumbling mill Stirred mills Sizing processes
Jaw crushers Autogenous (AD) mills Tower mills Screens
Semi– autogenous (SAG)
Gyratory crushers mills Vertical pin mills Sieve bends
Cone crushers Rod mills Horizontal pin mills Hydrocyclones
Rolls crushers Ball mills Other classifiers
High pressure
grinding rolls
Impact crushers

Note: The sizing processes are not in themselves size reduction devices, they are an
integral part of any comminution circuit, and contribute directly to circuit performance
and energy utilisation efficiency. In so far as size reduction of brittle materials is
concerned, the purposes of comminution can be enumerated as below;

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2.2 Purposes of Comminution

The purposes of comminution include the following;

 To produce material having a size range which is convenient for transportation
and storage and suitable for use with no further processing except screening.
 To liberate minerals disseminated in basic rock in order to free their concretions
from gangue and enable subsequent separation processes be efficient.
 To expose mineral values to chemical attack e.g. during leaching.
 To produce a given surface area e.g. for improved reaction time.

2.3 Objective of Size Reduction in Mineral Processing

The objective of size reduction in mineral processing is the liberation of individual

mineral particles. However size reduction will be accompanied by the appearance of
deleterious phenomena either overgrinding (over production of fines) or undergrinding
(presence of high proportion of coarse particles). Undergrinding of ores leads to an
increase of metal losses in the larger particle sizes (increase in tailings grade). On the
other hand overgrinding will lead to the following:

 Losses of the finer sizes (10-5µm) due to ineffective particle - bubble catch up
brought about by slime coating around the air bubble.
 Slime floatability and the non – selective mechanical entrainment in the froth
zone during flotation with water.
 Excess reagent consumption due to the presence of slimes.
 The deleterious effect of overproduction of fines emerges not only during
flotation but also in the subsequent operations of thickening, filtration and drying
of concentrates and their transport in the metallurgical operations.
 Excess energy consumption during metal extraction processes

Ores are essentially heterogeneous aggregates of minerals. The finer the ore is broken,
the more homogeneous the mixture of particles becomes. Weighing and sampling of the
ore is therefore normally done on the finished product of a crushing plant, before it enters
the grinding circuit, because this product is more homogeneous than run-of-mine ore and
has not yet been ground into pulp. In modern plants, weighers and samplers are often
automated devices. The degree of size reduction required is different for each ore. It is
determined mainly by the characteristics of the ore (interlocking, dissemination) and by
economic considerations. In view of the above, size reduction is nearly always done in
stages, usually using different machines for each stage. This assists in eliminating the
effects of either overgrinding or undergrounding, than attempting to achieve the desired
product size in a single operation.

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2.3 Types of Comminution Circuits

2.3.1 Closed and Open circuits

In most cases, the operating stages are all in closed circuit i.e. the product is sized ( on a
screen or other sizing device) whereafter the portion which is sufficiently fine (the
undersize) passes on to the next stage and the portion which is coarse (the oversize)
return to the breaker. In open circuit operation the material passes straight through the
breaker and the entire product passes on to the next stage. As long as the feed does not
alter drastically (size, hardness etc) the tonnage of material returning to the breaker (the
circulating load) will be fairly constant.

Feed Circulating
Load

Figure 2.0(a): Schematics Diagram of a Closed Circuit Operation

Figure 2.0(b): Schematics Diagram of a Open Circuit Operation

Circulating Loads (CL) in closed circuit operations are normally expressed as a

percentage of the new feed coming in. In most crushing operations circulating loads are
relatively small (< 100%). In modern grinding practice, however, circulating loads are
often very high (250 – 700%).

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2.4 Conveyor Belts

Conveyor Belts are loops which move materials from one location to another. They
consist of two or more pulleys with a continuous loop of material. The powered pulley is
called the drive pulley while the empowered pulley is called the idler. There are often
driven by variable speed electric motors. The basic type of Conveyor belts comprise of
head, tail and snub pulleys, idlers, motor and reduction gear.

Characteristics of Belt Conveyors

 Low stretch and good tracking
 Excellent troughabilty and load support
 Greater flexibility
 Excellent mechanical fastener retention
 Insensitive to moisture, mildew and acid mine water
 Excellent adhesion between the covers and plies

Secondary crushers, which have a relatively small discharge opening, should be protected
against large pieces of “tramp” metal (e.g. steel liner plates, hammer head etc) which can
jam the crusher, hence resulting in loss of production time and damaged equipment. This
is done by positioning a magnet or better still, a metal detector in the conveyor system
between the primary and secondary crushers or between the stockpile and the SAG mill.

2.5 Storage Facilities

Stockpile- Crushed ore is feed onto the Stockpile using a moveable tripper. The
movement of the tipper is monitored by two limits; Operating limit and over travel limit
switches on both sides of the stockpile ends. Ore from the Stockpile is reclaimed by
Vibrating feeders. The vibrating feeders are installed with unbalanced
electromagnetically operated drives and are controlled from a Variable Speed Drive
panel. The material is discharged onto the feeder conveyor underneath the vibrator chute
this feeds the secondary crushers or Primary Grinding mill. Feed rate control into the mill
will be adjusted by increasing the vibrations on the vibrator feeder in operation.

Storage Bins- Flow of material from ore reception through various equipments in a
crushing sequence may be disrupted due to a number of reasons which include the
following:
 Breakdown of equipment
 Breakdown of delivery system
 Planned maintenance in the crushing circuit
 When there are no ore deliveries.

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Apart from ore bins crushing circuits include larger bins of several thousand tonnes
capacity. Capacity of storage bins depend upon the size of the plant. Small plants may not
have storage bins while bigger plants normally have. For instance if there is a breakdown
of secondary crusher, the primary crusher product may be diverted to storage bins. If for
one reason or the other the primary crusher is down, ore can be withdrawn from the
storage bin as feed to secondary crushers. Therefore storage bins or bunkers provide
emergence storage capacity.

2.6 Feeding Arrangement

Secondary and Tertiary Crushers are normally fed from an ore bin, which ensures
uninterrupted feed to the crusher while feed into the bin can be intermittent. Primary jaw
crushers are usually preceded by ore bins as well. Such bins normally have capacity of no
more than several hundred tones (surge capacity) while Semi- autogenous mills are
normally fed from the chute using belt conveyors from the stockpile. Ore is drawn from
the bins using feeders to regulate feed to crushers. Conveyor systems and chutes transport
the ore between various stages. The material from the bins may be screened on a double
or triple deck screen to produce material suitable for feed to secondary and tertiary
crushers.
Feed into the ore
bin can be
intermittent

Uninterrupted feed
Ore Bin

Primary Crushers
Triple Deck
Screen Secondary Crushers

Tertiary crushers

Grinding Mills

Figure 2.1: Crushing Circuit with Multi feed to Secondary Crushers

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The semi-autogenous or autogenous mill grinds crusher product and prepares it for final
grinding in a ball mill or rod mill. Its product is usually passed over a large vibrating
screen to separate oversize 'pebbles' from correct-size particles. The correct-size material
is sent forward to a ball mill for final grinding. The oversize pebbles are recycled through
a small pebble crusher, and then back to the semi-autogenous or autogenous mill. This
procedure maximizes ore throughput and minimizes electrical energy consumption. Ball
mills tumble iron or steel balls. They gradually wear away as grinding proceeds. Ball
mills typically contain about 75% ore and 25% 'steel' (by volume). They give a controlled
final grind. Consider the control system of SAG mill and Ball mill in closed circuit;

Figure 2.2 Control Systems for Grinding Mill Circuit

The ball mill accepts the semi-autogenous or autogenous mill product. It produces
uniform-size flotation feed. It is operated in closed circuit with a particle size
measurement device and size control cyclones.

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LAWS OF COMMINUTION

Comminution Theory

Comminution theory is concerned with the relationship between energy input and the
particle size made from a given feed size. Various theories have been expounded, none of
which is entirely satisfactory. The greatest problem lies in the fact that most of the energy
input to a crushing or grinding machine is absorbed by the machine itself, and only a
small fraction of the total energy is available for breaking the material. It is to be
expected that there is a relationship between the energy required to break the material and
the new surface produced in the process, but this relationship can only be made manifest
if the energy consumed in creating new surface can be separately measured. In a ball
mill, for instance, it has been shown that less than 1% of the total energy input is
available for actual size reduction, the bulk of the energy being utilised in the production
of heat. Another factor is that a material which is plastic will consume energy in changing
shape, a shape which it will retain without creating significant new surface. All the
theories of comminution assume that the material is brittle, so that no energy is adsorbed
in processes such as elongation or contraction which is not finally utilised in breakage.
The oldest theory is that of Von Rittinger (1867).

Rittinger’s Law of Surface Theory

The law states that the energy consumed in the size reduction is proportional to the area
of new surface produced. This hypothesis approximates power consumption for
secondary grinding most closely but may be roughly applied to all stages of crushing and
grinding. The energy required to achieve reduction ratio varies inversely with the particle
size as shown below;
Es ∞

Where Es is the surface energy D2

X is the particle size

The actual power consumption varies from ore to ore, but the factor by which
consumption increases from stage to stage is the important consideration and illustrates
the Rittinger hypothesis. The surface area of a known weight of particles of uniform
diameter is inversely proportional to the diameter, hence Rittinger's law equates to;

1 1
E  C R     C R S 2  S1 ....................3.2
 x2 x1 
Where E is the energy input,
x1 is the initial particle size,
x2 is the final particle size, and
CR is Rittinger’s constant.
S1 is the initial specific surface (for feed)
S2 is the final specific surface (for product)

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Kick’s Law of Volume Theory

The second theory is that of Kick (1885). He stated that the work required is proportional
to the reduction in volume of the particles concerned. R = f/p
Where R is the reduction ratio, f is the diameter of the feed particles and p the diameter
of the product particles. According to Kick's law, the energy required for comminution is
proportional to;
dE 1
 C ...............3.3a
dx x
In an integrated form, it becomes;
X
E  C K In 2 ..................3.3b
X1
Where E is the energy input
X1 is the initial particle size
X2 is the final particle size
CK is Kick’s constant

Bond’s Third Theory

Bond (1952) developed an equation which is based on the theory that the work input is
proportional to the new crack tip length produced in particle breakage, and equals the
work represented by the product minus that represented by the feed. Bond criticised both
the Rittinger and Kick theories and postulated the third theory of comminution. In
particles of similar shape, the surface area of unit volume of material is inversely
proportional to the diameter. The crack length in unit volume is considered to be
proportional to one side of that area and therefore inversely proportional to the square
root of the diameter.

For practical calculations the size in microns which 80% passes is selected as the
criterion of particle size. The diameter in microns which 80% of the product passes is
designated as P, the size which 80% of the feed passes is designated as F, and the work
input in kilowatt hours per short ton is W. Bond's third theory equation is expressed as;

 10 10 
W  Wi    ......................3.4
 P F

Pw = T * W.......................................3.5

Where W = work input (kWh/t)

Wi = work index - a material-specific constant (kWh/t)
P = size at which 80% of the product passes (µm)
F = size at which 80% of the feed passes (µm)
T = throughput of new feed (t/h), Pw = power draw (kW).

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The work index is the comminution parameter which expresses the resistance of the
material to crushing and grinding. Numerically, it is defined as the work input in kilowatt
hour per tonne required for the reduction in size from the theoretical infinite feed size to
80% passing 100 microns. Grinding power calculated using work indices obtained from
Bond grindability tests applies reasonably well in the range of conventional rod mill and
ball mill grinding conditions, and can be corrected for other conditions. The harder the
ore the higher the work index value and the greater the amount of work required to
reduce it from size F to size P.

Equation 3.4 is also useful for determining an 'operating work index' for an existing
comminution operation which normally varies from about 10 for soft ores to 20 for ores
that are difficult to break. This can be used to compare feed ore types, or assess the
crushing or grinding performance in relative terms. Bond derived equations for finding
the work index from several types of laboratory tests.

Hukki (1975) suggests that the relationship between energy and particle size is a
composite form of the three laws and concluded that no single relationship was adequate.
The three theories of comminution are all different even though they are describing the
same phenomenon. Various attempts have been made to show that the relationships of
Rittinger, Kick, and Bond are an interpretation of single general equations. The
probability of breakage in comminution is high for large particles, and rapidly diminishes
for fine sizes. The regions of applicability are shown in Figure 2.3a

Figure 2.3(a): Energy –Size Relationships for Brittle Materials

Hukki also proposed that at crushing sizes, Kick's relationship was appropriate. Bond's
'law' worked well for rod and ball mills as might be expected and at finer sizes,
Rittinger's ideas about surface were more plausible.

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Rittinger

Bond
Log E
Kick

Log X
Crushing operations produce the smallest change in particle surface area and hence, as
predicted by the theories, the specific energy required for crushing material is much
lower than that for grinding.

Figure 2.3 (b): Specific Energy consumption for Crushing and Grinding operations

Bond’s law is a useful predictor of energy consumption and of power requirements. The
bond’s index Wi (grindability constant) is mainly based on homogeneous rock, but most
rocks are heterogenous or aggregates of other minerals.

General Equation: Walker and Other (1937)

Walker and others proposed a general equation for comminution for each of the laws as
being the integral of a basic differential equation:

dE 1
 C n ....................................................3.6a
dx X
dx
dE  C n .....................................................3.6b
X
Where: E = net energy per unit of mass required in a comminution process
X = Particle size
n = Constant depending upon the material (grindability constant)

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