Comminution

Introduction

• Comminution is the progressive reduction in particle size of the ore in

order to liberate valuables which are intimately associated with the
gangue.
• In its earliest stages, comminution is carried out 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.
• Comminution is accomplished by a sequence of crushing and grinding
processes.
• Crushing is accomplished by compression of the ore against rigid surfaces,
or by impact against surfaces while grinding is accomplished by abrasion
and impact of the ore by the free motion of unconnected media such as
rods and balls and the ore itself.
• Crushing is usually a dry process, and is performed in several stages,
reduction ratios being small, ranging from three to six in each stage.
• The reduction ratio of a crushing stage can be defined as the ratio of
maximum particle size entering to maximum particle size leaving the
crusher.
• Grinding is usually performed "wet" to provide a slurry feed to the
concentration process, although dry grinding has limited applications.
 Principles of comminution
• Most minerals are crystalline materials in which the atoms are regularly
arranged in three-dimensional arrays.
• The arrangement of atoms is determined by the size and types of bonds
holding them together.
• In the crystalline lattice of minerals, these inter-atomic bonds are effective
only over small distances, and can be broken if extended by a tensile
stress.
• Such stresses may be generated by tensile or compressive loading as
below
 Comminution theory and Laws
• Comminution theory is concerned with the relationship between energy
•  input and the particle size made from a given feed size.
• Rittinger’s law (1867), states that the energy consumed in the size
reduction is proportional to the area of new surface produced. The
surface area of a known weight of particles of uniform diameter is
inversely proportional to the diameter.

where, E is the energy input, is the product particle size, is the feed particle
size and K is a constant.
• The law applies in the range 10-1000 m i.e. fine grain range
• Kick’s Law (1885) states that the energy consumed in size reduction is
•  proportional to the reduction in volume of the particles concerned.

where R is the reduction ratio

where fis the diameter of the feed particles and pthe diameter of the product
particles.
• The law applies to particles above 10 000 m
• Bond’s law (1952) states that 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.
• 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 inversely proportional to the square
root of the diameter.
• For practical purposes the size in microns in which 80 % of the feed and
the product pass is selected the criterion of particle size.

where W isthe work input in kilowatt hours per ton, is the work index.
• The work index is the comminution parameter which expresses the
resistance of the material to crushing and grinding.
• Numerically it is the kilowatt hours per tonne required to reduce the
material from theoretically infinite feed size to 80% passing 100 m.
• The law applies in the range of ball mill and rod mill grinding i.e. 30-3000
m.
 Limitations of Comminution laws

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Each of the laws apply to a narrow range of particle size
 Crushing
• Crushing is the first mechanical stage in the process of comminution in
which the main objective is the unlocking of the valuable minerals from
the gangue.
• It is generally a dry operation and is usually performed in two or three
stages and can be in open or closed circuit depending on product size
required.
• In open circuit crushing, the product is screened and the oversized
material goes fro secondary crushing, the product thereof is then
combined with the undersize from the screen and is then routed to the
next operation.
• Open circuit crushing is often used in intermediate crushing stages, or
when the secondary crushing plant is producing a rod mill feed.
• If the crusher is producing ball-mill feed it is good practice to use closed-
circuit crushing in which the undersize from the screen is the finished
product.
• One of the main reasons for closing the circuit is the greater flexibility
given to the crushing plant by making it possible to select product particle
size.
 Primary crushing
• Lumps of ROM ore as large as 1.5 m in diameter are reduced to a size of
about 10-20 cm.
• It is achieved by primary crushers, which are heavy duty machines that are
always operated in open circuit, with or without heavy-duty scalping
screens (grizzlies).
• There are two main types of primary crusher –jaw and gyratory crushers

Jaw crushers
• They have two plates which open and shut like animal jaws.
• The jaws are set at an acute angle to each other, and one jaw is pivoted so
that it swings relative to the fixed jaw.
• Material fed into the jaws is alternately nipped and released to fall further
into the crushing chamber. Eventually it falls from the discharge aperture.
• Jaw crushers are classified by the method of pivoting the swing jaw.

• Jaw crushers are rated according to their receiving areas, i.e. the width of
the plates and the gape, which is the distance between the jaws at the feed
opening. e.g. an 1830 * 1220 mm crusher has a width of 1830 mm and a
gape of 1220 mm.
• The jaws are usually constructed from cast steel and are fitted with
replaceable liners made from manganese steel, or "Ni-hard", a Ni-Cr
alloyed cast iron.
• The speed of jaw crushers varies inversely with the size, and usually lies in
the range of 100-350 rev min-1.
 Advantages of Jaw crushers
• Simple and reliable construction
• Wide range of application
• Relatively low maintenance

Disadvantages of Jaw crushers

• Crushing is done on half cycle thus limiting capacity
• Due to its alternative loading and realising of stress, it causes vibrations
hence need for strong foundation

• NB. Capacities of a jaw crusher can go up to 725 tph above which the
economic advantage diminishes and a gyratory crusher is preferred.
 Gyratory crusher
• The gyratory crusher consists of a long spindle, carrying a hard steel
conical grinding element, the head, seated in an eccentric sleeve.
• The spindle is suspended from a "spider“ and it sweeps out a conical path
within the fixed crushing chamber, or shell, due to the gyratory action of
the eccentric.
• At any cross-section there are in effect two sets of jaws opening and
shutting like jaw crushers.
• In fact, the gyratory crusher can be regarded as an infinitely large number
of jaw crushers each of infinitely small width.
• Since the gyratory, unlike the jaw crusher, crushes on full cycle, it has a
much higher capacity than a jaw crusher of the same gape, and is usually
favoured in plants handling very large throughputs.
• Crushers range in size up to gapes of 1830 mm and can crush ores with
top size of 1370 mm at a rate of up to 5000tph with a 200 mm set.
• In deciding whether a jaw or a gyratory crusher should be used in a
particular plant, the main factor is the maximum size of ore which the
crusher will be required to handle and the capacity required.
• Gyratory crushers are, in general, used where high capacity is required ( 
900 tph).
• Jaw crushers tend to be used where the crusher gape is more important
than the capacity.
• For instance, if it is required to crush material of a certain maximum
diameter, then a gyratory having the required gape would have a capacity
about three times that of a jaw crusher of the same gape.
• A useful relationship, which is often used in plant design is:

If throughput (tph) < 161.7 *(gape in metres)2 , use a jaw crusher.

 Secondary crushers
• Secondary crushers are much lighter than the heavy-duty, rugged primary
machines.
• They reduce primary crushing discharge of size 10-20 cm to a product of
0.5-2 cm.
• Secondary crushers also operate with dry feeds, and their purpose is to
reduce the ore to a size suitable for grinding.
• The bulk of secondary crushing of metalliferous ores is performed by cone
crushers, although crushing rolls and hammer mills are used for some
applications.
 Cone crusher
• The cone crusher is a modified gyratory crusher.
• The essential difference is that the shorter spindle of the cone crusher is
not suspended, as in the gyratory, but is supported in a curved, universal
bearing below the gyratory head or cone.

Head and shell shapes of (a) gyratory, and (b) cone crushers
• The design of the shell allows a much greater head angle than in the gyratory
crusher, while retaining the same angle between the crushing surfaces.
• This gives the cone crusher a high capacity, since the capacity of gyratory
crushers is roughly proportional to the diameter of the head.
• A cone crusher is rated by the diameter of the cone lining.
• Cone crushers range in size from 559 mm to 3.1 m and have capacities up to
3000 tph, with a discharge setting of 19 mm.
• The material passing through the crusher is subjected to a series of
hammer-like blows rather than being gradually compressed as by the slowly
moving head of the gyratory.
• The high-speed action allows particles to flow freely through the crusher,
and the wide travel of the head creates a large opening between it and the
bowl when in the fully open position.
• This permits the crushed fines to be rapidly discharged, making room for
additional feed.
• The fast discharge of the cone crusher allow a reduction ratio in the range 3-
7:1.
 Roll crushers
• They are preferred in handling friable, sticky, frozen, and less abrasive
feeds, such as limestone, coal, chalk, gypsum, phosphate, and soft iron
ores.
• Smooth surface rolls are used for fine grinding while course grinding is
achieved by toothed rolls.
 Impact crushers
• Comminution is accomplished by impact rather than compression, by
sharp blows applied at high speed to free-falling ore.
• The moving parts are beaters, which transfer some of their kinetic energy
to the ore particles on contacting them.
• The internal stresses created in the particles are often large enough to
cause them to shatter.
• There are internal stresses in material broken by pressure (compression)
which can later cause cracking.
• Impact causes immediate fracture with no residual stresses.
• This stress-free condition is particularly valuable in stone used for brick-
making, building, and road-making, in which binding agents, such as
bitumen, are subsequently added to the surface.
• Impact crushers, therefore, have a wider use in the quarrying industry
than in the metal-mining industry.
Hammer mill
 Grinding
• Grinding is the last stage in the process of comminution in which particle size
reduction is achieved by impact ,abrasion, and chipping either dry or in
suspension in water.
• It is performed in tumbling and stirred mills which contain a charge of loose
crushing bodies - the grinding medium- which is free to move inside the mill,
thus comminuting the ore particles.
• In tumbling mills the mill shell is rotated and motion is imparted to the charge
via the mill shell. The grinding medium may be steel rods, balls, or rock itself.
• Tumbling mills are employed in the mineral industry for coarse-grinding
processes, in which particles between 5 and 25 mm are reduced in size to
between 40 and 300 m.
• In stirred mills the mill shell with either a horizontal or a vertical orientation is
stationary and motion is imparted to the charge by the movement of an internal
stirrer.
• Stirred mills find application in fine (15-40 m) and ultra-fine (<15 m) grinding.
• Correct grinding is the key to good mineral processing since the grinding
section exercise close control on the product size to ensure optimum degree
of liberation of valuables.
• Grinding is the most energy-intensive operation in mineral processing
accounting for about 50 % of the concentrator’s energy requirement.
• Most of the kinetic energy of the tumbling load is dissipated as heat, noise,
and other losses, with only a small fraction being expended in actually
breaking the particles.
• Consequently the ore should not be ground any finer than is justified
economically.
• Control of product size is exercised by the type of medium used, the speed of
rotation of the mill, the nature of the ore feed, and the type of circuit used.

Mechanisms of breakage: (a) impact or compression, (b) chipping, (c) abrasion .

 Motion of the charge in a tumbling mill
• At relatively low speed the medium tends to roll down the toe of the mill
and abrasive grinding occurs. The medium is said to be cascading leading
to finer grinding and increased liner wear.
• At high speed the medium is projected clear of the charge parabolically
before landing on the toe of the mill. The medium is said to be cataracting
leading to comminution by impact resulting in a coarse product with
reduced liner wear.
• The optimum mill speed should produce comminution by both processes.
 Tumbling mills
• Tumbling mills are of three basic types: rod, ball, and autogenous.
• Each type of mill consists of a horizontal cylindrical shell, provided with
renewable wearing liners and a charge of grinding medium.
• The feed material is usually fed to the mill continuously through one end,
the ground product leaving via the other end, although in some
applications the product may leave the mill through a number of ports
spaced around the periphery of the shell.
 Rod mills
• Used for coarse grinding using steel rods as grinding medium.
• Rod mills are capable of taking feed as large as 50mm and making a
product as fine as 300 m, reduction ratios normally being in the range
15-20:1.
• The distinctive feature of a rod mill is that the length of the cylindrical
shell is between 1.5 and 2.5 times its diameter.
• This ratio is important because the rods, which are only a few centimetres
shorter than the length of the shell, must be prevented from turning.
• Rod mills are normally run at between 50 and 65% of the critical speed, so
that the rods cascade rather than cataract.
• The feed pulp density is usually between 65 and 85% solids by weight,
finer feeds requiring lower pulp densities.
• The grinding action results from line contact of the rods on the ore
particles; the rods tumble in essentially a parallel alignment, and also spin,
thus acting rather like a series of crushing rolls.
• The coarse feed tends to spread the rods at the feed end, so producing a
wedge- or cone-shaped array.
• This increases the tendency for grinding to take place preferentially on the
larger particles, thereby producing a minimum amount of extremely fine
material.

Grinding action of rods.

• This selective grinding gives a product of relatively narrow size range, with
little oversize or slimes.
• Rod mills are therefore suitable for preparation of feed to gravity
concentrators, certain flotation processes with slime problems, magnetic
separators and ball mills.
• They are nearly always run in open circuit because of this controlled size
reduction.
 Ball mills
• Used for the final stages of comminution using steel balls as the grinding
•  medium.
• Balls have a greater surface area per unit weight than rods and are
therefore better suited for fine finishing.
• The length of the shell is 1-1.5. If the ratio goes up to 3-5 the mill is called
a tube mill.
• Tube mills are generally used in dry operations to grind cement, gypsum
and phosphate.
• The of a ball mill can either be grate discharge (low level) or simple
overflow trunnion discharge.
• Grate discharge mills are fitted with discharge grates between the
cylindrical mill body and the discharge trunnion.
• The pulp flows freely through the openings in the grate and is then lifted
up to the level of the discharge trunnion.
Grate discharge mill
• These mills have a lower pulp level than overflow mills, thus reducing the
dwell time of particles in the mill.
• Very little overgrinding takes place and the product contains a large fraction
of coarse material, which is returned to the mill by some form of classifying
device.
• Closed-circuit grinding with high circulating loads, produces a closely sized
end product and a high output per unit volume compared with open circuit
grinding.
• The trunnion overflow mill is used for most ball mill applications, especially
for fine grinding and regrinding.
• Grinding in a ball mill is effected by point contact of balls and ore particles
and, given time, any degree of fineness can be achieved.
• Closed-circuit grinding mills providing low residence time for the particles
are almost always used in the last stages to overcome this.
• Ball mills operate between 65 and 80% solids by weight, depending on the
ore.
• The speed of a ball mill is in the range 70-80 % of the critical speed.
 Autogenous mills
• An autogeneous mill (AG mill) is a tumbling mill that utilises the ore itself
as grinding media.
• A semi-autogeneous mill (SAG) mill is an autogenous mill that utilises a
reduced load of steel balls in addition to the natural grinding media.
• The main advantages of AG/SAG mills are their lower capital cost, the
ability to treat a wide range of ore type including sticky and clayey feeds,
the large size of available equipment, lower manpower requirements, and
reduced grinding media expense.
• Autogenous milling may be performed wet or dry.
• Dry mills have more environmental problems, do not handle materials
containing clay well, and are more difficult to control than wet mills.
• AG/SAG mills can handle feed ore as large as 200 mm (normally the
product of the primary Crusher) and achieve a product of 0.1 mm in one
piece of equipment.
 Grinding circuits
• The feed can be wet or dry, depending on the subsequent process and the
nature of the product.
• Dry grinding is necessary with some materials due to physical or chemical
changes which occur if water is added.
• It causes less wear on the liners and grinding media and it produces a higher
proportion of fines in the product.
• Wet grinding is generally used in mineral processing operations because of
the overall economies of operation. Advantages include:
1. Lower power consumption per tonne of product,
2. Higher capacity per unit mill volume,
3. Making possible the use of wet screening or classification for close product
control.
4. Elimination of dust problem, and
5. Making possible the use of simple handling and transport methods such as
pumps, pipes, and launders.
• Circuits are divided into two broad classifications: open and closed.
• In open circuit the material is fed into the mill at a rate calculated to
produce the correct product in one pass:

• This type of circuit is rarely used in mineral processing applications as

there is no control on product size distribution.
• The feed rate must be low enough to ensure that every particle spends
enough time in the mill to be broken down to product size.
• This results in overgrinding of particles and high energy consumption.
• In closed circuit grinding material of the required size is removed by a
classifier, which returns oversize to the mill.
• No effort is made to effect all the size reduction in a single pass, instead,
effort is made to remove material from the circuit as soon as it reaches
the required size.

• Closed-circuit grinding reduces the residence time of particles in each

pass, and the proportion of finished sizes in the mill, compared with open-
circuit grinding.
• This results in increased capacity.