SIZE REDUCTION
Muluken N.
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SIZE REDUCTION
▪ It is the process of reducing the particle size of a material to a
finer state of subdivision (i.e. to smaller pieces, to coarse
particles, or to powders).
▪ Comminution is an alternative name for this operation
▪ There are a number of methods which are used in size
reduction
▪ E.g. cutting, chopping, crushing, or grinding depending on
the type of equipment used and the material to be
comminuted
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SIZE REDUCTION…
▪ Objectives of size reduction
o To produce smaller particles
o To reduce the bulk of materials
o To increase SA
o To enhance flowability of powders
▪ Methods and Equipments of size reduction
A. Methods of size reduction
1. Cutting
▪ The material is cut by means of sharp blades
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SIZE REDUCTION…
2. Compression
▪ In this method, the material is crushed by application of
pressure
3. Impact
▪ Impact occurs when the material is more or less stationary
and is hit by an object moving at high speed or when the
moving particle strikes a stationary surface
4. Attrition
▪ Here the material is subjected to pressure as in compression,
but the surface are moving relative to each others resulting in
shear forces which break the particles
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EQUIPMENTS FOR SIZE REDUCTION
1. Cutter mill
Principle
In cutter mill, size reduction involves successive
cutting with the help of sharp knives.
Working
Knives are attached to a rotor and act against
stationary knives in the casing
Rotating knives are allowed to rotate at speed from
200 -900 rpm.
Feed loaded flows down by force of gravity.
During rotation, material comes very close between
stationary & rotating knives & thereby cut materials
into small pieces.
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EQUIPMENTS…
Use of Cutter mill
❖ To obtain coarse degree of size reduction of soft materials
❖ To reduce the size of tough & fibrous material.
E.g. roots, peels or woods prior to extraction
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EQUIPMENTS…
2. Roller mill
Principle
Material is crushed by application of stress
through rotating heavy rollers.
Working
Rollers are allowed rotate in opposite
direction to each other.
Rotating rollers crush materials with high
pressure.
Use
It is used for crushing soft tissues of seeds
before extraction of fixed oils.
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EQUIPMENTS…
3. Hammer mill
Principle
Mill operates on principle of impact between
rapidly moving hammers mounted on a rotor.
Working
Hammers are allowed to be in continuous
motion (8000-15000 rpm).
Rotating hammers beat materials to yield
smaller particles.
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EQUIPMENTS…
Advantages of Hammer mill
❖ It is rapid in action and capable of grinding many d/t types of materials
❖ The product can be controlled by variation of rotor speed, hammer type
and size and shape of mesh
❖ Operation is continuous
❖ Little contamination of the product with metal abraded from the mill
Disadvantages of Hammer mill
❖ The high speed of operation causes generation of heat that may affect
thermolabile materials
❖ The mill may be chocked resulting decreased efficiency or even damage
❖ May be susceptible to damage by foreign objects in the feed
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EQUIPMENTS…
Use of Hammer mill
❖ It is capable of producing intermediate grades of powder
from almost any substances except sticky materials
❖ It is used for non abrasive, brittle products.
❖ Applications include the powdering of barks, leaves, roots
etc.
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EQUIPMENTS…
4. Ball mill
Principle
Material is crushed by impact between
rapidly moving balls.
Working
The ball mill consists of a hollow cylinder
mounted in such a way that it can rotated on
its horizontal axis
Balls are made up of inert metals like steel
will give impact action on material.
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EQUIPMENTS…
Cylinder:
➢ Cylinder may be made up of metal, porcelain or rubber.
➢ Diameter of the cylinder ranges from 1-3m in pharmaceutical
practice.
Balls:
➢ Balls occupy about 30 to 50% of the volume of the cylinder.
➢ Diameter of the balls depends on the feed size and diameter of
the cylinder.
➢ The diameter of balls ranges from 2-15cm.
➢ Balls may be of metal, porcelain or pebbles
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EQUIPMENTS…
Here, speed of rotation of balls is very important.
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EQUIPMENTS…
At low speed At high speed At moderate speed
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EQUIPMENTS…
Advantages of Ball mill
❖ Economical and simple to operate
❖ Can handle wide variety of materials of d/t character and
degree of hardness
❖ It can produce very fine powders
❖ It is used for milling pigments etc
Disadvantages of Ball mill
❖ Wear and tear can occur
❖ Soft materials may stick on the sides of balls
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EQUIPMENTS…
5. Fluid energy mill
Principle
Feedstock is suspended within high
velocity air stream.
Milling takes place because of high
velocity collisions between suspended
particles.
Working
After entering the powder from inlet,
turbulent stream of air entering through the
lower side & collide with suspended
particles & break them.
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EQUIPMENTS…
➢ Fluid energy mill consists of a loop of pipe, which has a
diameter of 2-20 cm.
➢ The height of the loop may be up to 2m.
➢ Several nozzles are fitted at the bottom of the pipe.
➢ A classifier is fitted in the system so that only finer size
particles are collected as products and the larger size
particles are again sent to the stream of air for further size
reduction
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EQUIPMENTS…
Advantages of fluid energy mill
❖ Very small particle size of product is produced (up to 5
microns or less)
❖ Used for thermolabile substances
❖ Little or no abrasion of mill
❖ Used when especially fine powders are required
E.g. antibiotics & vitamins
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EQUIPMENTS…
Pharmaceutical application of size reduction
❖ To increase SA of drug
❖ To increase therapeutic effectiveness of certain drugs
❖ To increase the stability of liquid preparations
❖ To increase the physical appearance of certain DFs
❖ To facilitate extraction of medicinal components from plants
❖ To facilitate drying
❖ For uniform distribution of medicaments in solid DFs
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