In the food industry, raw materials and intermediate products must often be submitted to size
reduction operations such as cutting, chopping, grinding, milling and so on.
In the case of liquids and semi-solids, size reduction
operations include mashing, atomizing, homogenizing etc. The following are some important
applications of size reduction in the food industry:
o Milling of cereal grains to obtain flour
o Fine grinding (refining) of chocolate mass
o Flaking of soybeans prior to solvent extraction
o Cutting of vegetables and fruits to desired shapes (cubes, strips, slices…)
o Fine mashing of baby food
o Homogenization of milk and cream.
The four fundamental principles of size reduction
Understanding how materials break down under different forces is crucial for selecting the right
processing method. Food engineers rely on four primary mechanisms, each working differently
depending on the material’s properties and desired outcome.
Compression: The gradual squeeze
Compression involves applying steady pressure to materials, causing them to fracture when their
structural limits are exceeded. This principle works exceptionally well for brittle materials that crack
cleanly under pressure.
Picture crushing garlic with the flat side of a knife—you’re applying compression to break down the
cellular structure. In industrial settings, roller mills use this principle to crack grains like wheat or
corn. The rollers apply controlled pressure, creating uniform breaks that preserve the grain’s
nutritional components while achieving the desired particle size.
Compression works best for: Grains, nuts, dried fruits, and other materials with defined breaking
points. The process is energy-efficient and produces relatively uniform particles with minimal dust
generation.
Impact: The sudden blow
Impact involves striking materials with high-speed moving parts, delivering sudden energy that
shatters particles instantly. This rapid force application is ideal for materials that resist gradual
pressure but break readily under shock.
Hammer mills exemplify this principle perfectly. Rotating hammers strike materials at high speeds,
creating the impact force needed for size reduction. This method is commonly used for processing
spices, dried herbs, and fibrous materials like celery or dried vegetables.
Impact excels with: Tough, fibrous materials and items requiring rapid processing. However, it can
generate heat and may not provide the most uniform particle size distribution.
Attrition: The grinding action
Attrition combines rubbing and shearing forces as particles move against each other or against rough
surfaces. This grinding action gradually wears down materials, similar to how sandpaper smooths
wood through repeated abrasive contact.
Ball mills demonstrate attrition beautifully. Steel balls tumble inside a rotating cylinder, grinding
materials caught between them and the cylinder walls. This method is particularly effective for
creating very fine powders, such as those used in cake mixes or instant beverages.
Attrition works well for: Creating fine powders and processing materials that benefit from gradual
size reduction. It provides excellent particle size control but requires longer processing times.
Cutting: The sharp division
Cutting uses sharp blades or edges to slice through materials, creating clean separations without
crushing or deforming the product structure. This principle maintains the integrity of food pieces
while achieving precise size control.
Food slicers and dicers rely entirely on cutting principles. When processing vegetables for frozen
meals or creating uniform potato chips, cutting ensures consistent thickness and appearance while
preserving cellular structure and nutritional content.
Cutting is perfect for: Fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, and any material where maintaining
structural integrity is important. It produces the most uniform results but requires sharp, well-
maintained equipment.
Properties of Comminuted Products
Reduction Ratio = Average feed size / Average product size
Coarse crushers: Up to 8:1
Fine grinders: Up to 100:1
Sphericity is used to evaluate particle shape (value ranges between 0.6–0.7 for irregular
particles)
Particle size distribution and consistency are critical parameters in food quality control,
often evaluated by food industry consultants.
The three fundamental laws of size reduction energy
Food processing engineers rely on three empirical laws that relate energy consumption to particle
size changes. Each law was developed through extensive experimentation and offers unique insights
into the energy-size relationship, though each has its own strengths and limitations.
Rittinger’s law: focusing on new surface area
Proposed by P.R. von Rittinger in 1867, this law suggests that the energy required for size reduction
is proportional to the new surface area created during the process. The fundamental principle makes
intuitive sense—when you break a large particle into smaller ones, you’re essentially creating new
surfaces that didn’t exist before.
The mathematical expression for Rittinger’s Law is:
E = Kr × (1/Df – 1/Di),
where E represents energy per unit mass,
Kr is Rittinger’s constant (specific to the material),
Df is the final average particle diameter, and
Di is the initial average particle diameter.
This law works particularly well for fine grinding operations where the creation of new surface area
dominates the energy consumption.
Consider grinding sugar crystals into powdered sugar. The initial crystals might be 2mm in diameter,
and the final powder particles could be 0.02mm. Using Rittinger’s Law, you can calculate that this
process creates 100 times more surface area, requiring proportionally more energy. This law proves
most accurate when dealing with brittle materials and very fine particle sizes.
Kick’s law: constant energy per size ratio
Frederick Kick proposed in 1885 that the energy required is proportional to the logarithm of the size
reduction ratio. Unlike Rittinger’s focus on surface area, Kick’s Law assumes that the energy needed
depends on the relative change in particle size rather than absolute size differences.
The equation takes the form:
E = Kk × ln(Di/Df),
where Kk represents Kick’s constant for the specific material.
This law suggests that reducing particle size from 10mm to 1mm requires the same energy as
reducing from 1mm to 0.1mm—both represent a 10:1 reduction ratio.
Kick’s Law proves most reliable for coarse crushing operations, particularly when dealing with hard,
tough materials like nuts or dried grains. When cracking walnuts, for instance, the energy needed
correlates well with the ratio between the original nut size and the desired piece size, regardless of
whether you’re dealing with large or small nuts initially.
Bond’s crushing law: the middle ground approach
Recognizing that neither Rittinger’s nor Kick’s laws accurately predicted energy requirements across
all size ranges, Fred Bond developed his work index concept in the 1950s. Bond’s Law represents a
compromise between the two earlier theories and has become the most widely used method in
industrial applications.
Bond’s equation is expressed as:
E = 10 × Wi × (1/√Df – 1/√Di),
where Wi is Bond’s work index, a material-specific constant that must be determined experimentally.
The work index represents the energy needed to reduce a unit weight of material from theoretically
infinite size to 80% passing 100 micrometers.
This law proves most accurate for intermediate size reduction operations—the range where most
food processing actually occurs. When designing equipment to process cereals, spices, or dried fruits,
Bond’s Law typically provides the most reliable energy estimates. The work index values for
common food materials have been extensively documented, making this approach highly practical
for industrial applications.
A food material is crushed from an average initial size of 35 mm to a product size of 13 mm,
requiring 30 kJ/kg of energy. Determine the energy needed to crush the material further from 35 mm
to 7.5 mm, comparing the results from Kick's, Rittinger's, and Bond's laws.
Given:
Kick's law (coarse grinding)
Kick's law relates the energy input to the ratio of the initial and final particle sizes. It is most
accurate for coarse crushing, where there is a relatively small increase in surface area.
Formula:
Rittinger's law (fine grinding)
Rittinger's law states that the energy required for comminution is directly proportional to the
new surface area created. It is most accurate for fine grinding.
Formula:
Bond's law (intermediate grinding)
Bond's law is considered a more realistic model for a wide range of particle sizes. It states
that the energy input is proportional to the square root of the surface-to-volume ratio.
Formula:
Summary of results
For the target reduction from 35 mm to 7.5 mm:
Kick's Law (Coarse): ~46.7 kJ/kg
Bond's Law (Intermediate): ~54.4 kJ/kg
Rittinger's Law (Fine): ~65.0 kJ/kg
As expected, the estimated energy increases as the final particle size becomes finer.