New patented milling technology has the potential to meet the fine grinding requirements of bulk materials that were previously regarded as uneconomic.
Engineering design specialist� the UK based International Innovative Technology (IIT), has developed new grinding technology that combines low energy consumption with a compact size and powerful grinding force.
As a result� as well as being suitable for the conventional grinding of a wide range of minerals and materials� the highly milling system also has the potential to turn a number of industrial by-products that were previously regarded as waste into commercial products.
The new m-series powder mills from IIT comprises a technically advanced modular design capable of grinding soft� medium and hard materials (to 9.5 on the Mohs scale) to 90% passing 45 microns and below.
Compact and powerful� the centrifugal grinding mechanism of the m-series is extremely energy efficient with the vertical material flow path and special roller assembly ensuring that the force produced is translated into maximum particle grinding power.
As a result� extremely low electrical energy input is required relative to particle size and volume of powder output� with specific energy consumption typically between 5kWh/T and 10kWh/T.
Managing director� George Ord� says: "In those areas where milling technology could not previously handle non-economic materials efficiently� the low energy features of the m-series have opened up a range of new opportunities - particularly in the area of recycling and with certain plastic and glass waste.
"For example� working with established suppliers in the glass reinforced plastics (GRP) industry we have been able to demonstrate the cost effective and environmentally efficient grinding of production-line GRP off-cuts which had previously been consigned to landfill.
"Turning the scrap into a fine powder means it can be economically reduced to a fine powder for recycling in the batch mix and other applications.
"Similarly� in the construction sector� we have successfully turned surplus limestone waste into a powdered product that can be used as a cement replacement in concrete production."
More traditional milling applications for the m-series include the processing of natural raw materials and other industrial products such as metal oxides� bauxite� calcium carbonate and quarry products� silicon carbide� coal� fly ash� blast furnace slag� nickel slag� steel slag and glass waste.
The motors� drives and control technology for the m-series are supplied by Siemens Industry Automation and Drive Technology (Siemens IA &DT) who are also providing worldwide technical support for the new system.
Multi stage grinding processes can be developed through the incorporation of a number of grinding modules in series with milled powder size controlled by the number of modules� rotational speed and module barrel diameter.
Typically� a standard 600mm barrel operating at 300 rpm produces a very fine powder output at up to 5 tonnes per hour and multi-mill configurations are available to meet capacities of up to 50 tonnes per hour.
The vertical configuration and compact size gives the IIT m-series mills a small floorspace footprint for efficient installation in relatively confined spaces and simple integration into existing processes.
As part of a full project management capability IIT also provides full materials handling system design, installation and commissioning services. In this respect the new m-series is available as a stand-alone milling plant or can be supplied as part of a complete powder milling process solution with the IIT-developed c-series dynamic classifier used for fine particle sizing and the s-series of high efficiency cyclones.
Where materials which have the potential to combust or explode are to be processed ATEX rated models of the m-series grinding mill and ancillary plant are also available.
International Innovative Technologies (IIT)
Unit 5 Queens Court
Third Avenue
Team Valley Trading Estate
Gateshead NE11 OBU
Sales: enquiries@iituk.com
Web: www.iituk.com
Tel: +44 (0) 191 491 3136