WET FINE GRINDING IN A LABORATORY STIRRED BALL MILL

Fine grinding involves a large number of parameters in its operation. In this study, the effect of some parameters such as initial particle size, filling volume of the ball and ball size distribution on fine grinding of calcite powders (-200, -150 and -100 mu m) using a laboratory stirred ball mill was studied under wet conditions. Zirconia beads (ZrSiO4) were used as grinding media with 1.0-1.2, 2.0-2.2 and 2.8-3.0 mm. A series of batch experiments using 2(3) full factorial designs was conducted to determine optimum grinding parameters. The main and interaction effects on specific surface area (m(2).g(-1)) in fine grinding were evaluated using Yates' analysis. The test results showed that the ball filling ratio is the most important effect.