HOW HANDHELD XRF BENEFITS BALL MILL USERS
Innov X Africa • December 6, 2019
A ball mill is a type of grinder used to grind and blend materials for use in mineral dressing processes, ceramics, paints, and pyrotechnics. A ball mill consists of a hollow shell that is partially filled with balls (usually steel, ceramic, or rubber) rotating about its axis causing the balls to be lifted up and then cascade down on the material being worked. Particles trapped between the balls are ground down during this process.
Olympus Vanta Handheld XRF Ensure the Quality of the Grinding Media and Helps Reduce Cost
A ball before (left) and after (right) being used in a grinding mill.
Industrial facilities and mines utilize the ball mills to grind and blend materials for mineral processing. The highest milling efficiency is achieved with measurable and stable operating conditions. Using balls made from the correct materials helps ensure this stability.
If steel balls are being used in the mill, it’s impossible to tell if they’re made of the correct alloy simply by looking at them. Olympus Vanta Handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) can quickly and reliably verify the material chemistry of a grinding ball to ensure it’s made of the correct alloy or metal. Chromium (Cr) in the balls is a predictor of durability. Customers found that when the chromium concentration dropped below 16%, the balls broke down significantly faster, forcing them to add additional balls to the mill. This is expensive and inefficient as it slows down the milling process and requires the purchase of additional milling balls. The cost of the balls is a significant portion of the total mineral processing operation. As a result, the customer pushed their supplier to provide grinding balls with a consistently high (above 16%) level of chromium, increasing the efficiency of their process and lowering costs.
Results of ball mill testing using a Vanta XRF analyzer. The results on the left show the ball passed with 17% chromium content while the ball on the right failed with only 13.5% chromium content.
In industries where accuracy, efficiency, and durability are non-negotiable, the Vanta Element® handheld XRF analyzer series stands out as a game-changer. Whether you’re working in metal manufacturing, scrap recycling, mining, alloy processing, or petrochemical applications, having the right analyzer in hand means fast
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