Model-based evaluation of grinding experiments

A grinding simulation has been developed based on the population balance model. In the chemical industry, it is usual that a range of products is milled in the same grinding facility. Performing experiments with narrow fractions or tracers to obtain grinding coefficients for each product would be very cost-intensive. Here, a method is used to determine grinding coefficients using algorithms based on only a few laboratory experiments. The data are approximated with equations for the selection function and the breakage function, which allows the milling conditions to be calculated for a desired particle size distribution. Grinding experiments with a stirred ball mill show that the method provides a good approximation in practice. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.