Pigment Plants
System solutions for grinding, blending and de-aeration of pigments and similar substances, with optimum flexibility in operation
Pigment Plants (Grinding, Blending and Powder Densification)
The treatment of bulk materials, in particular pigments, often requires several process steps to be completed before the product is ready for shipment. The challenges encountered in the production of pigments can often also be found when processing other fine powdered bulk materials. Easy cleaning after changing of the product and fast adaptation to new product qualities (for instance the end fineness) in particular but also reducing the bulk volume of light weight products are among the current issues prevailing in various industries.
Grenzebach BSH plant systems with Whirlwind Mills
for (micro) pulverisation, Pneumatic Blenders
for fast and gentle mixing, also of large volumes, and powder Densifiers
for volume reduction and general improvement of the handling characteristics perform these tasks as complete systems, as shown in the diagram.
The Grenzebach BSH Whirlwind Mill
has proven efficient and reliable for (micro) pulverisation, for instance of pigments. This mill grinds the material down to less then 10 µm without the use of a downstream sifter. Setting of the grinding fineness is via variation of the mil speed, regulation of the grinding air flow and easy, infinitely variable adjustment of the grinding clearance. The Grenzebach BSH Whirlwind Mill thus meets all the requirements set by the tasks of industrial production.
The precise standardisation of the pigment mix that is usually necessary after grinding is done with the pneumatic AIRMIX
blender. In this apparatus the products are mixed by means of air pulses at very short intervals. The AIRMIX contains no mechanically moving parts so that a contamination of the mix with sealing grease or lubricant as well as a heat-up or modification of the particles due to shearing forces are excluded. It is obvious that there is good access to the mixing vessel for cleaning, since there are none of the conventional mixing tools inside. Due to the very high blending intensity, it is also possible with this system to produce pigment batches consisting of very different original components (i.e. with large differences in bulk weight, particle size or quantity) in volumes of 40 litres to 80 m³ with highest blending qualities. The AIRMIX is also particularly suitable for handling abrasive materials. A filter installed in the mixing vessel separates the mixing air from the fluidised product. Using a combination of AIRMIX and mill eliminates the need for an additional filter for the grinding system. Material discharge from the blender is via a shutoff cone which prevents de-mixing and bridging of the material during discharge.
The downstream VACUPRESS
powder densification systems are used for all applications in which there is a need to increase the bulk weight of light, fine grained powders and reduce their volume. The necessary densification effect is achieved by a combination of a vacuum and the mechanical pressure between two drums rotating in opposite directions. One of the drums is designed as a permeable filter drum with an internal vacuum. The product to be densified attaches to this drum and forms a layer while the drum rotates. It enters the clearance between the filter drum and the pressure drum and is densified by the pressure drum, which has an adjustable pressure. Due to the high air volume that flows through the product layer on the vacuum filter drum, the particles form a tighter arrangement. At the end of the process a densified bulk material is obtained which is still loosely bound together and can easily be split into its individual particles again without changing the grains. The volume can be reduced by up to 75 %. Downstream packaging machines and the packaging itself can thus be of much smaller dimensions, and so can the necessary storage areas and shipping volumes.
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