Fragmentation

The purpose of fascicule [J 3 052] in the "Fragmentation" folder is to describe crushing and grinding operations in the processing of metal ores. The aim of these operations is to liberate the mineral species making up the polycrystalline material, in order to carry out separations aimed at obtaining a marketable concentrate, a metal or a metal compound.

This dossier [J 3 053] concerns the fragmentation of industrial minerals and non-mineral materials, or composite materials (recycling).

In the case of industrial minerals, the mineral material is reduced to a powder, which must have specific characteristics for a particular use required by industry (cement and lime, pulverized coal, phosphates for fertilizers, ceramics, paints, paper, plastics, elastomers...). To obtain a highly divided material, grinding must be thorough and combined with classification, as energy consumption is very high and energy price rises vary very sharply. What's more, if grinding operations are to be carried out in the dry, effective pre-drying is required. For certain industrial uses of the ground product, its physico-chemical and morphological characteristics are the main criteria.

Other manufacturing sectors include the food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, cosmetics, glass and optical fibers, wood and cellulose, explosives and metal powders. The characteristics of the product to be ground, in its application, mainly determine the grinding method to be applied.

Finally, fragmentation is used in the recycling industry for brittle or ductile materials and highly resistant, often massive, composite materials.

As a result, the main requirement for fragmentation equipment is robustness, while precision is more important for users of powder or processed products.

The reader is also invited to read fascicules J 3 050 "Fragmentation. Theoretical aspects" and J 3 051 "Fragmentation. Technology".