THE EFFECT OF GRINDING MEDIA PERFORMANCE ON WET MILLING OF CALCITE

This study aimed to conduct systematic research on the design of high-density zircon (ZrO2) grinding media (0.2-1 mm) in a laboratory-scale media mill (750 ml) for wet grinding of calcite (CaCO3, d50= 5.4 μm). Sub-micron grinding experiments were carried out by using different amounts of finer grinding media (25%, 50% and 75%) and different size ratio of finer-coarser media (0.2 and 0.5). Besides, the surface areas (Sbw, m2/kg) of grinding media on grinding performance were investigated. If the best experimental results are compared (M1 and M4), it is found that the Sbw of the bimodal media(M4) is 75% larger compared to that of monosized media (M1). The experimental results were analyzed based on product size (d50, d80), cumulative undersize curves and specific surface area (SW, m2/g). The findings showed that only the finer grinding media was not very effective at 600 rpm