US manufacturer of particle size reduction and dispersing equipment, Union Process Inc, has produced the Q-03, a small bench-top lab-sized circulation grinding mill.
This smaller circulation Attritor has been developed to enable users to perform lab trials with the advantage of the circulation grinding system using much smaller samples (from 1/2 gallon to one gallon).
The Q-03 Circulation Attritor offers all of the advantages of larger laboratory- or production-sized circulation Attritors including a high circulation pumping rate, narrow particle size distribution, good temperature control and the ability to sample and make formulation adjustments on the fly.
Circulation grinding utilizes a separate holding tank that is larger than the size of the Attritor grinding tank. During the circulation process, the material makes multiple passes through the grinding chamber until the desired particle size is achieved. The entire contents of the holding tank are passed through the milling chamber of the Attritor a minimum of seven times per hour. The high circulation rate and multiple passes result in a faster grind and narrow particle size distribution.