In recent years, the superior properties of ultrafine particles have gained increasing recognition. More and more researchers are focusing on the study of fine powder manufacturing. Air jet milling technology, as an important ultrafine powder preparation method, has become one of the preferred methods for developing high-performance micro powder materials. The application of air jet mill has expanded across various industries, including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and materials science, due to their ability to achieve high precision and fine 粒子サイズ. This technology ensures effective particle size reduction while maintaining the quality and characteristics of sensitive materials.
Features of エアジェットミル
の エアジェットミル, also known as a fluidized energy mill, uses high-speed air streams to crush materials. It crushes materials through collision, impact, and shear with the impact components. Products crushed with an air jet mill have uniform fineness and a narrow particle size distribution. The powder has high purity, smooth surfaces, regular shapes, and good dispersibility. The process results in minimal contamination, even achieving a contamination-free and sterile environment. This makes it suitable for ultrafine grinding in fields like food and pharmaceuticals.
Air jet mills do not release large amounts of heat during grinding. Thus, they are more suitable for grinding low-melting or heat-sensitive materials. The production process is highly automated, making it ideal for large-scale industrial production. Air jet milling can also combine grinding with subsequent steps, like drying or コーティング. It can simultaneously grind materials while spraying solutions for coating or surface modification. However, the method has the disadvantage of high energy consumption.
Application of air jet mill
With many advantages, air jet mill plays an extremely important role in many fields.
Mining and Metallurgy
The application of air jet mill technology originated in the mining and metallurgy industry. It has been extensively studied for the preparation of ultrafine metal and non-metal powders. It is widely used for ultrafine grinding of 非金属鉱物 like talc, marble, kaolin, and mica. It is also applied to ultrafine powder production of tungsten carbide, silver, and tantalum carbide. In recent years, air jet milling has shown new potential in material separation and solid waste resource utilization.
軍事、航空宇宙およびその他の分野
Ultrafine powder materials can be used to manufacture stealth materials for applications such as invisible aircraft and tanks. Rocket propellants made from air jet milled oxidizers, catalysts, and other components have combustion speeds more than twice that of conventional propellants.
化学工業、エネルギー、その他分野
Titanium dioxide, used as a pigment, requires high particle size and purity. Air jet mills are typically used to crush titanium dioxide to meet these requirements. Air jet milled titanium dioxide has better stability and optical properties. The catalytic performance of aluminum hydroxide is improved after air jet milling, and it can be used as a filler in artificial marble and fiberglass. In rubber production, air jet milled nano zinc oxide has good de-agglomeration effects. Its dispersion in organic solvents is also improved, enhancing the vulcanization properties of natural rubber. In the energy sector, pretreated straw after milling impacts the formation of fermentation residues. This helps with biogas fermentation and increases the energy utilization rate of straw.
医療分野
Air jet mills can crush common traditional Chinese herbs such as ginseng, chrysanthemum, notoginseng, goji berries, and forsythia. It can grind herbal raw materials to a particle size of 1 to 5 μm. The resulting powder has fine particles, a narrow distribution, and minimal contamination, which is highly beneficial for the dissolution and absorption of the drug. Additionally, air jet mills can crush hard materials like shells and bones used in traditional medicine.
Food industry
Apple peels, orange peels, wheat bran, corn husks, soybean skins, rice bran, beet pulp, and sugarcane bagasse are rich in vitamins and trace elements. These materials have great nutritional value, but their taste is poor and absorption is limited when consumed directly. After being finely processed by air jet mills, the taste and absorption of these materials are significantly improved.
Cosmetics
Colorants and filler powders, when air jet milled and added to foundation or eyeshadow, improve the powder’s compactness. Their adhesion and smoothness are also enhanced. In skincare products, andrographolide becomes more water-soluble after air jet milling, allowing it to dissolve quickly while maintaining its antibacterial activity. VC powder and pearl powder, after ultrafine air jet milling, are more easily absorbed when added to skincare products.
Electronics
Ultrafine iron oxide powder can be used to produce high-performance magnetic materials.
Ultrafine silica powder can be used to produce high-performance resistive materials. Ultrafine high-purity aluminum oxide powder is used to manufacture sapphire substrates for LED chips. Substrates made from ultrafine powders have good stability, light transmittance, and do not absorb visible light. Molybdenum powder treated with air jet milling technology has smaller particle size, narrower particle size distribution, and uniform morphology. Its bulk density and tapped density are improved, making it better suited for producing light bulbs, electronic tubes, and integrated circuits.
新しいエネルギー分野
Materials crushed by air jet mills have fine average particle size and narrow size distribution. The particles have smooth surfaces, uniform shapes, high purity, high activity, and good dispersibility. These properties meet the requirements for electrode material preparation, leading to widespread applications. Typical materials suitable for air jet milling include lithium manganese oxide, lithium cobalt oxide, and リン酸鉄リチウム. Other materials include 炭酸リチウム, spherical graphite, petroleum coke, asphalt coke, and ternary materials. Nickel-hydrogen alloys, ferrous oxalate, lithium titanate, and nickel-manganese lithium oxide are also applicable.
Classification of air jet mill
Flat air jet mill
The flat-type air jet mill, also known as the horizontal disc air jet mill, is the most widely used air jet mill in industry. It has a simple structure, easy operation, and automatic classification. However, the equipment has low impact energy and grinding strength. When processing materials with high hardness, the intense collisions and friction with the chamber walls may cause contamination. It is suitable for a wide range of materials, especially those composed of aggregates or agglomerates.
Fluidized bed air jet mill
The fluidized bed air jet mill is a new type of air jet mill. It has advantages such as narrow particle size distribution, high grinding efficiency, low energy consumption, minimal product contamination, and low wear on components. However, the equipment has a higher cost.
Since the material must be fluidized to be crushed by air jets, it typically requires the material to have sufficient fineness. This is especially important for materials with high density. It is commonly used in industries such as synthetic resins, phenolic resins, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, advanced ceramics, magnetic powders, and battery materials for ultrafine grinding, dispersion, and shaping.
結論
There are various types of ultrafine air jet milling equipment, each with distinct structural differences. Each type has its corresponding advantages and disadvantages. In the future, the main development trends of ultrafine air jet milling equipment will focus on increasing single-machine output and reducing energy consumption per unit product. Improving product fineness and enhancing the crushing limits of equipment will also be key areas of development. Online control of product fineness and particle size distribution will become increasingly important.
壮大なパウダー
Epic Powder は、超微粉業界で 20 年以上の業務経験があります。超微粉の粉砕、研磨、分類、改質プロセスに重点を置き、超微粉の将来の開発を積極的に推進しています。無料の相談やカスタマイズされたソリューションについては、お問い合わせください。当社の専門家チームは、高品質の製品とサービスを提供して、お客様の粉体処理の価値を最大限に高めることに専念しています。Epic Powder は、信頼できる粉体処理の専門家です。