1. Project Overview
Location: Korea
Material: Cobalt hydroxide, Co(OH)₂. A battery precursor feed that dries into hard agglomerates and must be broken without adding metal contamination.
Core Objective: Deagglomerate dried cobalt hydroxide to D50 10–15 μm, with product aluminum below 2,000 ppm. The customer needed a dry route to replace hammering and screening.
Equipment: Epic Powder MQW03 Jet Mill
2. Technical Parameters & Product Specifications
The trial run measured the following values on the customer’s dried cobalt hydroxide:
| Item | Technical Data |
|---|---|
| Final Fineness (D50) | 10–15 μm |
| Hourly Capacity | 60–110 kg/h |
| Product Aluminum (Al) | < 2,000 ppm |
| Feed Moisture | < 0.5% |
| Feed Size | 30–100 μm, agglomerated after drying |
| Equipment Type | MQW03 Jet Mill |
3. Project Highlights
A. Metal-Free Product Path
The MQW03 grinds by particle-on-particle collision. Compressed gas accelerates the feed, and the particles break against each other. No grinding media touches the product. This configuration kept product aluminum below 2,000 ppm, against a feed that measured 10,000 ppm in the dried NCM trial on the same platform.
B. Cut Point Set from the Control Panel
The classifier cut point is adjustable from the control panel. The customer specified D50 10–15 μm, and we set the machine to that target before the trial. The trial run matched the agreed specification without a mechanical change.
C. Capacity Matched to the Customer’s Line
The trial held 50–100 kg/h at the target fineness. This range covers the customer’s pilot and small production demand. The same unit will move into their line after shipment.
4. Process Flow
- Drying: The customer dries Co(OH)₂ to under 0.5% moisture.
- Agglomeration: The dried feed leaves the dryer as hard cakes, 30–100 μm.
- Previous breakage step: Hammers and screens break the cakes. This step adds steel to the precursor feed.
- Jet milling: Dried agglomerates enter the MQW03. Compressed gas accelerates the particles, and they break against each other. No grinding media touches the product.
- Classification: The classifier returns coarse particles to the grinding zone. Product at D50 10–15 μm passes through.
- Collection: The product leaves the mill through the discharge at 60–110 kg/h.
5. Conclusion
This project shows what the MQW03 does on a dried precursor feed: it breaks agglomerates without metal contact and holds the cut point at D50 10–15 μm. Producers with cobalt hydroxide or dried NCM that cakes in drying or transit can check the trial report against their own feed.
Related Cases
· Ultrafine Grinding of Natural Graphite to D50 2.8 μm in Brazil
· Ningbo Anode Material Project: Needle Coke Ultra-Fine Grinding, D97 2.94 μm