Comminution

Comminution

Comminution is the process in which solid materials are reduced in size, by crushing, grinding and other processes.[1][2] It occurs naturally during faulting in the upper part of the crust[3] and is an important operation in mineral processing, ceramics, electronics and other fields. Within industrial uses, the purpose of comminution is to reduce the size and to increase the surface area of solids. It is also used to free useful materials from matrix materials in which they are embedded, and to concentrate minerals.[2]

Contents

Comminution energy

The comminution of solid materials consumes energy, which is being used to break up the solid into smaller pieces. The comminution energy can be estimated by:

  • Rittinger's law, which assumes that the energy consumed is proportional to the newly generated surface area;[citation needed]
  • Kick's law, which related the energy to the sizes of the feed particles and the product particles;[citation needed]
  • Bond's law, which assumes that the total work useful in breakage is inversely proportional to the square root of the diameter of the product particles, [implying] theoretically that the work input varies as the length of the new cracks made in breakage.[4][non-primary source needed]
  • Holmes's law, which modifies Bond's law by substituting the square root with an exponent that depends on the material.[2]

Methods of Comminution

There are several manual methods of comminution. Trituration, for instance, is comminution (or substance breakdown) by rubbing. Trituration can further be described as levigation, trituration of a powder with an insoluble liquid, or pulverization by intervention, which is trituration with a solvent that can be easily removed after the substance has been broken down.


See also

References



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  • Comminution — Com mi*nu tion, n. 1. The act of reducing to a fine powder or to small particles; pulverization; the state of being comminuted. Bentley. [1913 Webster] 2. (Surg.) Fracture (of a bone) into a number of pieces. Dunglison. [1913 Webster] 3. Gradual… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • comminution — ● comminution nom féminin Synonyme de fragmentation. ● comminution (synonymes) nom féminin Synonymes : fragmentation …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Comminution — Comminution. См. Измельчение. (Источник: «Металлы и сплавы. Справочник.» Под редакцией Ю.П. Солнцева; НПО Профессионал , НПО Мир и семья ; Санкт Петербург, 2003 г.) …   Словарь металлургических терминов

  • comminution — ˌkäməˈn(y)üshən noun ( s) Etymology: Latin comminutus + English ion 1. : the act or action of comminuting or the fact of being comminuted : trituration, pulverization …   Useful english dictionary

  • comminution — noun see comminute …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • comminution — See comminute. * * * …   Universalium

  • comminution — noun a) The breaking or grinding up of a material to form smaller particles. b) Fracture of a bone site in multiple pieces (at least three); crumbling. Syn: crushing, pulverization, comminuted fracture …   Wiktionary

  • comminution — A breaking into several pieces. * * * com·mi·nu·tion (kom″ĭ nooґshən) [L. comminutio] the act of breaking, or condition of being broken, into small fragments, as of a fractured bone …   Medical dictionary

  • comminution —   the reduction in size of particles through attrition …   Geography glossary

  • comminution — (ko mmi nu sion) s. f. Terme didactique. Réduction en petits fragments.    Terme de chirurgie. Écrasement d un os, qui est réduit en un grand nombre d esquilles. ÉTYMOLOGIE    Voy. comminuer ; provenç. comminucio …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

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