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2.5 GRINDING AND CUTTING
Grinding and Cutting reduce the size of solid materials by mechanical action, dividing them into
smaller particles. Perhaps the most extensive application of grinding in the food industry is in the
milling of grains to make flour, but it is used in many other processes, such as in the grinding of
corn for manufacture of corn starch, the grinding of sugar and the milling of dried foods, such as
vegetables.
Cutting is used to break down large pieces of food into smaller pieces suitable for further
processing, such as in the preparation of meat for retail sales and in the preparation of processed
meats and processed vegetables.
In the grinding process, materials are reduced in size by fracturing them. The mechanism of
fracture is not fully understood, but in the process, the material is stressed by the action of
mechanical moving parts in the grinding machine and initially the stress is absorbed internally by
the material as strain energy. When the local strain energy exceeds a critical level, which is a
function of the material, fracture occurs along lines of weakness and the stored energy is
released. Some of the energy is taken up in the creation of new surface, but the greater part of it
is dissipated as heat. Time also plays a part in the fracturing process and it appears that material
will fracture at lower stress concentrations if these can be maintained for longer periods.
Grinding is, therefore, achieved by mechanical stress followed by rupture and the energy
required depends upon the hardness of the material and also upon the tendency of the material to
crack - its friability.
The force applied may be compression, impact, or shear, and both the magnitude of the force and
the time of application affect the extent of grinding achieved. For efficient grinding, the energy
applied to the material should exceed, by as small a margin as possible, the minimum energy
needed to rupture the material. Excess energy is lost as heat and this loss should be kept as low
as practicable.
The important factors to be studied in the grinding process are the amount of energy used and the
amount of new surface formed by grinding.
2.5.1Energy Used in Grinding
Grinding is a very inefficient process and it is important to use energy as efficiently as possible.
Unfortunately, it is not easy to calculate the minimum energy required for a given reduction
process, but some theories have been advanced which are useful.
These theories depend upon the basic assumption that the energy required to produce a change
dL in a particle of a typical size dimension L is a simple power function of L:
dE/dL = KL
n
.(2.2)
Where dE is the differential energy required, dL is the change in a typical dimension, L is the
magnitude of a typical length dimension and K, n, are constants.
Kick assumed that the energy required to reduce a material in size was directly proportional to
the size reduction ratio dL/L. This implies that n in eqn. (2.2) is equal to -1. If
K = K
K
f
c
where K
K
is called Kick's constant and f
c
is called the crushing strength of the material, we have:
dE/dL = K
K
f
c
L
-1
which, on integration gives:
E = K
K
f
c
log
e
(L
1
/L
2
) (2.3)
Equation (2.3) is a statement of Kick's Law. It implies that the specific energy required to crush a
material, for example from 10 cm down to 5 cm, is the same as the energy required to crush the
same material from 5 mm to 2.5 mm.
Rittinger, on the other hand, assumed that the energy required for size reduction is directly
proportional, not to the change in length dimensions, but to the change in surface area. This leads
to a value of -2 for n in eqn. (2.2) as area is proportional to length squared. If we put:
K = K
Rfc
So
dE/dL = K
R
f
c
L
-2
Where K
R
is called Rittinger's constant, and integrate the resulting form of eqn. (2.2), we obtain:
E = K
R
f
c
(1/L
2
1/L
1
) ..(2.4)
Equation (2.4) is known as Rittinger's Law. As the specific surface of a particle, the surface area
per unit mass, is proportional to 1/L, eqn. (2.4) postulates that the energy required to reduce L for
a mass of particles from 10 cm to 5 cm would be the same as that required to reduce, for
example, the same mass of 5 mm particles down to 4.7 mm. This is a very much smaller
reduction, in terms of energy per unit mass for the smaller particles, than that predicted by Kick's
Law.
It has been found, experimentally, that for the grinding of coarse particles in which the increase
in surface area per unit mass is relatively small, Kick's Law is a reasonable approximation. For
the size reduction of fine powders, on the other hand, in which large areas of new surface are
being created, Rittinger's Law fits the experimental data better.
Bond has suggested an intermediate course, in which he postulates that n is -3/2 and this leads to
E = E
i
(100/L
2
)
1/2
[1 - (1/q
1/2)
] . (2.5)
Bond defines the quantity E
i
by this equation: L is measured in microns in eqn. (2.5) and so E
i
is
the amount of energy required to reduce unit mass of the material from an infinitely large particle
size down to a particle size of 100 mm. It is expressed in terms of q, the reduction ratio where q
= L
1
/L
2
.
Note that all of these equations [eqns. (2.3), (2.4), and (2.5)] are dimensional equations and so if
quoted values are to be used for the various constants, the dimensions must be expressed in
appropriate units. In Bond's equation, if L is expressed in microns, this defines E
i
and Bond calls
this the Work Index.
The greatest use of these equations is in making comparisons between power requirements for
various degrees of reduction.
So the motor would be expected to have insufficient power to pass the 50% increased
throughput, though it should be able to handle an increase of 40%.
2.5.2 New Surface Formed by Grinding
When a uniform particle is crushed, after the first crushing the size of the particles produced will
vary a great deal from relatively coarse to fine and even to dust. As the grinding continues, the
coarser particles will be further reduced but there will be less change in the size of the fine
particles. Careful analysis has shown that there tends to be a certain size that increases in its
relative proportions in the mixture and which soon becomes the predominant size fraction. For
example, wheat after first crushing gives a wide range of particle sizes in the coarse flour, but
after further grinding the predominant fraction soon becomes that passing a 250 mm sieve and
being retained on a 125 mm sieve. This fraction tends to build up, however long the grinding
continues, so long as the same type of machinery, rolls in this case, is employed.
The surface area of a fine particulate material is large and can be important. Most reactions are
related to the surface area available, so the surface area can have a considerable bearing on the
properties of the material. For example, wheat in the form of grains is relatively stable so long as
it is kept dry, but if ground to a fine flour has such a large surface per unit mass that it becomes
liable to explosive oxidation, as is all too well known in the milling industry. The surface area
per unit mass is called the specific surface. To calculate this in a known mass of material it is
necessary to know the particle-size distribution and, also the shape factor of the particles. The
particle size gives one dimension that can be called the typical dimension, D
p
, of a particle. This
has now to be related to the surface area.
We can write, arbitrarily:
V
p
= pD
p
3
and
A
p
= 6qD
p
2
.
where V
p
is the volume of the particle, A
p
is the area of the particle surface, D
p
is the typical
dimension of the particle and p, q are factors which connect the particle geometries.(Note
subscript p and factor p)
For example, for a cube, the volume is D
p
3
and the surface area is 6D
p
2
; for a sphere the volume
is (p/6)D
p
3
and the surface area is pD
p
2
In each case the ratio of surface area to volume is 6/D
p
.
A shape factor is now defined as q/p = L (lambda), so that for a cube or a sphere L = 1. It has
been found, experimentally, that for many materials when ground, the shape factor of the
resulting particles is approximately 1.75, which means that their surface area to volume ratio is
nearly twice that for a cube or a sphere.
The ratio of surface area to volume is:
A
p
/V
p
=( 6q/p)D
p
= 6L/D
p
.. (2.6)
and so A
p
= 6q V
p
/pD
p = 6
l(V
P/D
P
)
If there is a mass m of particles of density r
p,
the number of particles is m/r
pVP
each of area A
p.
So total area A
t
= (m/r
p
V
P
) x ( 6qV
p
/pD
P
)
=
6qm/r
p
pD
p
= 6Lm/rD
p
(2.7)
Where A
t
is the total area of the mass of particles. Equation (2.7) can be combined with the
results of sieve analysis to estimate the total surface area of a material.
2.6 HAMMER MILL
Hammer crusher is used for crushing medium hard materials with weak abrasiveness, and the
compression strength of the materials to be crushed should not exceed 100MPa, and the water
content should be lower than 10%. The materials that can be crushed by hammer crusher include:
palm kernel, hard nut, coal, salt, chalk, gypsum
Features:
Wear resistance
Easy maintenance
Compact structure
Hammer crusher, which is also called hammer mill or hammer crusher machine, is
widely used for crushing the medium hard and crisp materials in mine, cement, coal,
metallurgy, building material, highway and chemical industry among others.
Hammer crusher is composed of machine box, rotor, hammer, impacting lining board and
screen board. According to the requirement of the customers, this equipment can adjust
the gap between the grating bars to change the discharging granularity.
2.6.1Characteristics of Hammer mill
1. The working hammer adopts new technology for casting, so that it is wear resistant and
impact resistant.
2. The granularity can be adjusted according to the requirement of the customers.
3. Hammer crusher has a sealed structure which solves the problems of powder dust
pollution in the crushing workshop and ash leakage of the machine.
4. This crusher has the advantages of attractive appearance, compact structure and few
easy-wearing parts and convenient maintenance. In a hammer mill, swinging
hammerheads are attached to a rotor that rotates at high speed inside a hardened casing.
2.6.2 Working Principle
The electromotor drives the rotor to rotate with high speed in the crushing chamber. The
materials are fed into the machine from the upper feeding mouth and are crushed under the
hitting, impacting, cutting and grinding of the hammer which is moving with high speed. On the
bottom of the rotor, there is sieve plate and the crushed materials that is smaller than the screen
size are discharged from the sieve plate, and the coarse particles bigger than the screen size are
retained on the sieve plate to be hit and ground again by the hammer and finally be discharged
from the machine from the sieve plate
2.7 BREAKERS
In the grinding process, materials are reduced in size by fracturing them. The mechanism of
fracture is not fully understood, but in the process, the material is stressed by the action of
mechanical moving parts in the grinding machine and initially the stress is absorbed internally by
the material as strain energy. When the local strain energy exceeds a critical level, which is a
function of the material, fracture occurs along lines of weakness and the stored energy is
released. Some of the energy is taken up in the creation of new surface, but the greater part of it
is dissipated as heat. Time also plays a part in the fracturing process and it appears that material
will fracture at lower stress concentrations if these can be maintained for longer periods.
Grinding is, therefore, achieved by mechanical stress followed by rupture and the energy
required depends upon the hardness of the material and also upon the tendency of the material to
crack - its friability.
The force applied may be compression, impact, or shear, and both the magnitude of the force and
the time of application affect the extent of grinding achieved. For efficient grinding, the energy
applied to the material should exceed, by as small a margin as possible, the minimum energy
needed to rupture the material. Excess energy is lost as heat and this loss should be kept as low
as practicable.
2.8 FLAKERS
Proper kernel pre-treatment is necessary to efficiently extract the oil from the kernels. The feed
kernels must first be cleaned of foreign materials that may cause damage to the screw-presses,
increasing maintenance costs and down time, and contamination of products. Magnetic
separators commonly are installed to remove metal debris, while vibrating screens are used to
sieve sand, stones or other undesirable materials.
A swinging hammer grinder, breaker rolls or a combination of both then breaks the kernels into
small fragments. This process increases the surface area of the kernels, thus facilitating flaking.
The kernel fragments subsequently are subjected to flaking in a roller mill. Roller mills are
similar to roller crushers, but they have smooth or finely fluted rolls, and rotate at differential
speeds. They are used very widely to grind flour. Because of their simple geometry, the
maximum size of the particle that can pass between the rolls can be regulated. If the friction
coefficient between the rolls and the feed material is known, the largest particle that will be
nipped between the rolls can be calculated, knowing the geometry of the particles.
A large roller mill can consist of up to five rollers mounted vertically above one another, each
revolving at 200-300 rpm. The thickness of kernel cakes is progressively reduced as it travels
from the top roller to the bottom. This progressive rolling initiates rupturing of cell walls. The
flakes that leave the bottom nip are from 0.25 to 0.4 mm thick.
The kernel flakes are then conveyed to a stack cooker for steam conditioning, the purpose of
which is to:
i. Adjust the moisture content of the meal to an optimum level
ii. Rupture cell walls (initiated by rolling)
iii. Reduce viscosity of oil
iv. Coagulate the protein in the meal to facilitate separation of the oil from protein materials
CHAPTER THREE
3.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter contains the list of materials, apparatuses and equipment used to carry out the
experiments.
3.2 MATERIALS
Palm kernel
Petroleum
3.3 EQUIPMENT
Figure 1. Grinders: (a) hammer mill, (b) plate mill
Figure 2. Crushers: (a) jaw, (b) gyratory
CHAPTER FOUR
METHODOLOGY
4.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter consists of procedures employed in the work and comprises of the following;
4.2 PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION (%)
Five samples of crushed palm kernel were drawn over eight hours from the three machines
(hammer mill, breakers and flakers) and kept separately in a clean stainless vessel after which it
was properly mixed together.500g each of the mixed samples were weighed and sieved through
a 3mm sieve. The Weight of particles retained and those that passed through the sieve were
recorded and used in calculating % particle size distribution.
Calculation:(a) Particle size retained (%), = Particles abovex 100
Wt of sample
(b) Particle size gain (%) = Particle belowx 100
Wt of sample
4.3 FLAKE THICKNESS (mm)
From the samples drawn over eight hours, flaked samples were taken out and analyzed for
thickness using a micrometer screw gauge. Results were recorded in mm.
4.4 OIL CONTENT DETERMINATION (%)
The AOCS official method Ab 3-49 was followed. This method determines the substance
extracted by petroleum ether under the condition of the test. Apparatus and reagent include
soxhlet extraction unit, thimble, cotton wool and petroleum ether.
Procedure.
Various samples of the palm kernel drawn from the machines were dried in a forced draft oven
for 20min to achieve a moisture content of 10%. Drying time depends on the original moisture in
the kernel. Ideally the moisture should be from 6-9%. Dried sample should be cooled to room
temperature before use.
2-5g each of the sample was weighed in to an extraction thimble after which a piece of absorbent
cotton is placed on top of the thimble to distribute the solvent as it drops on the sample.
About 100g petroleum ether was put into a weighed receiving flask and the apparatus set for four
hours. At the end of time, the extraction thimble is removed from the butt tube and petroleum
ether evaporated.
The receiving flask and oil extracted were further dried in an air oven to remove any residual
solvent left. It was then cooled in a desiccator and weighed to obtain the oil content.
Calculations.
oil content,% = wt of oil.g x 100
wt of sample.g
PARTICLE SIZE RETAINED (%)
FLAKE THICKNESS (mm)
Figure 4.1 Block Diagram Of The Prcocedure.
CHAPTER 5
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
5.1 INTRODUCTION
In this chapter the results obtained after following the procedure detailed in chapter four are
displayed and discussed in depth.
5.2 RESULTS
Table 5.1: Particle Size Retained (%), Flake Thickness And Oil Content Determination
Samp
le
HAMMER MILL BEAKERs FLAKERS
%
Retained
Flake
Thickness
Oil
Content
%
Retained
Flake
Thickness
Oil
Content
%
Retained
Flake
Thickness
Oil
Content
1 18.0 0.33 30.0 13.6 0.22 33.0 3.3 0.20 37.0
2 17.9 0.28 32.4 14.0 0.24 34.8 2.0 0.24 37.8
3 21.6 0.39 33.0 14.5 0.38 35.0 4.2 0.24 39.4
4 22.0 0.41 33.0 16.2 0.40 34.7 4.0 0.20 41.0
5 15.3 0.45 32.9 15.2 0.45 35.0 3.3 0.20 40.6
Table 5.1 present the particle size distribution of the three different unit operations involved with
size reduction process in percentage based on the over-size, the thickness of the flakes from the
three different unit operations and the oil content determination of the various samples from the
three different unit.
OIL CONTENT DETERMINATION (%)
Figure 5.1 present the particle size distribution of the three different unit operations involved
with size reduction in percentage, while Figure 5.2 present the thickness of the flakes from the
three different unit operations and Figure 5.3 present the oil content of the various samples from
the three different unit.
Figure 5.1: A Bar Chart representation of the Particle Distribution
Figure 5.1 shows the particle size distribution of five samples collected during the size reduction
process from the three units. As expected, the sample from the Hammer Mill had the largest size,
followed by the sample from the Breaker while the sample from the Flakers was the smallest.
0
5
1
0
1
5
2
0
2
5
1 2 3 4 5
P
A
R
T
I
C
L
E
S
I
Z
E
D
I
S
T
R
I
B
U
T
I
O
N
(
%
)
SAMPLE
HAMMER MILL
BREAKERS
FLAKERS
Particle Size Retained
Figure 5.2: A Bar Chart representation of the Flake Thickness
Figure 5.2 shows the Flake thickness of the five samples collected. As expected, the sample from
the Hammer Mill had the largest thickness, followed by the sample from the Breaker while the
sample from the Flakers was the thinnest.
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
0.45
0.5
1 2 3 4 5
F
L
A
K
E
T
H
I
C
K
N
E
S
S
(
m
m
)
SAMPLE
FLAKE THICKNESS
HAMMER MILL
BREAKERS
FLAKERS
Figure 5.3: A Bar Chart representation of the Oil Content
Figure 5.3 present the oil content of the five samples collected. As expected the sample from the
Hammer Mill had the least amount of oil extracted while the Flaker had the highest amount of oil
extracted.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1 2 3 4 5
O
I
L
C
O
N
T
E
N
T
(
%
)
SAMPLE
OIL CONTENT
HAMMER MILL
BREAKERS
FLAKERS
Figure 5.4: A graph representation on particle size distribution
Plot of oil content against corresponding particle size distribution shown in Figure 5.4 shows that
as the particle size distribution decreases the amount of oil extracted increases, this is as a result
of increase in surface area with decrease in particle size distribution.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
0 5 10 15 20 25
O
I
L
C
O
N
T
E
N
T
(
%
)
PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION (%)
EFFECT OF PARTICLE SIZE DISTRIBUTION ON EXTRACTION OF OIL
HAMMER MILL
BREAKERS
FLAKERS
Figure 5.5: A Graph representation on flake thickness on oil extraction
Similarly Figure 5.5 shows the effect of flake thickness on the extraction process of oil. As
expected with decreasing flake thickness the total effective surface area increases, hence, the
amount of extracted oil increases.
Generally with decreasing particle size, the effective surface area exposed for the extraction
process increases thereby increasing the relative yield of extracted oil from the feed stock.
Flaking is a promising alternate to conventional size reduction method. Flaking resulted to
increase in the yield of oil.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
0.17 0.22 0.27 0.32 0.37 0.42 0.47
O
I
L
C
O
N
T
E
N
T
(
%
)
FLAKE THICKNESS (mm)
EFFECT OF FLAKE THICKNESS ON OIL EXTRACTION
HAMMER MILL
BREAKERS
FLAKERS
CHAPTER 6
6.1CONCLUSION
Particle size reduction is an aspect that is of major importance and the economic impact of
particle size can be significant. Fortunately, innovations in particle size reduction technology has
lead to extremely efficient methods of particle size reduction and distribution using
technologically advanced grinding equipment such as fine grinding. The advanced devices take
up minimal space in the plant, reduces particle dust, decreases wear on the machines, increases
efficient yields, and improves quality of the final product. The overall result is an improvement
in production, productivity, and a more and cost effective manufacturing process.
6.2 RECOMMENDATION
The amount of oil extracted from oilseeds is dependent to a large extent on the particle size to
which the oilseeds are ground. In this case, the grinding procedure should be strictly followed as
specified. It is therefore, recommended that proper size reduction be carried out before oil
extraction from any oil bearing seed.
CERTIFICATION
This is to certify that this research work titled EFFECT OF SIZE REDUCTIONON THE
EXTRACTION OF PALM KERNEL OIL has been read and approved having satisfied the
partial requirement for award of Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering in Ahmadu
Bello University, Zaria.
DR.JAJU.MUHAMMED Date
Project Supervisor
.
DR.I.A.MOHAMMED-DABO Date
Head Of Department
DECLARATION
This is to certify that this research work titled EFFECT OF SIZE REDUCTIONON THE
EXTRACTION OF PALM KERNEL OIL was carried out by Obomanu Joy Titi under the
supervision of Dr.Jaju.Muhammed, for partial fulfillment of the award of Bachelor of
Engineering (B.Eng) Chemical Engineering in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and has not been
presented anywhere else for award of degree and all literature cited have been dully
acknowledged.
Obomanu Joy Titi
DEDICATION
I delicate this project to the Almighty God, my sweet mum and her beloved sister Mrs.Racheal
Kalio