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    Agglomeration Processes

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    Alex
    This document provides an overview of agglomeration processes, which involve solid particles sticking together. There are three main categories of agglomeration: wet agglomeration using liquids and binders in equipment like drums and mixers; compaction agglomeration applying external forces through processes like rolling or briquetting; and heat sintering where particles bond at elevated temperatures through molecular migration. Wet agglomeration involves the stages of nucleation as particles first adhere in seeds, then growth as seeds coalesce into larger aggregates. The optimal liquid addition for wet agglomerates is 40-90% of the material's liquid saturation point. Compaction applies forces to dry particles to form continuous sheets or solid forms like tablets or pelle

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    Agglomeration Processes

    Uploaded by

    Alex
    263 views1 page
    This document provides an overview of agglomeration processes, which involve solid particles sticking together. There are three main categories of agglomeration: wet agglomeration using liquids and binders in equipment like drums and mixers; compaction agglomeration applying external forces through processes like rolling or briquetting; and heat sintering where particles bond at elevated temperatures through molecular migration. Wet agglomeration involves the stages of nucleation as particles first adhere in seeds, then growth as seeds coalesce into larger aggregates. The optimal liquid addition for wet agglomerates is 40-90% of the material's liquid saturation point. Compaction applies forces to dry particles to form continuous sheets or solid forms like tablets or pelle

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    Agglomeration Processes

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    This document provides an overview of agglomeration processes, which involve solid particles sticking together. There are three main categories of agglomeration: wet agglomeration using liquids and binders in equipment like drums and mixers; compaction agglomeration applying external forces through processes like rolling or briquetting; and heat sintering where particles bond at elevated temperatures through molecular migration. Wet agglomeration involves the stages of nucleation as particles first adhere in seeds, then growth as seeds coalesce into larger aggregates. The optimal liquid addition for wet agglomerates is 40-90% of the material's liquid saturation point. Compaction applies forces to dry particles to form continuous sheets or solid forms like tablets or pelle

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    263 views1 page

    Agglomeration Processes

    Uploaded by

    Alex
    This document provides an overview of agglomeration processes, which involve solid particles sticking together. There are three main categories of agglomeration: wet agglomeration using liquids and binders in equipment like drums and mixers; compaction agglomeration applying external forces through processes like rolling or briquetting; and heat sintering where particles bond at elevated temperatures through molecular migration. Wet agglomeration involves the stages of nucleation as particles first adhere in seeds, then growth as seeds coalesce into larger aggregates. The optimal liquid addition for wet agglomerates is 40-90% of the material's liquid saturation point. Compaction applies forces to dry particles to form continuous sheets or solid forms like tablets or pelle

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    Facts At Your Fingertips

    Agglomeration Processes
    Department Editor: Scott Jenkins

    gglomeration is a natural phenomenon in which solid particles stick to each other or to


    surfaces. When unwanted, agglomeration can cause problems, such
    as caking, buildup or lumping, but it
    is also an important particle-size enlargement process widely used in the
    chemical process industries (CPI) to
    help overcome challenges, including
    segregation, difficult flow, low bulk
    density and others. Agglomeration
    can also help control particle-size
    distribution and reduce potentially
    hazardous aspects of the solids, such
    as dust. This one-page reference provides information on agitation, compression and sintering methods of
    agglomeration and their mechanisms.
    Agglomeration methods to enlarge
    particulate solids can be broadly
    broken down into three general categories: agglomeration by agitation
    (sometimes referred to as wet agglomeration or tumble/growth agglomeration; pressure (compaction)
    agglomeration, and agglomeration
    using heat (sintering).

    Wet agglomeration
    Wet agglomeration processes combine powder, liquid (usually water)
    and, if necessary, a binder to impart
    shear to form agglomerates. Processing equipment may include rotating drums, disc or pan agglomerators, pin or ribbon mixers or fluidized
    beds. Agglomeration can be induced
    by a solvent or slurry atomized onto
    the bed of particles, or by the controlled sintering or partial melting of a
    binder component of the feed (Figure
    1). Next, moist particles join together
    to form so-called green agglomerates. Drying or curing takes place in
    a final stage. The wet agglomerates
    are created by first forming nuclei that
    then grow into larger aggregates by
    layering or coalescence. In some cases, nucleation and aggregate growth
    take place in two separate pieces of
    equipment that are operated in series.
    Nucleation gives rise to seed particles, which are formed when several
    individual particles adhere to each
    other. The nucleation stage can be
    40

    time-consuming because the seed


    agglomerates are weakly bonded
    and readily disintegrate back into individual particles. Eventually, larger
    aggregates are formed when small
    agglomerates coalesce or individual
    particles adhere to larger agglomerates. Once larger agglomerates are
    created, growth becomes accelerated as the increased mass and higher kinetic energy of agglomerates
    cause them to pick up individual particles more rapidly and incorporate
    them onto their surfaces. The relative rates of size enlargement (nucleation, coalescence and layering) and
    size reduction (attrition and consolidation) establish the final particle size
    along with the materials tendency to
    wick moisture from its core to outer
    layers. The optimal amount of liquid
    added to a powder the amount
    that gives the resultant agglomerates their greatest integrity and resistance to breakage is typically
    4090% of its liquid saturation. The
    liquid saturation is the fraction of total void space that can be filled with
    the liquid. When water (or another
    liquid) is added to a dry bulk solid,
    liquid bridges will begin to form at
    contact points between particles.
    This is known as the pendular stage
    of saturation. All free moisture is attracted to the interfaces between the
    solid particles by capillary effects,
    and surface tension draws the particles together. As saturation levels
    are increased, the funicular stage is
    eventually reached where all internal
    solid surfaces become surrounded
    by liquid. At this point, the mixture
    becomes more fluid-like, tensional
    forces disappear, and the agglomerates become weaker. When the
    powder becomes fully saturated,
    it reaches its capillary state, and at
    higher moisture levels, the system
    begins to behave as a slurry.

    Compaction agglomeration
    Pressure agglomeration works by applying external forces to dry particulate solids to form enlarged particles.
    Continuous sheets of solid material are
    produced, as in roll pressing, or some
    CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

    Growth
    Wetting

    Granule properties affected


    include size, bulk density,
    attrition, dispersion, flowability

    Breakage
    Consolidation

    FIGURE 1. In wet agglomeration, a wetting step


    leads to nucleation and particle growth

    solid form is made, such as a briquette or tablet. Continuous sheets or


    strands may either break down in subsequent handling to form a granulated
    material, or the material may be further
    processed through a variety of chopping, spheronizing or forced screening
    methods. A key factor in compression
    agglomeration is the level of force applied. Compaction processes range
    from confined compression devices,
    such as tabletting, briquetting machines and ram extrusion to unconfined devices, such as roll presses and
    a variety of pellet mills.

    Heat sintering
    In agglomeration using heat (sintering),
    atoms and molecules begin to migrate
    across the interface where particles
    touch each other. This happens at a
    certain elevated temperature, which
    is different for various materials. While
    still in solid state, diffused matter forms
    bridge-like structures between the surfaces, which solidify upon cooling. In
    the post-treatment of agglomerates,
    this phenomenon produces strong
    permanent bonds or specific final
    properties in parts that may have been
    manufactured by virtually any of the
    other agglomeration techniques. n
    Editors note: Portions of this column have been adapted
    from the following articles: Mehos, G. and Kozicki, C., Consider Wet Agglomeration to Improve Powder Flow, Chem.
    Eng., January 2011, pp. 4649; and Ennis, B.J., Agglomeration Technology: Mechanisms, Chem. Eng., March
    2010, pp. 3439. Additional references include the following: Sochon, R.P.J and Salman, A.D., Particle Growth and
    Agglomeration Processes, chapter in Chemical Engineering
    and Chemical Process Technology, Vol. II, Encyclopedia of
    Life Support Systems; and Pietsch, W., What is Agglomeration?, Power and Bulk Solids, Feb. 27, 2008.

    WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM

    OCTOBER 2016

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