Effect of Bimodal and Monosized Grinding Media on Dry Grinding of Barite

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of the design of high-density zircon (ZrO 2) grinding media (1-3 mm) on dry grinding of barite (BaSO 4 , d 50 = 2.83 µm) in a vertical stirred media mill. Grinding experiments were carried out by using different proportions of finer grinding media (20 wt.%, 40 wt.% and 80 wt.%) and different size ratio of finer-coarser media (0.5 and 0.67). Besides, the surface areas (S bw, m 2 /kg) of grinding media on grinding performance were investigated. If the best two experimental results are compared, it is found that the S bw of the bimodal and monosized media are very close together. The experimental results were evaluated based on the product particle size (d 50 , d 90), and the geometric standard deviation of barite particles (d 84 /d 16). The findings showed that the finer grinding media alone was not very effective.