Laboratory ball mill: efficient comminution of samples

How a ball mill works

Ball mills are the perfect laboratory equipment for mechanical fine grinding and homogenisation of hard or brittle materials. The material to be comminuted, the material to be ground, is moved in a grinding bowl together with the so-called grinding media. Balls or cylinders can be used for this purpose. 

The material to be ground is crushed by sliding between the grinding media or between the grinding media and the wall and is broken into tiny particles by the impact. Depending on the type of ball mill, particles smaller than one micrometre can be achieved.

Ball mills in the laboratory: areas of application

Ball mills are used in numerous applications. In addition to industrial use in plant engineering, for example in mining or in the cement industry, a main application of ball mills is in the laboratory. These areas of application can typically be divided into the following categories:

Chemical laboratories

Ball mills are used for sample preparation in analytical chemistry or synthesis chemistry. Here, the substances used must be homogenised and ground into the smallest particles before further processing. Another new field is mechanochemistry. Here, reactions can be initiated in ball mills that would otherwise be difficult.

Biochemistry

In biochemistry, ball mills are mainly used for cell disruption in bacteria, fungi or spores . The intact cells must be mechanically disrupted in order to isolate and purify the cell components of interest.

Geology & Metallurgy

Ball mills are also used in the chemical and physical characterisation of soils, minerals and metals. Samples for many analytical techniques need to be crushed, homogenised and digested to make them suitable for the respective analytical methods.Different types of laboratory ball mills

The demands placed on a ball mill can be very different. Therefore, different types of laboratory ball mills have become established.

Vibrating pellet mills

The vibrating mill is ideal for comminution and homogenisation of small sample quantities. In this type of laboratory ball mill, the grinding container is mounted elastically and is stimulated to vibrate. Due to its movement, the material to be ground collides with the grinding media inside the container with high energy and is thus comminuted very quickly. Vibrating mills are ideal for fine grinding and are used for both dry and wet grinding.

Planetary ball mills

In a planetary ball mill, the grinding chambers move in rapid rotation around a main axis, the sun wheel, like planets around the sun. Due to the centrifugal forces that occur in the process, the grinding media inside are flung against the wall, thereby grinding the material to be ground particularly effectively. 

Due to the high energy density, this laboratory ball mill is used especially for ultra-fine grinding and special tasks such as colloid grinding .

Drum mills

The drum mill is the all-rounder among the laboratory ball mills and is particularly suitable for a size range like large sample quantities and large initial grain sizes. It consists of a rotating cylinder in which the grinding media are crushed between themselves and the wall. 

As the drum mill is very robust due to its simple design, the milling machine is also used in industrial environments, for example in the ceramics industry.

Laboratory ball mill product range at MedSolut.com

At MedSolut.com you will find a wide range of different types of laboratory ball mills. We would like to introduce you to some examples of the products you can purchase from us:

FRITSCH PULVERISETTE 23 Mini Mill

This mini-grinder is particularly small and compact and is therefore especially suitable where space is at a premium. Its strength is the fine comminution of the smallest sample quantities. Particularly noteworthy are its spherical grinding bowls, which ensure a particularly high degree of homogenisation. In addition, the mini-mill is user-friendly and inexpensive.Bhler Vibrogen Cell Mill Vl 6

This cell mill belongs to the group of vibrating homogenisers and is particularly suitable for biochemical applications. The main application is the disruption of cells or cell suspensions. The speed and stroke frequency of this mill are fixed. Dry ice or cooling water can be used to cool the material during the grinding process.

Retsch Planetary Ball Mill PM 100-400 CM

The Retsch planetary ball mill is suitable for particularly efficient but gentle grinding. With the table gear, final finenesses of less than 1 m can be achieved. The particularly high centrifugal forces lead to extremely short process times and consequently to high efficiency.

Retsch CryoMill oscillating mill

The Retsch CryoMill is particularly suitable for cryogenic grinding. The grinding bowl of the vibrating mill can be continuously cooled with liquid nitrogen. This ensures that the material to be ground remains brittle during the grinding process. With its particularly powerful grinding technology, the CryoMill is especially efficient for sample quantities up to 20 ml.

Retsch vibratory grinder MM 200-400

The Retsch MM 200 vibratory mill is a specialist for dry grinding of small sample quantities. This compact table grinder is particularly fast and effective in mixing and homogenising powders. Due to the special material of the milling media, it is also suitable for gentle cell disintegration and can therefore be used for a wide range of applications.

Buying the right ball mill for your laboratory Selection criteria

The wide range of possible variations does not make it easy to choose the right ball mill for the laboratory. We have therefore summarised the most important conditions for you below.

• Material of grinding media and bowl
• Particle size to be achieved
• Efficiency of the comminution process
• Necessity of dry or wet mechanical comminution
• Consideration of cryogenic comminution capability
• sample quantities used: rather small special applications or higher throughputs
• size and weight of the ball mill

Laboratory ball mills from MedSolut.com Your specialised dealer for laboratory supplies

Are you interested in a laboratory ball mill, but need help with your selection? We offer a variety of scales made of different materials such as Stainless Steel. Moreover, also precise types of scales woe Planetary Mills and many more.  

Please feel free to contact us - our competent staff will take the time to give you detailed and individual advice and to answer your questions. You can reach us by phone at +49 30 2096579 00 or by e-mail at info@medsolut.com.