A comparative study of comminution in rotary and vibratory ball mills

A comparative study of the comminution in rotary and vibratory ball mills using sodium chloride is presented. The many advantages of vibratory over rotary ball milling are outlined and it is shown experimentally that the rate and extent of grinding is higher for the vibratory ball mill. It is further shown that fine particles re-aggregate in the rotary ball mill and ‘cake’ irreversibly. This phenomenon, exclusive to the rotary ball mill, is explained in terms of consolidation and high stress relaxation of the crystals occurring during prolonged grinding.