Granular material grinder and method of use

• US 7,624,936 B2
• Filed: 01/05/2007
• Issued: 12/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: R A Montag, LLP
• Original Assignee: R A Montag, LLP
• Inventors: Montag, Roger A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Francis; Faye
• Application Number:
  US11/620,234
• Publication Number:
  US 20070108322A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,061 Days
• Field of Search: 241/5, 241/26, 241/29, 241/18, 241/19, 241/80, 241/97
• US Class Current: 241/18
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 13/13 with horizontal rotor shaft and combined with sifting devices, e.g. for making powdered fuel
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 13/18 with beaters rigidly connected to the rotor
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 19/005 the materials to be pulverised being disintegrated by collision of, or friction between, the material particles jet mills B02C19/06
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 21/00 Disintegrating plant with or without drying of the material for grain B02C9/04
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 23/12 with return of oversize material to crushing or disintegrating zone
• CPC Class Codes: B02C 23/24 Passing gas through crushing or disintegrating zone B02C15/001, B02C23/38, B02C23/40 take precedence

Abstract

A granular material grinder and method of use includes a hammer mill for reducing incoming granular material into particulate material, a microgrinder for reducing the particulate matter into microground powder by particulate matter to particulate matter collisions, and a product collector to collect the microground powder portion. The granular material grinder having the feature of being operated in a closed system to facilitate efficient recovery of grain into microground powder and operable in a cooled inert gas to prevent any compound degradation due to temperature or oxygen.

Claims

1. A process for grinding granular material, the process comprising:

a first grinding step reducing the size of granular material into particulate pieces through mechanical breakage;

a second grinding step in closed-loop communication with the first grinding step, the second grinding step reducing the size of granular material through particulate piece to particulate piece collisions into microground product wherein remaining particulate pieces are recirculated from the second grinding step back in the closed-loop to the first grinding step for further mechanical breakage; and

a separating step removing the microground product from the particulate pieces using a fluidized bed rising from the second grinding step into an electrostatic chamber.

2. The process of claim 1 further comprising recycling particulate pieces from the second grinding step to the first grinding step for further mechanical breakage and from the first grinding step to the second grinding step for further particulate piece to particulate piece collisions.

3. The process of claim 1 further comprising the step maintaining the process below 50°

F.

4. The process of claim 1 further comprising the step maintaining the process within the temperature range of 50-70°

F.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein an inert gas circulates in the closed loop separated from the atmosphere.

6. The process of claim 1 wherein a reactionary gas circulates within the closed loop separated from the atmosphere.

7. The process of claim 1 whereby 90-100% of the entering granular material is recovered as microground product.

8. The process of claim 1 whereby 98-100% of the entering granular material is recovered as microground product.

9. The process of claim 1 further comprising a collection step wiping microground product from surfaces of the electrostatic chamber for collecting microground product in a product hopper.

10. The process of claim 1 further comprising a filtering step removing particulate pieces and/or microground product from a carrier gas recirculated from the second grinding step to the first grinding step before entering the first grinding step.

11. The process of claim 1 further comprising an accelerator step accelerating carrier gas within the process by recycling the carrier gas back through the first grinding step.

12. The process of claim 1 wherein the first grinding step comprises mechanical breakage of a granular material by a hammer mill.

13. The process of claim 12 wherein the second grinding step comprises particulate piece to particulate piece collision by a microgrinder.

14. The process of claim 13 wherein the recycling step comprises recirculating remaining particulate pieces from the microgrinder back to the hammer mill for further mechanical breakage.

15. A closed-loop process for grinding materials into microgrounds, comprising:

a mechanical breakage step reducing the size of materials into particulate pieces;

a particulate piece to particulate piece collision step reducing the size of particulate pieces to microground product, wherein unground particulate pieces are recirculated back through the closed-loop process from the particulate piece to particulate piece collision step to the mechanical breakage step;

a separation step attracting microground product onto surfaces of an electrostatic chamber; and

a microground product collection step wiping microground product from surfaces of the electrostatic chamber into a product hopper for collection.

16. The closed-loop process of claim 15 further comprising a recycling step recirculating existing particulate pieces from the particulate piece to particulate piece collision step to the mechanical breakage step for further mechanical breakage.