What is Pelletizing?
Agglomeration of fine particles without pressure, by growth and tumbling in the presence of a liquid binder, or both is usually called pelletizing. Pelletizing - the forming of spherical or spheroidal pellets - occurs in a rotating disc. Pelletizing principles involve the following sequential steps:
- Fine raw material is continually added to the pan and wetted by a liquid binder spray.
- The disc's rotation causes the wetted fines to form small, seed - types particles (nucleation).
- The seed particles "snowball" by coalescence into larger particles until they discharge from the pan.
While pellets can be formed in batches, almost all tonnage pelletizing is accomplished through continuous processing using a comparatively simply-designed disc pelletizer.
What Materials Can Be Pelletized?
Here is a short list of a few materials that can be pelletized, by industry:
Ag Chemicals: fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, soil conditioners, aglime, dolomite, minerals.
Cement / Lime: raw meal, kiln dust.
Ceramics: alumina, catalyst, tile mix, press feed, frits, color.
Chemicals: soda ash, sodium sulfate, detergents, cleaners, zinc oxide, pigments, dyes, pharmaceutical compounds, industrial carbons, carbon black.
Copper: concentrates, smelter dust, precipitates.
Ferralloy: silicon, ferrosilicon, ferromanganese, ferrochrome.
Class: glass raw mix, glass powder.
Nonmetallic minerals: clay, talc, fluorspar, diamotaceous earth.
Steel: electric furnace baghouse dust, coke fines, raw materials, iron ore pellets.
Utilities: FGD Sludge, coal dust, ash.