Can jet mills only be used for particle size reduction?
A jet mill has many applications beyond size reduction. One of the important secondary uses for jet mills is to blend powders. Two or more streams of material may be fed to the jet mill at the same time resulting in a perfect homogeneous blend at the output. One product may also be coated by another as well as blended. In some instances liquid additives have been injected under pressure through one or more atomizing spray nozzles either directly into the grinding chamber, into the main grinding air inlet or into the vortex at the mill exit. Another use of the jet mill is for polishing the sharp edges on particles to make them flow or compress better. Generally very low pressures are required for this process. Flash drying of products containing water or solvents may be accomplished by powering the mill with hot air or superheated steam.
