How does jet milling compare with other methods of grinding such as ball mill or a hammer mill?
Well-designed, high-speed mechanical mills can grind some friable materials into the low micron size range but wear and product contamination is a serious problem as is attritional heat. Practically the high-speed mechanical mill (hammer etc. mill) cut-off is 200 mesh with a typical mid range of 80 mesh. Abrasive products will seriously erode most hammer mills adding metallic contamination to the product. Materials that degrade with heat or have low melt temperatures are a problem in hammer mills because of the heat generated in the mill.
