The influence of pulp composition and feed rate on hold-up weight and mean residence time of solids in grate-discharge ball mill grinding

The results of experiments on a 40 cm × 40 cm grate-discharge ball mill have been analysed for variation of mill hold-up weight of solids with solids feed rate, weight percent solids, mean feed particle size, material specific gravity and work-index. It is shown that mill hold-up weight is independent of the material specific gravity and mean feed particle size, and it varies linearly with solids feed rate and weight percent solids, at least over the range of practical interest. The variations in the transport behaviour of different materials have been attributed to the differences in the size distribution of the mill hold-up solids. It is shown that work-index can be used as the material characteristic for the development of an empirical correlation. Variation of mean residence time of solids with solids feed rate and weight-percent solids is also discussed.