NETZSCH – From Custom Solutions to Turnkey Plants

NETZSCH grinding and dispersion business unit offers individual machines for process engineering stages such as mixing, dispersion, homogenization, dry and wet grinding, deaeration, and classification, as well as complete turnkey facilities. With its broad portfolio and many years of experience, NETZSCH provides ideal solutions for diverse product groups including chemical industry, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products, food and minerals. Laboratory equipment with an active grinding chamber volume of 15 ml allows product development work on the smallest scale. It is also possible to scale up to production size. NETZSCH's largest mills have a grinding chamber volume of 15,000 l. In consultations with our product specialists, you can learn about innovations in technology. For example, learn why NETZSCH's EPSILON inline dispersion machine and high-performance NEOS bead mill combination is considered an ideal universal solution for many printing ink processes. Learn about the innovative laboratory machine ALPHALAB ZETA®RS, which provides solutions for wet grinding applications for your R&D projects or a complete turnkey facility. Learn why NETZSCH focuses not on standard solutions, but on finding the most suitable solutions for maximum production performance, reliability and efficiency ideal for your individual product.

Impossible Task

The most difficult pre-dispersion or pre-milling can be performed in a bead mill. However, first a suspension must be prepared. This means that solids must be added to a mixture consisting of various liquid formulation components. Ideally, this step should be automatic and emission-free. Wetting of solid surfaces is also required. Only then can a homogeneous pumpable suspension be created. A bead mill is not suitable for this process. And for most products it is not necessary in pre-milling. Depending on product properties, high-speed mixers (dissolvers), rotor-stator systems or inline dispersion machines such as Ψ-Mix and Epsilon are suitable for dosing solids and wetting with liquid formulation mixture, homogenization and deaeration of the suspension. NETZSCH EPSILON inline disperser enables dosing, wetting, dispersing, homogenizing and removing air voids of solids into a dispersion medium in a single step for a wide variety of products. Since there are no narrow gaps or fixed parts inside the machine through which the product is forced to pass, efficient dispersion is possible even for shear-sensitive products with low energy input and thus minimum product heating. The process tank and powder feed of the EPSILON inline disperser are designed so they can be cleaned very quickly if required. Complete emptying of the machine is also effortless. This is an important point for cases where contamination must be avoided during frequent product changes. The machine is characterized by safe and easy operation, cleaning, maintenance as well as unique features. In addition, EPSILON can be operated with various powder/solid feeders depending on the bulk properties of the powder. The powder can be fed to the machine from a bag discharge unit, BigBag, silo or via a suction tube for light powders such as silica. For this machine with 30 kW installed power, typical powder feed rates are approximately 50–300 kg/hour with suction tube, and up to 10,000 kg/hour with BigBag, bag chute and silo.

4 Advantages for Ideal Individual Solutions. In addition to the pre-dispersion process, the selection of the correct grinding system and optimal operating parameters are very important for the efficiency of the wet grinding process and product capacity. Depending on product requirements, there are four different NETZSCH grinding systems that can be used.

DISCUS® disk grinding system is used primarily in single and multi-pass operations for dispersion purposes. The new MACRO® peg system is designed for single and multi-pass operations requiring high power. ZETA® high-performance grinding system or newly developed NEOS system can be used for processes in circulation mode. Regardless of product properties and grinding bead size requirements, the ideal grinding system is always available at NETZSCH. All our grinding systems are equipped with a highly efficient cooling system. In addition, the standard grinding chamber lining is made of ceramic NETZSCH CeramC, which is highly resistant to wear. Excellent cooling properties and wear resistance allow for the highest power input and thus maximum production capacity. At the same time, the systems have a very long service life and therefore have minimum downtime and low maintenance requirements. ALPHALAB ZETA®RS ALPHALAB ZETA®RS laboratory bead mill mixer is the first laboratory machine that can work with 0.03–0.3 mm beads and is also equipped with a controlled open dynamic classifier system (SDC). This means a scalable solution for development work on the nanometer scale in small batch sizes. Other grinding systems such as DISCUS®, ZETA® or NEOS can also be used in the ZETA®RS grinding system. Changing the grinding system is quick and easy with various material and grinding chamber volume options. When designing the machine frame for ALPHALAB ZETA®RS, particular attention was paid to user-friendliness and ergonomics. The grinding chamber of ALPHALAB ZETA®RS is rotatable, so very little effort is required to fill the grinding medium, you can empty the grinding system with minimal grip and discharge the grinding beads after the experiment. The configuration was modified to optimize the operation of the rotation mechanism. The system is easily accessible for filling the mechanical slurry pan with slurry liquid. This means less time and effort are required to change the slurry liquid when frequently changing products. The machine control system has a simple, easy-to-adjust design. Access to the database-driven NETZSCH CONNECT controlled via web browser has been made standard on the new ALPHALAB ZETA®RS laboratory bead mill mixer.

Maximum Production Capacity and Efficiency with NETZSCH Equipment and Expertise

Ergonomic machine design allows for faster cleaning with less solvent. The efficiency of the dispersion and grinding system results in energy savings and less wear, which brings reduced maintenance, shorter downtime and thus cost savings and higher production efficiency. NETZSCH always provides the ideal dispersion and wet grinding combination based on specific product requirements. In some cases, the tremendous savings potential and potential increase in product capacity can be discussed as a function of product properties and determined through experiments in our laboratories and calculated. NETZSCH offers consulting, training, optimization of existing grinding facilities and improvements for older existing NETZSCH grinding systems. Depending on the current situation, it is possible to increase production volume by more than 100%, achieve gains in specific energy consumption or raw material savings. This also makes cost-effective production easier.   Elif Uçak Arıkan Regional Sales Manager NETZSCH Makine Sanayi ve Ticaret Ltd. Şti.