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Superfine grinding mills

Colloid Mill, , , , , ,

GlobeCore manufactures advanced mills for superfine grinding, able to make powders, suspensions, sols and stable colloid solutions, as well as other highly dispersed materials. One of the most widespread materials made by superfine grinding is water-bitumen emulsion, widely used in road construction, water proofing of buildings and roofing. GlobeCore specializes in manufacturing of UVB type equipment, made specifically for water bitumen emulsion production.

The superfine grinding mills are made for intensive dispersion of mineral or chemical raw material. Such mills work with low and medium hardness materials and are used in chemical, pharmaceutical, metallurgical and construction industries. Superfine grinding mills are ball crushers, planetary and bead mills, as well as colloid mills and vortex layer generators.

Dispersion in the superfine mills occurs either in batches or continuously, wet or dry. In a dry mill, grinding occurs in air or in inert gas medium by crushing and grinding of the raw material into superfine substance. Dry grinding allows to use larger particles of the raw materials, since the impact action of the balls is more efficient than wet grinding. At the same time, wet grinding mills and in more demand for preparation of colloid solutions and other dispersed systems. New advanced technologies by GlobeCore ensure superfine grinding of organic and inorganic materials on nanometric scale.

Most devices designed for superfine atomization of raw materials, can be designed for both wet and dry grinding. Such are ball crushers, which employ the impacts, caused by rotation of the drum and constant motion of the materials inside: balls of steel, cast iron or another durable material. Ball crushers can be manufactured on industrial or laboratory scale, and can have one or two chambers. Such devices is a prototype of planetary mills, which feature several drums rotating simultaneously around a central axis and their own axis as well. These devices are significantly more efficient in terms of impact on the processed material. Planetary mills offer high degree of dispersion of suspensions and powders.

Bead mills and colloid mills are designed for preparation of highly dispersed material in water media: superfine suspensions, highly stable emulsions and colloid solutions. While the colloid mill dispersed the materials by intensive contact of the rotor and the stator, the bead mill works by constant impacts of beads with the particles of the material.

Complex processes occur in the cylindrical drum of the vortex layer generator between the ferromagnetic particles, the raw material and the liquid, moving in a rotating magnetic field and forming a vortex layer. The advantage of this system is that such interaction accelerates the atomization of the material, increasing production efficiency. The generator can also be used as a reactor to intensify chemical processes.

Dry road bitumen emulsion

Road construction industry, , ,

Powder emulsions has been known for a long time. I am sure most of us remember powdered milk. What if it is possible to apply this technology to make bitumen emulsion used in road construction then it will revolutionize the bitumen emulsion industry. It will be add convenience bitumen transportation to remote areas and it will add convenience in use.

To make dry road bitumen emulsion you a special polymer must be present. The polymer allows encapsulation and water elimination. Some companies are working to solve this problem since 1995 and have achieved considerable success in areas of agricultural chemistry and pharmacology. The developed technologies and processes may apply to the production of dry road bitumen emulsion.

It is possible to achieve this using a typical bitumen emulsion. A required extra step introduces an aqueous polymer into the mix and then dries the substance until capsule-like particle is formed. The polymer resembles each capsule contains a liquid droplet.

Long-term study of the physicochemical emulsion properties suggests synthesis of a hydrophilic polymer polyacrylate that has a low viscosity. It consists of hydrophobic substances, which do not inhibit the water solubility. Polyacrylate was the material that helped in making dry road bitumen emulsion production.

During the drying process, it is important to maintain minimal ratio of 10 between the granule size and emulsion droplet size.

It should be noted that the drying process has little or no effect on the bitumen emulsion properties in fact in some cases they actually improve. For example, the stability of the dry emulsion increases because the encapsulation process prevents its decay.

Another advantage of these materials is the possibility of mixing two or three emulsions that under normal conditions are not compatible with each other.

The general principle behind obtaining the dry road bitumen emulsion can be described as follows: first, the polymer is added directly to typical emulsion, then it is dried by one of available methods (e.g., dry spay), and the resulting powder is collected and stored. It at any time the powder may be dispersed in water, and restored to the original emulsion condition for later use.

Composition of bitumen emulsion

Road construction industry, , ,

Composition of bitumen and tar emulsion depends on the type of emulsifier used and the surface on globules will form. Direct emulsions are characterized by adsorption of emulsifier particles on the outer surface of the globules, and the reverse – on the inside.

Small emulsifier concentration leads to a disperse phase, but at the same time it also promotes destabilization of the emulsion over time. Increase in emulsifier concentration can achieve lower surface tension, which leads to the formation of an adsorption layer on the globules.

In addition, reduction in the emulsifier concentration leads to a reduction in the price of bitumen emulsion.

In order to achieve a strong bond between bitumen film and mineral material, its concentration in the emulsion should range from 55-70%. When working with stone materials the surface is pre-treated with hydrated lime, which promotes better adhesion of extracted bitumen from the emulsion.

Tar-bitumen emulsion is composed of bitumen and tar at 80:20 ratio and 2% kerosene. The ratio of binder to alkali solution is 70:30.

Bitumen composition also depends on the manufacturer. For example, bituminous emulsions manufactured by Kharkov plant consists of 48-52% of bitumen type BN-II and 52-48% aqueous emulsifier. Latter consisted from lie treated wood pine resin. This recipe provides a fast-disintegrating emulsion.

Groznenskiy oil plant proposed this emulsion composition 49% petroleum tar, 49% sodium hydroxide solution and 2% emulsifier. As the latter consisted of fat that formed soap.

Typical emulsion ingredients are bitumen or bitumen mixture with a solvent like diesel fuel.

New type of bitumen emulsion was developed to simplify the treatment of stone surfaces like reverse type: 60 % tar brand D-2, 40 % of bitumen brand BN-II, 2% kerosene. Tar-bitumen emulsion contains 70-75% of binder mix and 30-25% of aqueous sodium hydroxide.

Emulsion formation is significantly influenced by the brand and method of bitumen production. The ingredients used in the preparation process can affect the dispersion property of the emulsion from high to low. Some bitumen brands tend not to emulsify.

Specifics of bitumen emulsion modification

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Water-bitumen emulsion is a highly dispersed dark brown material made by atomization of bitumen in water solution of an emulsifier.

Such methods of bitumen thinning as organic solutions and hot mastics are prohibited in several European countries due to environmental and health hazards. A better and more efficient method is emulsification. The process is becoming more popular, replacing the other methods and taking its well deserved place in the market.

Although emulsion itself is an advanced material for road construction and waterproofing of buildings, it is often modified with synthetic polymer additives to enhance its performance even further. Such materials are called polymer-bitumen emulsions or rubber-bitumen emulsions.

Injection of polymer into bitumen emulsions is becoming more and more popular, since polymer-bitumen emulsions are obviously better for construction and repair of roads. Bitumen modification allows production of high quality emulsion, compliant with the high demands and high loads of modern roads. Modified water-bitumen emulsions improve stability and durability of road top and extend the temperature range of operation, elasticity and deformation stability. Research shows that bitumen, extracted after ten years of operation, shows little change of viscosity. The use of polymer-bitumen emulsion reduces the time of layer formation, however, additional adhesive additives are recommended to improve performance.

Water-bitumen emulsion can be modified in one of the three methods.

First method: injection of modifier into bitumen before emulsification.

Second method: injection of polymers into colloid mill at the stage of emulsion preparation.

Third method: mixing of two emulsions, where prepared emulsion is mixed with modifiers in the form of another emulsion.

Polymer bitumen emulsions are designed not only for road construction, but are also widely used for water-proofing of above and below ground structures, roofs etc. Water proofing materials made of water-bitumen emulsions protects structures from adverse effects of water.

UVB-1 bitumen emulsion unit, 1 m3/hour production capacity

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The UVB-1 plant is designed for production of anionic and cationic bitumen emulsion used in repairs and construction of roads, as well as liquid rubber, which can be used for roofing. A 1 cubic meter per hour unit is ideal for small repair facilities with everyday needs of 6 – 9 tons of emulsion.

Bitumen emulsions were first used in Europe in the 1930s. Since then, the industry has seen many promising designs, which allowed to improve production efficiency and process, as well as product yield. At this time, bitumen emulsions of all types (anionic, cationic, water in oil, oil in water, fast, medium and slow setting) are without a doubt a promising material for various construction works. The number of processes where bitumen emulsions are used is growing. Application of these materials is highly profitable and reliable The number of technological processes which use bitumen emulsions one way or the other is growing.

Plants developed and manufacture by GlobeCore are highly efficient and feature high quality. The use of innovative technology saves user costs, at the same time ensuring the following:

  •      Reliable component parts;
  •      High quality of the product. The use of hydrodynamic mixer along with a colloid mill makes finely dispersed emulsions possible. Such product is in full compliance with industry standards, in many case exceeding their requirements;
  •      Automatic or semi-automatic control of the plant;
  •      Precise portioning of water phase and unique blending technology;
  •      customization;
  •      spare part depositories and worldwide customer support.

The UVB-1 bitumen emulsion units are semi-automated plants with components mounted on metal frame and connected with pipelines.

The rate of emulsion consumption depends on the type of surface treated. For asphalt surface, the consumption is 500 g/m2, in case of gravel the consumption grows to 1200 g/m2. Treatment of asphalt crumbs increases consumption up to 2000 g/m2.

Water-bitumen emulsion is a dark brown liquid. Emulsion is made by dispersing of bitumen in water with the addition of surfactants.

Bitumen emulsions are indispensible for various road construction tasks. It forms a protective layer for automobile roads (asphalt, gravel or concrete).

Specific areas of application are:

  •      creation of tack coat for road construction;
  •      permeation and surface treatment in road cover construction;
  •      creation of thin film wear layers;
  •      patch repairs (as part of mineral-emulsion mix).

Bitumen emulsions. General information. Principles

The main component of any such system is the binding. In normal conditions, bitumen is solid, therefore to mix it with mineral material, it must be made liquid by heating.

An alternative – emulsification of bitumen

The amount of solid material (bitumen) in emulsion is up to 70%. In the form of small particles it is suspended in water. General viscosity of the emulsion coincides with the viscosity of water phase; therefore it is liquid at room temperature.

Emulsion stabilized by emulsifiers.

An emulsifier molecule is bipolar. The “tail” of the molecule solves in the bitumen particles, while the “head” pushed away other emulsifier molecules and does not allow bitumen particles to coalesce. This is why the particles remain suspended in water (emulsion stability). When emulsion contacts mineral material, the system balance is disrupted because emulsifier leaves the surface of bitumen droplets and the destabilized emulsion envelops gravel. The difference of chanrges between the grave and the emulsifier pushes out the water which then evaporates. Bitumen road emulsion is used as a binding film creating material in repairs and construction of automobile roads, bridges, streets, overpasses and other structures. The technologies based on pouring of material (surface treatment, tack coat, patch repairs and permeation) use fast setting emulsion. It can be used in all moderate to warm climates from Europe to Asia.

Quality – the ability to ensure high quality without the need to heat mineral material and binding. This alone saves up to 40% energy in comparison with regular “hot” process.

Environmental considerations. Bitumen emulsion does not cause harmful emissions in the atmosphere, there is no risk of explosion or burns during transportation or bitumen solution processing.

Transportation of bitumen emulsion

Bitumen emulsions are transported in special tanks, bitumen carrier, cubic vessels and metal barrels.

Storage of bitumen emulsion

Bitumen emulsions are stored in special tanks or other cylindrical vessels. The vessels must be clean: must not contain residual emulsions, bitumen, POL or other acidic or alkaline materials.

Emulsion of different composition must not be mixed in one vessel. Tanks must be tightly closed to prevent ingress of foreign objects and evaporation of water. The temperature of storage must be at least 5°С.  If the volume of the emulsion is more than 1m3, the tanks should be equipped with special stirring agitators.

Our company offers special vertical emulsion storage tanks SBE and SMB to store emulsion and polymer modified bitumen respectively. These tanks are equipped with heating and circulation systems and can easily integrate into the existing production process of a facility.

Machine for bitumen emulsion production

Chemical Industry, Construction industry, Road construction industry, Solutions

What is a “bitumen emulsion”?

An emulsion a fine dispersion of minute droplets of one liquid in another in which it is not soluble or miscible. In the case of a bitumen emulsion bitumen droplets are distributed in the water. The latter contains a surfactant – an emulsifier for stabilizing the emulsion.

 

Bitumen emulsion properties

The most important property of bitumen emulsion is the rate of decay on the surface of the mineral material. This serves as an indicator for its use in a particular industry.

During a reaction between cationic bitumen emulsion and a filler decay begins almost immediately. The water is rapidly displaced from the surface of the mineral material and is then evaporated. Upon contact between bitumen emulsion and stone emulsifier decreases in volume, which decrease the stability of the emulsion and produces bitumen.

Uniform distribution over treated surfaces is possible due to the relatively low viscosity of bitumen emulsions, which saves huge volumes or bitumen.

 

Benefits of bitumen emulsion

Application of bitumen emulsion in construction instead of the traditional “hot” technology allows you to:

  • reduce energy consumption by almost half by eliminating the need for heating before use;
  • conserve bitumen by 20-30%;
  • ensure full adhesion to the base of the road;
  • combine emulsion with wet solids;
  • carry out work from early spring to late autumn;
  • achieve flexibility in conduct of operations.

In addition, the bitumen emulsion is fireproof and environmentally friendly. Its use eliminates the possibility of burns and improves the safety of the workplace.

 

Bitumen emulsion production

For production of bitumen emulsion GlobeCore company recommends to use the model type UVB-1.

This machine produces bitumen emulsions by passing a mixture of hot bitumen and water through a special dispersing device – a colloid mill (between the rotating rotor and a stationary stator).

The aqueous solution is prepared in a special container where heated water, emulsifier, acid/alkali, add other additives are mixed. The resulting solution is then thoroughly mixed.

At the customer’s request, the machine can be custom made:

  • RAMS;
  • sea container with space for an operator (mobile and stationary models);
  • container coated in leather panels (mobile and fixed version).

Model type UVB-1 can be manufactures with different production rates, allowing you to choose the right model for a small repair shop or a full asphalt plant.

What emulsions may be prepared using model UVB-1?

Model UVB- 1 is intended for all types of bitumen emulsions:

  • road works with emulsifier, viscous oil, and shale bitumen;
  • waterproofing with high viscosity oil emulsifier for waterproofing work , including Roofing and hydraulic;
  • treatment with high viscosity emulsifier and natural and synthetic rubber ( latex ) for water-emulsion paints;
  • Special purpose (greasing of precast concrete parts in the manufacturing process, metal tool cooling in the machining and fabrication process, etc.).

Cedar milk dispersant

Food industry, Solutions, , ,

Cedar milk – fine particles of crushed pine suspended in water. The particle size has a direct impact on the full absorption of the product by a human body, its medicinal and nutritional properties. The particle size also affects total stability of the cedar milk emulsion, on which mainly determine the quality of the product.

In order to achieve sufficient emulsion stability optimal particle diameter of 0.1-0.01 microns is required. This precision can only be obtained by utilization of colloidal grinding model such as CML.

There are two stage to emulsion production. First, coarse grinding is performed where pine nuts are broken. Second, grinding is carried out in water – it is mixed with water and dispersed. Colloid Mill model KLM achieves 80% of particles having size of 0.1-0.01 microns. Such distribution gives cedar milk the stability it needs to be considered a high quality product.

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If the desired size of the nut particle is 1024-16 microns then the processing time is quite significant and it is not suitable for industrial application. Therefore, it is recommended to decrease the desired particle size. When the desired particle size is 16 microns or less processing time is considered acceptable for dispersion.

CML’s productivity is mainly determined by time required for the grinding of suspended particles to a predetermined size. The latter can be adjusted by changing the gap between the rotor and the stator of colloid mill.

Application of a bitumen emulsion for oil well waterproofing 

Road construction industry, , , ,

The last step in turning an oilfield into an oilrig is the ability to make a watertight oilrig. Water permeability may reach 70-98%, which leads to low recovery rates (anywhere between 30-40%). Therefore, water isolation in oil wells is crucial to a profitable oilrig.

Water inflow can also be a problem when recovering oil due to unexpected utilization of layers.

In case of waterproofing repairs, organic and inorganic reagents may be used. Some of the organic materials are cement and gypsum, and inorganic materials – polyacrylamide, carboxymethylcellulose, hydroxyethylcellulose, etc.

Studies have shown that the oil itself can be used as a waterproofing reagent; however, this method has a significant drawback because oil is not as durable and dissipates quickly.

Therefore, bitumen emulsion has been shown to work as a waterproofing material, in a disperse system consisting of water, bitumen and emulsifiers, which create a stable system over time. This approach, in comparison with the one previously mentioned has several advantages. First, the interaction between the rock surface and the emulsion breaks down and releases the bitumen, adsorbing it at the surface. Moreover, various materials obtain hydrophobic properties, i.e. become impervious to water. Second, when applied to a variety of surfaces, the emulsion penetrates the pores of the surfaces while creating a bond between the surface and the emulsion.

Therefore, the use of bitumen emulsions for waterproofing of oil wells should be considered as a good alternative. For the industrial production of bitumen emulsions using special model type UVB-1. UVB-1 is available with different specifications suitable for small and large projects regarding exploration and development of mineral deposits.

 

UVB-L bitumen emulsion plant (lab system)

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This product is designed for testing of known recipes of emulsions, primers and liquid rubber. It can also be used for development of new materials and emulsifiers and the corresponding research and experiments.

The UVB-L is used in asphalt-concrete production facilities and in specialized research laboratories with great success.

The advantage of these units are:

  • small size;
  • small power consumption;
  • ability to use minimal amounts of products for experiments;
  • easy readjustment for production of various samples;
  • simple operation and control.

The UVB-L unit is specifically designed for:

  • production of  small samples of bitumen emulsions;
  • for practical development of new water bitumen emulsion composition, with various components and made for different purposes.

The UVB-L was designed for operation in ambient temperatures from +5°С to +40°С.

UVB-1 bitumen emulsion plant, 2 m3/hour production capacity

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The UVB-1 2m3/hour bitumen emulsion plant makes cationic and anionic bitumen emulsions. The emulsion can be used for the following purposes:

  •      tack coating before application of asphalt-concrete
  •      production of cold asphalt concrete mixes
  •      surface treatment of roads
  •      thin protective film
  •      patch repairs of roads
  •      water proofing of buildings and structures
  •      construction of soft roofs
  •      production of liquid rubber spray

UVB-1 (2 m3/hour) can be used by asphalt concrete mix production facilities. The plant can be installed and operated either indoors or outdoors. The unit operates in ambient temperatures between +5°C and +40°C. UVB-1 2m3/hour plants are made for production of cationic and anionic emulsions for road surfaces as well as liquid rubbers, part of roofing spray emulsions. This production capacities is ideal for moderately sized facilities with daily emulsion requirement of 12-16 ton/day. Bitumen emulsion first came into use in Europe in the 1930s. With time, the process has been improved by innovations, which improved efficiency, quality and technology. Today bitumen emulsions are a promising material used in road and civil construction, and emulsion production is growing. This is because the bitumen emulsions allow to increase profitability and reliability of construction works. GlobeCore’s plants fully comply with industry standards or exceed their requirements. At the same time, the equipment comes with an affordable prices tag, due to the use of innovative technologies. The plants are very reliable, make high quality product and can be controlled in either semi automatic or automatic mode. The high quality of the product is due to combination of hydrodynamic mixer and colloid mill. These components of the bitumen emulsion plant allow production of finely dispersed emulsion, fully compliant with the world’s quality standards and regulations. The units utilize precise portioning of water phase and blend. Equipment is customizable. Component depositories and worldwide product support allows to all but eliminate downtime. Bitumen emulsion, general information and principles The main component of any such system is the binding. In normal conditions, bitumen is solid, therefore to mix it with mineral material, it must be made liquid by heating. Emulsification of bitumen. Emulsifiers are additives making the emulsions stable. In the form of small particles bitumen is suspended in water. The amount of solid material in emulsion is up to 70%. Since viscosity of the emulsion coincides with the viscosity of water phase, it is liquid at room temperature. Emulsifier polarity. The molecule of the emulsifier is bipolar. The “tail” of the molecule solves in the bitumen particles, while the “head” pushed away other emulsifier molecules and does not allow bitumen particles to coalesce, stabilizing the emulsion. This is why the particles remain suspended in water. When emulsion contacts mineral material, the system balance is disrupted because emulsifier leaves the surface of bitumen droplets and the destabilized emulsion envelops gravel. The difference of charges between the grave and the emulsifier pushes out the water which then evaporates Road bitumen emulsion is a binding material forming a film, which is used in construction and repair of automobile roads, streets, bridges, overpasses etc. Processes which require the product to be poured on a surface mostly utilize fast setting emulsions. These emulsions can be used in all moderate to warm climates in Europe and Asia.

  1. High quality of construction work is possible without heating of mineral material and binding. Hence the energy savings of over 40% compared to the traditional “hot” process.

Environmental aspect. Bitumen emulsion do not emit hazardous substances into the atmosphere from solvents and bitumen. There is no risk of fire or explosion during processing or transportation of the material. Handing of emulsion. Bitumen emulsion is transported in specialized tanks, bitumen carriers, cubic tanks or metal barrels. Bitumen emulsion storage. Emulsion is stored in special tanks or other specifically equipped cylindrical vessels. Such vessels must be clean, with no old emulsion residue, bitumen, POL or other materials. Emulsion of different composition must never be stored in the same tank. To prevent contamination of emulsion and water evaporation, the vessel must be tightly closed. Storage temperature must be above 5°С. If storage volume is more than 1 m3, the tank should be equipped with additional stirring devices. GlobeCore manufactures specialized vertical bitumen tanks SBE and SMB for storage of bitumen emulsion and polymer modified bitumen respectively. They are equipped with circulation and heating systems and can be retrofitted into existing process of a facility.