Environmental pressures, particularly in Europe, have increased demand for Atritor's Mill-Dryers, the CM series of Multirotor Cell Mill-Dryers and the A&B Series Atritor Dryer-Pulverisers. Simultaneous Drying and Milling can save up to 20% energy  over  other  typical  processes  and  greatly

simplify the overall system. Many companies producing a wide variety of kaolinitic clays still rely on large, high energy consuming, rotary dryers.

Where energy is expensive and where a fine powder product, typically less than 45 microns, is required, the Mill-Dryer gives a single solution to a previously duplex problem - how to both dry and fine mill the product in the most efficient way. Because the Mill-Dryer is a low residence time, high turbulence flash dryer, heatlosses to the atmosphere are negligible  and,  as  the  individual

clay particles are not allowed to agglomerate as they might in many drying processes, the extra de-agglomeration energy needed in 2 stage drying & milling does not apply.

Atritor has wide experience in conditioning materials for feeding to the Mill-Dryer system by back mixing to a crumble or spraying directly into the mill. The Cell Mill has also proved itself to be a very high efficiency coating system with high homogeneity factors for the addition of surface treatments such as stearates. To further complement their mill-drying process systems, Atritor are also able   to   offer   an   integral   air

classifier at the product outlet of the Cell Mill which can typically cut down to 25 microns or finer.

For very high fineness requirements an external classifier from an Atritor associate company, specialising in classification, can be arranged in circuit, with the coarse rejects being recycled back to the Mill-Dryer. Atritor's units are available in sizes up to 6 tonnes per hour evaporation and over 2000 plants have been installed.