Spiral jet mill produces 'exceptional' yields of up to 99.86% in a recent series of trials, giving laboratories significant cost savings by decreasing the amount of product lost during milling
In its latest trials, the LaboMill, a spiral jet mill that was launched into the UK by Isopak, has produced yields of up to 99.86%.
It is thought such results will give laboratories and R and D departments significant cost savings by decreasing the amount of product lost during the milling process.
The trials were conducted for a Spanish customer at the manufacturers test centre in Fiorenzuola d'Arda.
The customer came to the plant to assist the trials and provided four batches of lactose to be tested.
The first run, which consisted of 0.2g of lactose, produced a yield of 0.176g, an 88% return.
The second batch, a 2.0g trial, produced a yield of 1.970g, a 98.5% return, and the third, a 20g batch, produced a massive 19.972g, equalling a yield of 99.86%.
The fourth and final test used 100g of lactose and produced 99.739g, a return of 99.74%.
The LaboMill was designed and built by the leading Italian manufacturer of spiral jet mills, Food Pharma Systems (FPS), and became available in the UK exclusively through Isopak in February 2005.
Managing director of Isopak, Robin Davies, commented on the trials: "These latest results are exceptional.
"The LaboMill has been designed with a non-tangential Venturi-entry, which allows the mill to use 100% of the available energy, both at the Venturi-entry and at the grinding nozzles.
"And the internal milling chamber has been specially designed to eliminate turbulence and optimise the jet streams.
"It is these unique features, along with its overall design, that have created such impressive yields".
Isopak is targeting laboratories and R and D departments with the LaboMill.
It has been developed to micronise extremely small batches of powder and is ideal for dealing with the first stages of development The LaboMill can be supplied with both bottom and top-discharge configurations and, unlike typical rectangular and octagonal spiral jet mills, the LaboMill is a continuous shape and has grinding nozzles that help maintain a non-turbulent motion of particles.
This elimination of turbulence stops powder sticking against the chamber walls to form crusts and prevents particles from being prematurely classified in the centre of the mill.
To allow a precise and constant feeding of the powder into the milling chamber, FPS has developed another miniaturisation of a feeding unit, the LaboFeeder, a single screw-dosing unit completely encased in stainless steel.
It will substitute typical hand feeding of such small quantities offering a much higher reliability of the final results.
Davies sums up: "Isopak has already gained much success with the LaboMill since its launch earlier in the year, and we expect interest to increase following these outstanding results."
