CRUSHERS

A crusher is a machine designed to reduce large solid material objects into a smaller volume,
or smaller pieces. Crushers may be used to reduce the size, change the form, of waste
materials so they can be more easily disposed or recycled, and to reduce the size of a solid
mix of raw materials (as in cassava), so that pieces of different composition can be
differentiated (Moiceanu et al., 2019). Crushing is the process of transferring a force
amplified by mechanical advantage through a material made of molecules that bond together
more strongly, and resist deformation more, than those in the material being crushed.
Crushing devices hold material between two parallel or tangent solid surfaces and apply
sufficient force to bring the surfaces together to generate enough energy within the material
being crushed so that its molecules separate from (fracturing), or change alignment in relation
to (deformation), each other. In cassava processing line, it is necessary to use cassava
crushing machine to fully crush cassava raw materials so that the starch particles can be set
free, then we can get final starch.

TYPES OF CRUSHING PROCESS

These processes are defined by the mechanical forces applied to break materials and the
stages of size reduction. There are four basic ways to reduce a material by impact, attrition,
shear or compression and most crushers employ a combination of all these crushing methods.

1. Impact: In crushing terminology, impact refers to the sharp, instantaneous collision

of one moving object against another. There are two variations of impact: gravity
impact and dynamic impact.
2. Attrition: Attrition is a term applied to the reduction of materials by scrubbing it
between two hard surfaces. Hammer mills operate with close clearances between the
hammers and the screen bars and they reduce by attrition combined with shear and
impact reduction.
3. Shear: Shear consists of a trimming or cleaving action rather than the rubbing action
associated with attrition. Shear is usually combined with other methods. For example,
single-roll crushers employ shear together with impact and compression.
4. Compression: As the name implies, crushing by compression is done between two
surfaces, with the work being done by one or both surfaces. Jaw crushers using this
method of compression are suitable for reducing extremely hard and abrasive
surfaces.
TYPES OF CRUSHERS

Crushers are categorized by their operational principles and applications.

 Jaw Crusher
 Impact Crusher
 Hammer Crusher
 Cone Crusher
 Roll Crusher
 Raspers

Jaw Crusher

These employs compression between a fixed and movable jaw, commonly used in primary
crushing for their durability.

Impact crushers

These use impact force, with variants like horizontal shaft impactors (HSI) and vertical shaft
impactors (VSI), suitable for softer materials. They are ideal choice for crushing and
screening. This machine features reasonable structure, high productivity, easy operation and
maintenance and safe performance.

Rasper: Rasper can be used for cassava, potato and sweet potato processing line to grind and
crush raw materials. It is easy to replace the bottom net, easy to set up and easy to operate.
The rasper is also equipped with Swedish SKF bearings and German belts, which is durable
and has a long life.

Cone crushers

Designed on layered crushing theory, and with features of reliable structure, convenient
adjustment and economical operation. They compress material between a mantle and
concave.

Hammer crusher

A subset of impact crushers, hammer mills utilize rotating hammers to pulverize material,
versatile for various industries.
Roll crusher

Heavy-Duty Drive Shafts & Bearings Oversized, heat-treated, alloy steel shafts plus self-
aligning, roller-type bearings assure long life and maximum use of power. Jackshafts for
controlling roller speed are standard on double roll crushers, optional on larger single roll
crushers.

Hammer mill crusher

It can be used for crushing tuberous roots such as cassava, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc. It is
mostly used for the crushing of cassava in the bioethanol production line.

Hammer crusher is an impact-based device that uses high-speed rotating blades to crush raw
materials which are mainly composed of a casing, a reducer, a motor, a rotating knife holder,
etc. The features of hammer crusher: reasonable design, low energy consumption, large
output, full crushing, and convenient maintenance. Hammer mills offer high reduction ratios,
simplicity, and adaptability to wet or dry materials even though they struggle with abrasive or
tough materials and produce dust and noise.

ADVANTAGES

Firstly, it is rapid in action and can grind many different types of materials. Additionally,
they are easy to install and operate, and the operation is continuous. Also, there is little
contamination of the product with metal abrading from the mill as no surface moves against
each other. Perhaps most importantly, the particle size of the material to be reduced can be
easily controlled by changing the speed of the rotor, hammer type, shape and size of the
screen

Working principle

In the Hammer mill machine, the motor drives the rotor to rotate at high speed through the
belt and on the rotor, there are series of hammers. Material enters via a feed hopper and is
struck by hammers attached to a rotor spinning at 500-3000 rpm. When the materials get into
that working area of the hammers the rotating hammers with high rotation speed are crushing
them. The crushed products meeting the required shape can be discharged by the outlet and
become the final products. The final crushing is done between the hammer faces and the
screen bars. Then the crushed cassava goes to the conveyors below and is carried to the
storage bunker. Tramp material that will not go out between the screen bars is dropped into
the iron pocket and is later removed.

Description of Equipment

A hammer mill’s design integrates several components for effective operation. At its core is
the Rotor Assembly, the rotating core powered by an electric motor, with hammers mounted
on it, which is the driving force of the crushing process. The Hammers themselves are
constructed from hardened or manganese steel, their configuration impacts efficiency. The
Screen/Grate is another critical component, determining output size, available in multiple
mesh sizes to suit various requirements. Material is channeled into the crushing chamber
through the Feed Hopper, often equipped with a feeder for controlled input. Finally, the
Housing encloses the system, providing support and containing dust.

Why hammer mill?

Hammer mills are preferred over other crushers for biomass processing due to their
adaptability and efficiency highlight their high size reduction ratio and easy adjustment of
particle size range (Paraschiv et al., 2021). Unlike jaw crushers, which struggle with
fibrous materials, or roller mills, which are less effective for fine milling, hammer mills
excel in reducing heterogeneous lignocellulosic biomass.

REFERENCES

Oyedeji, O.; Gitman, P.; Qu, J.; Webb, E. Understanding the impact of lignocellulosic
biomass variability on the size reduction process: A review. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 2020,
8, pp 2327–2343.

Baruah, J., Nath, B.K., Sharma, R., Kumar, S., Deka, R.C., Baruah, D.C. and Kalita, E.
(2018). Recent Trends in the Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass for Value-Added
Products. Frontiers in Energy Research, 6, pp 141

Moiceanu, G., Paraschiv, G., Maican, E., Dinca, M., Gageanu, I. and Arsenoaia, V.N. (2019).
Aspects Regarding FEM Simulation of Stress in Hammer Mill Working Tool. E3S Web of
Conferences, 112, 03018.