Ball Mill Recirculation Pump

A ball mill is the core equipment for further crushing materials that have already undergone preliminary crushing. It finds wide application in numerous production industries, including cement, silicate products, new building materials, beneficiation of black and non-ferrous metals, glass, and ceramics. It's used for dry or wet grinding of various ores and other grindable substances. The ball mill recirculation pump plays a crucial role in this process. Its function is to turn large-particle minerals that don't meet the process requirements into slurry at a certain proportion. Then, this slurry is sent back to the feed inlet of the ball mill via the ball mill recirculation pump to undergo ball milling once again until the desired process requirements are fulfilled. 

The ball mill recirculation pump is a key piece of equipment in industrial fluid transportation, specifically engineered for ball mills. Essentially, it is a centrifugal pump. Its core components cover the pump body, impeller, shaft, sealing assembly, and drive motor. The pump body is typically made of high-strength, wear-resistant, and corrosion-resistant metal materials, like high-quality stainless steel or alloy materials, which prepares it well for complex and harsh working ·environments. The impeller is uniquely designed with an optimized shape and angle, enabling it to efficiently handle thick slurries containing solid particles and ensure stable transportation.

Work Principle of Ball Mill Recirculation Pump：

The ball mill circulation pump works just like a traditional centrifugal pump. When powered on, the motor drives the impeller to spin at high speed, quickly creating a low-pressure (negative pressure) area at the center of the pump chamber. Due to the pressure difference between the outside atmospheric pressure and the pump's internal negative pressure, the slurry inside the ball mill is continuously "sucked" into the pump body. As it enters, the slurry spins with the impeller and gets flung out at high speed by centrifugal force. Then, it's pushed along the preset flow path in the pump casing, at a stable flow rate and pressure, into the connected pipeline, reaching the target classification or processing equipment for the next circulation.    

Application Areas of Ball Mill Recirculation Pump：

Mining Industry:

Throughout the entire ore mining and processing, the ball mill circulation pump is essential. For gold, copper, or iron ores, once crushed, they enter the ball mill for initial grinding. The ball mill circulation pump then sucks out the slurry with uneven coarse and fine particles and sends it to classifying equipment like cyclones. The fine slurry that meets the standard flows into the next ore dressing steps, while the coarse particles go back to the ball mill for re-grinding. This cycle keeps going until the ore reaches the perfect fineness, boosting the ore dressing recovery rate and concentrate quality. 

Chemical Industry:

Chemical production often demands fine grinding and mixing of solid materials. Take coatings and pigments manufacturing. Pigment particles must be ground to a specific size. The ball mill circulation pump enables materials to circulate between the ball mill and the dispersion unit, enhancing pigment dispersion for uniform color and stable product quality. In fertilizer production, when grinding raw materials, it facilitates material circulation to evenly mix nutrients. 

Building Materials Industry:

In the early production stages of building materials such as cement and ceramics, raw materials need fine grinding. With cement, for instance, limestone and clay are ground in the ball mill. The ball mill circulation pump maintains internal slurry circulation, ensuring the raw material fineness is up to par. This sets the stage for high-temperature calcination to produce high-strength cement, fundamentally securing the performance of building materials products.

Features of Ball Mill Recirculation Pump：

Strong Wear Resistance

The ball mill circulation pump has to transport slurries full of solid particles over the long haul. So, its flow parts, like the impeller and the inner wall of the pump body flow channel, are made from high-hardness, wear-resistant materials or given wear-resistant coatings. This greatly lengthens its service life and cuts down the downtime and costs that come with often replacing parts. 

Excellent Corrosion Resistance

In mining and chemical operations, slurries usually have corrosive chemicals. The ball mill circulation pump is crafted from corrosion-resistant materials and comes with professional sealing devices. It can fend off acid and alkali corrosion effectively, keep running steadily, and dodge leakage risks.

Stable Flow

Thanks to its unique impeller design and the precise internal structure of the pump body, the ball mill circulation pump can churn out a stable flow. Even when dealing with complex slurries that vary in particle content, it ensures all parts of the ball mill system work in sync and coordinate efficiently.

Good Adjustability

Some top-notch ball mill circulation pumps have variable frequency motors or regulating valves. Operators can easily tweak the pump's flow and pressure based on the ball mill's real-time conditions. This way, it can meet different needs for material circulation speed and grinding levels at various production stages.    

Types of Pumps for Ball Mill Recirculation:

· Horizontal Slurry Pump: Ideal for horizontal slurry transport, it’s widely used in ball mill recirculation due to its ability to handle high-concentration slurries.

· Vertical Slurry Pump:Suitable for limited installation spaces, such as beneath ball mills, where vertical mounting is necessary for efficient slurry recirculation.

· Froth Pump: This pump is tailored for handling slurries with foam or froth, reducing air interference and enhancing slurry flow efficiency in ball mill recirculation.

· ZGB Slurry Pump: Known for its high wear and corrosion resistance, the ZGB pump is designed for heavy-duty slurry transport and is ideal for ball mill recirculation in the mining industry.

· ZJ Slurry Pump: Featuring an optimized design for durability and stability, this pump is commonly used worldwide in metal beneficiation processes, including in ball mill recirculation systems.

· Submersible Slurry Pump: For submerged applications, these pumps are perfect for mines with slurry pools, ensuring effective circulation in difficult-to-reach areas.

Type selection characteristics of ball mill recirculation pump:

1. As the slurry handling by the ball mill recirculation pump has large particles,  strong impact, high wear-resistant and impact resistant materials shall be considered for the wear parts of the pump during model selection;

2. The ball mill recirculation pump are located below the mill, and the maintenance space is limited. Considering the service life, maintenance cycle and spare parts replacement cycle of ball mill recirculation pump, the pump with lower speed shall be selected during model selection, so as to prolong the service life and maintenance cycle of pump overflow parts and reduce maintenance times.

ZGB, ZJ series slurry pumps adopts GLH-1, GLH-41 and GLH-81 as overflow parts, which has strong abrasion resistance and good impact resistance, and is widely used in various metal beneficiation all over the world.