In laboratories, equipment like planetary ball mills and vibration ball mills are commonly used to assist in the preparation of solid samples. However, while many find these ball mills useful, cleaning the grinding jars and balls can be quite troublesome.
There are various reasons leading to the sticky contamination of the grinding jars and balls. To address this issue effectively, it's crucial to adopt targeted cleaning methods. Below, we'll share some cleaning tips accumulated over years of experience:
Seven Methods for Cleaning Grinding Jars and Balls:
1. Gas Blowing
This method, commonly used and relatively simple, requires an air pump, blow gun, and fume hood. It's suitable for cleaning grinding jars and balls after grinding samples that are dry and less prone to stickiness, such as soil, coal, or dried cement. After grinding, place the grinding jars and media in the fume hood, use the blow gun for cleaning, and they'll be ready for reuse.
2. Wiping with Tissue or Dry Cloth
Using tissue or a dry cloth for wiping is another common cleaning method. It's important to ensure that the tissue or cloth is clean and uncontaminated. This method is also suitable for cleaning grinding jars and balls after grinding samples that are dry and less prone to stickiness. After grinding, simply wipe the grinding jars with tissue or a dry cloth. For grinding balls, this method is more suitable when they are slightly larger in diameter and there is less quantity.
3. Water Rinse
Water, a commonly used liquid for daily cleaning, is also suitable for cleaning grinding jars and balls. Before cleaning, soak the grinding jars and balls, then rinse them with flowing tap water. For substances that are difficult to clean with water, such as oil or solvents inside the jar, you can add grinding balls and detergent (such as laundry powder, small pieces of soap, dishwashing detergent, etc.) into the jar, cover it, and run the ball mill at empty load for a few minutes. Then rinse with pure water, and air dry or dry with heat.
4. Adding Cleaning Solvents
For some residues that are difficult to remove with water and detergent alone, you can choose appropriate cleaning solvents based on the chemical properties of the residues, such as acetone, acetone, ethanol (alcohol), oxalic acid, hydrochloric acid, etc., and then soak and clean.
It's important to avoid adding solvents that may react with the grinding jars and balls. Additionally, for samples ground with wet ball milling, using the same solvent as during grinding for cleaning can also yield good results.
5. Adding Strong Acids such as Sulfuric Acid or Nitric Acid
For some stubborn residues, soaking in concentrated acid for a period of time and then adding diluted acid for cleaning can be effective. After soaking, put the grinding jars on the ball mill for empty load operation, then rinse with tap water.
6. Ultrasonic or Plasma Cleaning Machine
For oily or strongly adhesive samples, using ultrasonic or plasma cleaning machines often yields good cleaning results. The mechanical vibration generated by these machines is sufficient to break up adhered substances, achieving the cleaning effect. After cleaning, air dry or dry with heat.
7. Empty Load Operation of the Ball Mill
Empty load operation of the ball mill has been applied to some of the above methods. The ball mill itself carries a certain amount of energy during operation, which can be utilized to clean the grinding jars and media. However, it's important to set the speed not too high to reduce wear and energy consumption of the grinding balls and the ball mill.
When using the ball mill for empty load cleaning, in addition to adding water and detergent, you can also add alumina powder, sand, quartz sand, or small-sized corundum balls to increase frictional contact. Especially for mechanical alloying research, alloy layers may form on the jar wall and grinding balls. In such cases, using construction sand, along with balls and water, for empty load cleaning can yield good results. If sand is not effective, try using quartz sand, fine corundum balls, and water, which generally produce satisfactory cleaning results.
After learning about the seven cleaning methods for laboratory ball mill grinding jars and balls, I believe you have gained a certain understanding. However, with various types of samples, the choice of cleaning method depends on the degree of contamination of the jars and balls, and sometimes it may be necessary to use several methods interchangeably. One more thing to note is that after each grinding operation, cleaning should be done immediately to prevent accumulation of contamination due to prolonged storage.
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