Analysis of Ground Dolomite: Effect of Grinding Time on the Production of Submicron Particles

Abstract

This paper discusses the effect of grinding time on the production of submicron dolomite by using the impact and abrasion technique of high energy planetary ball mill. It is known that grinding process leads to surface activation other than exhibiting particle size reduction. Most of the energy applied during the process will be dissipated as heat that could lead to harmful effects to the structural pattern of the ground material. Thus in order to study the detrimental effects of grinding towards submicron dolomite, sample was ground at 400 rpm speed with various grinding time; 0.5h, 1h, 2h, 5h, 10h and 20h. It was confirmed using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) method that the crystalline structure of dolomite did not deform even after 20h of grinding time, thus maintained its crystallinity. The morphological structures of ungrind and ground raw dolomite were shown by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) morphology.