Particle size reduction equipment described

A recent U.S. Army study (performed by Battelle) identified, described, and evaluated technologies to facilitate remediation of oversize ex-plosives-contaminated debris. During composting of explosives-contaminated soil at military installations, such debris interferes with the operation of the flail-type windrow equipment used to turn and aerate the composting soil. The study examined size reduction and return of the crushed debris to the compost pile and removal of the contaminants from the debris followed by disposal of the cleaned debris. If the debris is to be returned to the compost pile, the particle size must be less than V2-inch diameter. For removal, the explosives contaminants level must be reduced to below 30 mg/kg. 

Effective compatibilization of binary polymer blends by addition of a copolymer reduces the dispersed particles size and Vj [Anastasiadis et al, 1987 Wu, 1987 Patterson et ai, 1971]. An illustration is shown on Figure 4.15. The effect of compatibilizer addition is similar to the emulsification of the classical emulsions. In the former systems, the compatibilizer effect on the drop size and Vj follows the same behavior as the emulsion drop size reduction upon addition of a surfactant. The latter behavior is usually described as the titration curve that characterizes the surfactant efficiency. The shape of the titration curve depends on the type of emulsifier and the emulsification process, e.g., mixing time and equipment. However, the amount of emulsifier to saturate the interface also depends on the affinity of emulsifier to the dispersed phase, the size of the dispersion, the orientation of the emulsifier at the interface and its ability to prevent flocculation and coalescence [Djakovic et al., 1987]. A similar behavior is to be expected for polymer blends upon addition of a compatibilizer. 

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