Bead Mills What is a classic bead mill?

Overview

Bead mills differences
What is bead beating?
Temperature control in bead mills

A bead mill is a type of equipment used for ultrafine grinding and dispersing of particles. It operates on the principle of impact and attrition: grinding media (beads) made of glass, ceramic, or steel are agitated inside a vessel or a chamber by a rotating shaft with impellers, causing the particles to break into smaller sizes due to collision and shear forces.

Bead mills are widely used in industries such as paints, inks, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and agrochemicals for the preparation of high-quality dispersions, emulsions, and suspensions. The key advantages of bead mills include their ability to achieve very fine particle sizes (often sub-micron), improved product stability, and uniform particle distribution. There are various types of bead mills, including horizontal and vertical configurations, each designed for specific applications and capacity requirements.

What is the difference between a bead mill and an attritor mill?

Bead mills and attritor mills are both used for grinding and dispersing materials down to fine particle sizes. Bead mills work by agitating a mixture of the material to be ground and a grinding medium (beads) with a rotating agitator. This causes the beads to collide with the particles of the feed, breaking them into finer particles. The process is also known as bead milling and the focus is on the chaotic movement, driven by the motion of the beads. Attritor mills, also known as stirred ball mills, operate by rotating a shaft with arms or discs that stir the media and the feed inside a vertical or horizontal tank. This stirring action causes a continuous circulation of the feed and media, creating intense shearing and impact forces that grind the material.

Key Differences

Mechanism of Action: Bead mills rely more on the energy generated from the motion of the beads within the mill, whereas attritor mills rely on the action of the rotating shaft with attached arms or discs to stir the media and feed.
Grinding Media Size: Bead mills generally use smaller grinding media compared to attritor mills, which enables finer particle size reduction.
Dispersion vs. Grinding: While both mills can achieve dispersion and grinding, bead mills are more commonly associated with dispersion applications for nanoparticles and fine chemicals, whereas attritor mills are often used for a broader range of grinding applications.

What are the differences between Planetary Ball Mills and Bead mills?

Bead mills and planetary ball mills are both widely used for particle size reduction and the dispersion of materials in various industries, but they have distinct applications based on their operating principles and the results they achieve.

Bead mills are primarily used for ultrafine grinding and the dispersion of particles to nano and sub-micron levels. They excel in processing liquid or paste-like materials. Planetary ball mills are used for mixing, homogenizing, and grinding across a broad range of applications, from soft to extremely hard materials. They are well-suited for achieving particle sizes ranging from a few micrometers down to the nano range.
Bead mills are especially effective for materials that are difficult to grind, including pigments, nanoparticles, and pharmaceutical compounds. Planetary Ball Mills are versatile, allowing for dry, wet, and even cryogenic grinding. They are used in fields such as material science, metallurgy, pharmaceuticals, and chemistry for sample preparation and research.
Material State: Bead mills are more suitable for liquid or semi-liquid materials, which makes them ideal for wet grinding applications. Planetary ball mills, on the other hand, are versatile, handling dry, wet, or even cryogenic materials.

Bolygóműves-golyós malmok

Termékinformáció

The Planetary Ball mills, the Mixer Mills MM 500 nano and MM 500 control, as well as the High Energy Ball Mill Emax, offer greater versatility compared to Bead Mills. All these mills are suitable for both dry and wet grinding. Unlike bead mills, RETSCH ball mills can also process larger sample pieces using larger grinding balls. Instead of agitating a liquid/bead mixture, the movement of the grinding jars in these mills ensures excellent circulation of the beads, leading to extremely fine grinding results. Therefore, the RETSCH Planetary Ball mills, the MM 500 nano and MM 500 control, and the Emax can be considered as an alternative to traditional bead mills.

MM 500 nano Rázó-golyós malom

MM 500 control Rázó-golyós malom

E_maxNagyenergiájú golyós malom

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Cell Disruption & Biological Samples

Ön feladatára kínált megoldásaink

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MM 400 malom - élesztősejt feltárása*

_{*The video shows the previous model with identical functional principle.}

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What is bead beating?

Bead beating is a technique used to lyse or disrupt cells and tissues to extract intracellular contents, including nucleic acids (DNA, RNA), proteins, and other cellular components. This method involves the vigorous agitation of a sample mixed with small, often spherical, beads in a closed container. The beads are made from various materials such as glass, ceramic, steel, or zirconium, depending on the type of sample and the desired outcome.

The process works by physically shearing the cells apart as they collide with the beads and each other due to the high-speed shaking or vortexing of the sample. The effectiveness of bead beating is influenced by several factors, including the size and material of the beads, the speed and duration of agitation, the type and strength of the cell walls or membranes being disrupted, and the volume and consistency of the sample.

Bead beating is a versatile technique used across a range of applications, from molecular biology and biochemistry to environmental science and food testing. It is particularly useful for processing difficult-to-lyse samples, such as yeast, fungi, algae, and tissues from plants and animals, as well as for homogenizing samples with mixed cell types. The method offers several advantages, including the ability to process multiple samples simultaneously, the potential for high-throughput automation, and compatibility with a wide variety of sample types.

MM 400 Rázó-golyós malom

MM 400 Rázó-golyós malom - Megoldás biológiai alkalmazásokhoz és sejtfeltáráshoz

Another RETSCH ball mill, the Mixer Mill MM 400, is well known for a process called bead beating, and thus also is a bead mill.

The MM 400 processes up to 20 samples in 1.5 or 2 ml Eppendorf tubes without cross contamination which saves time for the operator. Additionally, an adapter is available to accommodate up to eight 50 ml Falcon tubes. The optimal bead size for cell disruption varies based on the cell type; for bacteria and yeast, glass beads ranging from 0.75 to 1.5 mm are recommended, while smaller beads within the range of 0.1 to 0.5 mm are more suitable for fungi and microalgae.

For DNA or RNA extraction, smaller single-use tubes up to 2 ml are ideal, whereas larger vials like the 50 ml Falcon tubes are well-suited for processing cell suspensions up to 240 ml in total for proteins or metabolites. The optimum bead beating parameters vary according to cell type. It may take some experimenting to find the best results. Usually, 30 s (most microalgae) to 7 min (yeasts in general) of bead beating are required to fully disrupt the cells.

By accepting up to fifty 2 ml single-use vials, the Mixer Mill MM 500 vario effectively increases sample throughput for cell disruption.

Cells of Phaeodactylum tricornutum before (left) and after cell disruption (right) with the MM 400 in combination with the Falcon tube adapter.

BIZTONSÁGOS ÉS HATÉKONY ŐRLÉS TARTOZÉKOK MM 400-HOZ

Grinding jars in 7 different materials

The nominal volume of the screw-top grinding jars ranges from 1.5 ml to 50 ml.
Available materials include hardened steel, stainless steel, agate, tungsten carbide, zirconium oxide and PTFE, ensuring contamination-free sample preparation.
Transparent PMMA grinding jars are used for in-situ RAMAN spectroscopy but also enable applications with photochemical reactions. Moreover, these are resistant to a variety of chemicals.
The jars can be used with the predecessor of the MM 400 just like older jar models are compatible with the latest mixer mill model.

ADAPTEREK REAKCIÓCSÖVEKHEZ

Adapters for 0.5 / 1.5 / 2 / 5 ml single-use vials can be used in the MM 400.
For larger sample amounts, e. g. for protein extraction, adapters for 50 ml conical centrifugation tubes or 30 ml wide-mouth bottles are available.

Adapters for increased sample throughput

The MM 400 can be equipped with adapters that accommodate four 5 ml stainless-steel grinding jars, allowing for simultaneous pulverization of a maximum of 8 samples.
This increased throughput is particularly beneficial for mechanochemical applications.

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Temperature control in bead mills

Controlling the temperature can be crucial in wet grinding processes or bead beating processes as many materials processed in bead mills are temperature-sensitive. Excessive heat can cause undesirable chemical reactions or physical changes, such as polymer degradation, color changes in pigments, or changes in the crystalline structure of materials. For cell disruption, proteins are very temperature-sensitive and degrade quickly. Maintaining an optimal temperature ensures the integrity of the material's properties. Another aspect is the viscosity: Temperature fluctuations can affect the viscosity of the slurry being processed, which in turn influences the grinding efficiency and the quality of dispersion. A stable temperature ensures consistent viscosity, which is critical for achieving uniform particle sizes and a stable dispersion.

To manage these issues, bead mills often incorporate temperature control mechanisms, such as cooling jackets or external chillers, which circulate a cooling fluid around the grinding chamber to dissipate excess heat. Some mills also feature temperature monitoring systems to enable precise control over the process conditions.

RETSCH offers two bead mills where the temperature can be controlled easily during wet grinding or bead beating: The High Energy Ball Mill Emax and the Mixer Mill MM 500 control.

Highly Efficient Cooling System in the Emax

The development of a high-energy ball mill presents a significant challenge in temperature management, as the intense energy required for size reduction generates substantial heat within the grinding jar. RETSCH has addressed this issue with a novel water-cooling system integrated into the mill. Consequently, the Emax typically does not necessitate cooling breaks, which are common in long-term processes using traditional ball mills, even at reduced speeds. In the Emax, the cooling system effectively lowers the temperature of the grinding jars through the jar brackets. This method is highly efficient since water dissipates heat more readily than air. Users have the flexibility to select from three cooling modes: besides the built-in cooling, the mill can be connected to a chiller or directly to a water tap to further reduce the temperature. A chiller set to 4°C is the best choice to assure ambient temperatures for wet grinding processes when the Emax is used as a bead mill.

Emax

Innovative cooling system in the MM 500 control

Az MM 500 control száraz, nedves és kriogén őrlésre alkalmas nagyenergiájú - akár 30 Hz rázó frekvenciára képes - laboratóriumi malom. Az első a piacon, melynek hőmérséklete szabályozható az őrlési folyamat alatt.

A hőmérséklet - 100 és + 100 °C között állítható be, és a szabályozás többféle módon is megvalósítható. A malom folyékony temperáló közeggel működtethető, ami sokféle hűtő- vagy fűtőegység illesztését engedi meg. Ha folyékony nitrogénnel végzik a hűtést, akkor a malmot ki kell egészíteni az opcionális cryoPad egységgel. Az innovatív cryoPad technológia lehetővé teszi a hőmérséklet - 100 és 0 °C közötti beállítását és szabályozását az őrlési folyamat alatt.

For bead beating and wet grinding, the use of the external chiller set to 4 °C is a good choice, so that cell suspensions are efficiently cooled and heat from wet grinding processes is effectively dissipated.

Hőmérsékletszabályozás hűtőlemezek segítségével

A minta hűtése vagy fűtése közvetett módon - szabadalmaztatott hűtőlemezek - révén történik, nincs szükség tehát pl. nyitott folyékony nitrogén fürdő vagy szárazjég felhasználására. A hűtendő vagy fűtendő őrlőedényeket egyszerűen a hűtőlemezekre helyezik és ott rögzítik. Így az őrlőedényekkel szorosan érintkező hűtőlemezekről hatékonyan vezetődik el a hő a temperáló egységbe (hűtés) vagy adódik át onnan ellenkező irányba (fűtés). A szabadalmaztatott, hermetikusan zárt rendszer különböző temperáló folyadékkal is működtethető, rugalmas és biztonságos hőmérsékletszabályozást biztosít a felhasználó csupán minimális közreműködésével. Az alkalmazás egyéb körülményeitől függően a hűtőlemezek hőmérséklete - 100 és + 100 °C között állítható be.

MM 500 control Rázó-golyós malom

Multi-cavity jars & adapter in the MM 500 control Bead Mill

Simultaneous processing of several small samples is possible with the multi-cavity jars and an adapter for reaction vials. This is a typical requirement, for example, for pharmaceutical, chemical and biochemical applications. The small cavity jars provide new opportunities for mechanochemical research activities involving small amounts of chemicals.

The cavities in the jars have an oval shape which ensures effective mixing. The pouring aids allow for safe sample handling. The multi-cavity jars are made of stainless steel, thus providing effective heat transfer to or from the sample.

The adapter accommodates up to 18 disposable reaction vials of 1.5 or 2.0 ml (e.g. Eppendorf vials) or nine 2.0 ml steel tubes. With its two grinding stations, the MM 500 control mixer mill can process up to 36 samples in one working run. Thus, the MM 500 control is the ideal bead mill for cooled cell disruption and high sample throughput. 2.0 ml steel tubes should be used if samples need to be frozen or heated, as polymeric reaction vessels cannot withstand mechanical load at extreme temperatures. The adapter is made of aluminium so that heat is efficiently transferred to and from the reaction tubes.

Multi-cavity jars of 4 x 10 ml and 2 x 25 ml, made of stainless steel, incl. PTFE pouring aids.

Adapter for 18 x 2 ml safe-lock reaction vials or 9 x 2 ml steel tubes, made of aluminum

To the top overview

RETSCH készülékeket használnak mindegyik iparágban és kutatási területen a különböző analitikai eljárásokat megelőző mintaelőkészítésben és gyártási folyamatok ellenőrzését ill. minőségbiztosítást szolgáló szemcseméret mérésben.
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Kapcsolatfelvétel

Bead Mill - Gyakori kérdések

Can RETSCH Ball Mills be considered as bead mills?

Yes, as the different ball mills work with agitation of small beads in liquid to minimize sample´s particle size or for cell disruption, RETSCH Mills can be regarded as bead mills. For Mixer Mills RETSCH offers special adapters designed for bead beating and cell disruption.

Is cooling important for bead mills?

Yes, cooling is crucial for bead mills assuring a good viscosity and ambient temperatures, so that temperature-sensitive substances are not evaporated or degraded