Container-to-Container Milling for Dust Tight Processing

Positioning containers on the inlet and outlet of mills (i.e. container-to-container milling) is a popular way of achieving dust tight processing. A key benefit of this method is that it does not impede on process efficiency, such as throughput.

This simple set-up is prevalent in laboratories and R&D settings where dust containment is crucial for small processing environments. It is also an ideal choice when milling more hazardous and potent powders.

The Process

Containers are positioned either side of the milling head; so, one container is connected to the inlet and the other is attached to the outlet of the mill. The containers for a lab sized mill can easily be lifted by hand due to the compact size; however, for production scale processing, it is best to manoeuvre the containers with a hoist.

A butterfly valve (or similar) is placed between the top container and the inlet. This is the mechanism used to start and stop the flow of powder entering the mill.

Top tip: It is important that material does not enter the mill before the machine is running.

Typically, the top container will have an open top (sealed with a removable silicone cap). This allows the operator to load powder without removing the container on the inlet. Some customers prefer to remove the top container each time to charge it, before inverting it again with the butterfly valve closed prior to processing. This might be the preferred choice if the container will also be charged in a contained way.

The containers are attached with Tri-Clover connections so, after all material has passed through the milling head, the bottom container can be easily and quickly removed for emptying.

ATEX / Ex-Proof Compliant

All of our mills can be supplied for ATEX / ex-proof environments, so the container-to-container set-up is also suitable for ATEX / ex-proof applications. Read more about milling in explosive atmospheres here >>>.

Adapting Container-to-Container Milling for High Containment

The set-up can be simply adapted for high containment applications, such as when high potency APIs are being processed.

Both containers are completely sealed except for split valves which have the passive halves placed on the containers and the active halves on the inlet and outlet of the mill. The two halves of the valve then come together to create one vein and form a fully contained process.

Find out more about high containment container-to-container milling here >>>.

Container-to-Container Milling Customised for You

We understand that an off-the-shelf solution will not always work for your process. That’s why we pride ourselves on tailoring machines to meet your exact requirements.

For example, if there is a height restriction in the process room, then we can alter the design to reduce the stack-up height of the machine. Another common request is to modify the frame the mill is mounted to. This includes widening the frame to fit a larger container underneath or building a tall frame which allows containers on castors to be easily wheeled underneath the outlet of the mill.