초미세습식분쇄공정의 공정변수에 따른 해조칼슘의 입자크기 분석

The main objective of this study was to establish optimum condition of wet-grinding process for manufacturing microparticulated seaweed calcium. Process parameters such as concentration of forming agent, rotor speed, bead size, feed rate, and grinding time were adapted during wet-grinding of seaweed calcium. The particle size range of the raw seaweed calcium was 10-20 μm. The calcium particles were reduced to under 1 μm as nano scale after grinding. Gum arabic was suitable for forming agent and 5%(w/v) concentration was the most effective in grinding efficiency. A wet-grinding process operated at 4,000 rpm rotor speed, 0,4 mm bead size, and 0.4 L/hr feeding rate, respectively, produced less than 600 mm(>>90%)-sized particles. In batch systems, 8 cycles of grinding showed higher efficiency, but 20 min of grinding time in continuous processing was more efficient to reduce particle size than the batch processing. Based on the result, the optimum conditions of the wet grinding process were established: operation time of 20 minutes, rotor speed of 4,000 rpm, bead size of 0.4 mm, feed rate of 40 mL/min and 30% mixing ration with water. The size of the resulting ultra fine calcium particles ranged between 40 and 660 mm.