FEECO’s Disc Pelletizers are the equipment of choice when uniform pellet size and ease of control are important when converting powdered materials into round spherical pellets of 500 micron to 20 mm diameter. Pellet sizing, based on disc angle, disc speed, and locations of solid and liquid feed, is easily controlled through the operational flexibility of FEECO disc pelletizers. 

Laboratory and pilot scale tests will determine optimum flow schemes, equipment sizing and scale up. If lab tests reveal that alternative agglomeration methods such as briquetting or extruding is the method of choice, FEECO can accommodate those processes as well.

If agglomeration with a disc pelletizer is the method of choice, further savings can be realized with lower investment, power consumption, and maintenance costs.

FEECO’s Disc Pelletizers can agglomerate fine, dry feed materials such as chemical powders, limestone, fertilizer, coal fines, cement / lime kiln dust and flyash as well as wetter materials such as filter / centrifuge cake, minerals, ores, vibrating sludges and pond tailings.

All Disc Pelletizers made by FEECO is constructed of heavy, welded, reinforced carbon steel plate (A) all inner disc bottoms six feet and larger are lined with expanded metal to reduce abrasive wear. (B) The disc angle is easily adjusted from 40° to 60° horizontal by a hand-wheel operated jacking screw (C). The base, and (D) the plow support members provide maximum rigidity while simultaneously allowing rapid pan angle adjustment, without the need for separate plow adjustment. (E) Individually mounted vane type plows easily control and maintain the product layer over the disc’s entire surface. Larger pelletizers feature ceramic facings. (F) The pivot base, a rotating member, is mounted on heavy-duty anti-friction bearings.

Automatic lubrication is featured on larger discs. Precision cut, heat-treated matched spur gear sets are featured on pelletizers over 20′ in diameter. All discs 20′ and less are directly mounted on the output shaft of a specially designed parallel shaft reducer.

What is Pelletizing?

Agglomeration of fine particles without pressure, by growth and tumbling in the presence of a liquid binder, or both is usually called pelletizing. Pelletizing – the forming of spherical or spheroidal pellets – occurs in a rotating disc. Pelletizing principles involve the following sequential steps:

1. Fine raw material is continually added to the pan and wetted by a liquid binder spray.
2. The disc’s rotation causes the wetted fines to form small, seed – types particles (nucleation).
3. The seed particles "snowball" by coalescence into larger particles until they discharge from the pan.

While pellets can be formed in batches, almost all tonnage pelletizing is accomplished through continuous processing using a comparatively simply-designed disc pelletizer.

What Materials Can Be Pelletized?

Here is a short list of a few materials that can be pelletized, by industry:

Ag Chemicals: fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, soil conditioners, aglime, dolomite, minerals.

Cement / Lime: raw meal, kiln dust.

Ceramics: alumina, catalyst, tile mix, press feed, frits, color.

Chemicals: soda ash, sodium sulfate, detergents, cleaners, zinc oxide, pigments, dyes, pharmaceutical compounds, industrial carbons, carbon black.

Copper: concentrates, smelter dust, precipitates.

Ferralloy: silicon, ferrosilicon, ferromanganese, ferrochrome.

Class: glass raw mix, glass powder.

Nonmetallic minerals: clay, talc, fluorspar, diamotaceous earth.

Steel: electric furnace baghouse dust, coke fines, raw materials, iron ore pellets.

Utilities: FGD Sludge, coal dust, ash.