Aero-acoustic materials processing apparatus and method

An aero-acoustic materials processing plant, comprising an aero-acoustic comminution machine having a cyclone chamber having an inlet for a material to be comminuted and an inlet for an entraining gas and a rotational drive apparatus coupled to rotate an impeller which rotates within an impeller housing to draw the entraining gas and the material to be comminuted into the cyclone chamber and through an axial inlet system into the impeller and impeller housing and to expel the comminuted material through the impeller housing radially through a transverse outlet.

A method of comminuting an organic material including using an aero-acoustic comminution machine having a cyclone chamber having an inlet for a material to be comminuted and an inlet for an entraining gas and a rotational drive apparatus coupled to rotate an impeller which rotates within an impeller housing to draw the entraining gas and the material to be comminuted into the cyclone chamber and through an axial inlet system into the impeller and impeller housing and to expel the comminuted material through the impeller housing radially through a transverse outlet, the method including the steps of:

• drawing air as an entraining gas into the inlet opening of the cyclone chamber at ambient conditions;
• particulate organic material with a particle size characterisation particle size from 0-3000 μm with a moisture content of 0-60% m/m, said particulate material being fed into the material inlet at a rate of 10-15 tph;
• thereby to comminute the material to particles in the particle characterisation range of 0-500 μm.