Basket media mill and method

The method for dispersing a selected constituent into a liquid vehicle to produce a mixture of the constituent and the liquid vehicle within a mixing vessel, the method comprising:

• immersing a basket containing a media bed within a batch of the constituent and the liquid vehicle in the mixing vessel, the basket having a basket wall, the basket extending axially between a first end and a second end and including an entrance at the second end and a multiplicity of openings in the basket wall;
• establishing a first pressure differential adjacent the first end of the basket for moving the mixture along a circuit through the basket, and through the media bed in the basket;
• and
• establishing a second pressure differential adjacent the second end of the basket for assisting in the movement of the mixture along the circuit into the entrance to the basket and through the basket, and through the media bed in the basket, to increase the throughput of the mixture through the basket and the media bed in the basket, while deterring escape of media elements from the basket through the entrance at the second end of the basket.

A media basket mill for dispersing a selected constituent into a liquid vehicle to produce a mixture of the constituent and the liquid vehicle within a mixing vessel, the media basket mill comprising:

• a basket having an interior and a basket wall including an inner surface and an outer surface, the basket extending axially between a first end and a second end and including an entrance at the second end;
• a multiplicity of openings in the basket wall, the openings extending from the inner surface to the outer surface of the basket wall;
• a media bed in the interior of the basket, the media bed including discrete media elements, the relative dimensions of the media elements and the openings in the basket wall being such that the media bed is retained within the interior of the basket;
• means for establishing a first pressure differential adjacent the first end of the basket for moving the mixture along a circuit through the basket, and through the media bed in the basket;
• and
• means for establishing a second pressure differential adjacent the second end of the basket for assisting in the movement of the mixture along the circuit into the entrance to the basket and through the basket, and through the media bed in the basket, to increase the throughput of the mixture through the basket and the media bed in the basket, while deterring escape of media elements from the basket through the entrance at the second end of the basket.