Apparatus and methods for wet grinding

Wet grinding apparatus comprising:

• a housing,
• first and second pairs of opposed grinding faces disposed within said housing, wherein one grinding face of each pair of opposed grinding faces is contained on a rotatable disc mounted within said housing,
• a plurality of grooves in each opposed grinding face,
• an inlet to said housing for introducing a slurry solution containing particles into said grooves of said first and second pairs of opposed grinding faces,
• an outlet through a periphery of said housing for allowing said slurry solution to exit said grooves in said first and second pairs of opposed grinding faces,
• a drive connected to said rotatable disc for rotating said rotatable disc while said slurry solution travels from said inlet to said outlet, and
• a plurality of notches in a radially outwardly facing peripheral surface of said rotatable disc, said notches facing a radially inwardly facing peripheral wall surface of said housing and adapted to carry ground slurry solution about the periphery of said housing to said outlet as said rotatable disc rotates.

Wet grinding apparatus comprising:

• a housing;
• first and second pairs of opposed grinding faces disposed within said housing, wherein one grinding face of each pair of opposed grinding faces is contained on a rotatable disc mounted within said housing,
• a plurality of tapered grooves in each pair of opposed grinding faces, said grooves tapering in depth from an inlet end proximate the center of said rotatable disc to an outlet end proximate the periphery of said rotatable disc, said grooves being deeper at said inlet end than at said outlet end,
• inlet means for introducing a slurry solution containing particles into the inlet end of said grooves of said first and second pairs of opposed grinding faces,
• an outlet through a periphery of said housing for allowing said slurry solution to exit said grooves in said first and second pairs of opposed grinding faces,
• a drive connected to said rotatable disc for rotating said rotatable disc while said slurry solution travels from said inlet ends to said outlet ends of each groove,
• an annular pattern of feed openings having a diameter corresponding to a maximum particle size and located about a center of said rotatable disc, each feed opening having one end communicating with the inlet to said housing and another end opening directly to the inlet end of one groove in said rotatable disc, wherein the diameter of each feed opening is approximately equal to a maximum width of the inlet end of a corresponding groove in said rotatable disc, and
• a plurality of notches in a radially outwardly facing peripheral surface of said rotatable disc, said notches facing a radially inwardly facing peripheral wall surface of said housing and adapted to carry ground slurry solution about the periphery of said housing to said outlet as said rotatable disc rotates.

A method of reducing the size of particles contained in a slurry solution comprising:

• introducing said slurry solution into inner ends of a plurality of spaced, outwardly extending grooves in adjacent major faces of at least two adjacent discs disposed within a housing,
• rotating one of said discs to simultaneously reduce the size of said particles in said slurry solution while transferring said slurry solution from the inner ends to outer ends of said grooves,
• discharging said slurry solution from the outer ends of said grooves into notches contained in a radially outwardly facing peripheral surface of said one disc, and
• carrying said slurry solution within said notches during rotation of said one disc to an outlet in said housing.

Wet grinding apparatus comprising:

• a housing,
• first and second opposed grinding faces disposed within said housing, said second face being contained on a rotatable disc mounted within said housing,
• a plurality grooves in each first and second opposed grinding faces, said grooves in said opposed grinding faces each including an inlet end having a width and disposed proximate a central portion of said opposed grinding faces and an outlet end at outer portions of said opposed grinding faces, each groove decreasing in depth from said inlet end to said outlet end,
• an inlet to said housing for introducing a slurry solution containing particles into the inlet ends of said grooves of said first and second opposed grinding faces,
• an outlet from said housing for allowing said slurry solution to exit said grooves,
• a drive connected to said rotatable disc for rotating said rotatable disc while said slurry solution travels from said inlet to said outlet, and
• an annular pattern of feed openings having a diameter corresponding to a maximum particle size and located about a center of said rotatable disc, each feed opening having one end communicating with the inlet to said housing and another end opening to the inlet end of one groove in said rotatable disc, wherein the diameter of each feed opening is not greater than a maximum width of the inlet end of a corresponding groove in said rotatable disc.