JOURNAL: Relationships between milling input energy and chemical reactivity for mechanochemical activation of clays
Summary
Authors:
Alastair T. M. Marsh
Sreejith Krishnan
Suraj Rahmon
Susan A. Bernal
Xinyuan Ke
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne
University of Leeds
Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
University of Bath
Relationships between milling input energy and chemical reactivity for mechanochemical activation of clays
RSC Mechanochemistry
March 2026
This paper investigates how grinding clays in a ball mill can make them more chemically reactive, a process being explored for producing lower-carbon cement ingredients. By modelling the energy of each grinding collision and testing this against real experimental data, the researchers identified how much energy is actually needed to boost reactivity. Some clay types responded better than others and increasing the ball-to-powder ratio or rotation speed proved more efficient than simply grinding for longer. These findings can help guide the design of larger-scale milling processes for cement production.