Dust Fineness Blaine

The fines fraction, consisting of mill product along with filter fines, contributes to more than 90% of the total dry aggregate surface area and largely impacts the optimum binder requirement during the green electrode production, and hence the overall electrode quality and performance. For adequate process control, it is vital to monitor the fineness of all dust fractions in the dry aggregate and ensure stable conditions.

The measurement is conducted with the RDC-155 apparatus, where the time required by a given volume of air to pass through a dust sample is measured. The method is based on a comparative measurement: the actual time is compared to the time required for reference material with a known fineness level. The calculated fineness (or Blaine number) is expressed in Blaine units.

The advantage of this test is that the Blaine number directly corresponds to the overall surface area of the dust. This information is much broader than the results provided by (air forced) sieving, where the quantity below a given grain size is reported.