A granulation system is a fundamental component in processing materials for industrial use. Whether you're looking to consolidate minerals for processing or break down existing materials for recycling, a granulation machine is the only way to perform the process on a profitable level.

Granulators can work either in the form of granulation equipment or agglomeration equipment, depending on your purposes. Granulation equipment, such as a plastic granulator, will break down an existing product. Agglomeration equipment, however, will refine a material and consolidate it into convenient pellets or briquettes. Keep in mind the two uses of granulation equipment, and consider these three approaches when you're purchasing a granulation system:

1. For recycling and milling, buy granulation equipment designed to break down materials.

2. Narrow down your search and find the quickest route to reliable granulator dealers through a trade directory.

3. Agglomeration equipment is your best bet for mining and refining applications.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Start off with granulation equipment that pulverizes

A high shear granulator is essential in harvesting some minerals and other resources necessary for manufacturing. Industrial granulators quickly and efficiently pulverize your raw materials, allowing for a steady milling process with less waste. Industrial granulators are however large, cumbersome machines, not to mention expensive. Once installed, your granulation system becomes the cornerstone of your operation. You'll want to make sure the industrial granulators you install are not only trustworthy, but backed by a company that will guarantee and regularly service its product.

I recommend: Pallman Pulverizers offers a line of heavy duty granulation equipment. Their flagship products include several variations on the metal granulator. For the purposes of recycling, you'll need a plastic granulator. Ningbo Beilun Rhong Machinery Manufacturing offers several of these online.

Find industrial granulators through an online directory of granulator dealers

Whether you need a wire granulator, plastic granulator or a metal granulator your most efficient method of searching for granulator dealers is through an online directory. Specializing in business to business relationships, online publications make it a point to filter out irrelevant information, and organize search results according to parameters useful to businesses looking to buy a granulation system.

I recommend: Thomas Publishing is typically an invaluable source of information to businesses looking for supplies. They definitely come through in the case of granulation systems and granulator dealers. Slightly more popular in the search engines when it comes to granulators, DirectIndustry is another great resource to find a new or used granulator machine.

Use agglomeration equipment as part of your granulation system

There is a subset of industrial granulators devoted to the agglomeration of minerals. The benefit of this type of granulation system is that it lets you tune your granulators to produce seed pellets of a specified size. An agglomeration approach to granulation lets you eliminate excessive dust by using some binding agent in conjunction with the granulation machine, allowing for increased mobility during the process of granulation.

I recommend: Mars Mineral sells industrial granulators geared for agglomeration, using a binding agent. If you want to avoid the presence of a binding agent in your granulation system, check out the products of Bepex International. The agglomeration equipment produced by Bepex uses a process of high pressure compaction instead of moisture and binding agents.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When installing a granulation system, lay out the granulators so that your materials move quickly, with plenty of room for workers to move. Even two or three fewer steps between machines can drastically increase the efficiency of your operation.