Microstructural Characterization of Calcite-Based Powder Materials Prepared by Planetary Ball Milling

In this work, a planetary ball milling was used to modify the surface properties of calcite-based material from waste oyster shell under the rotational speed of 200-600 rpm, grinding time of 5-180 min and sample mass of 1-10 g. The milling significantly changed the microstructural properties of the calcite-based minerals (i.e., surface area, pore volume, true density, and porosity). The surface characterization of the resulting powder should be macroporous and/or nonporous based on the nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms. Under the optimal conditions at the rotational speed of 400 rpm, grinding time of 30 min and sample mass of 5 g, the resulting calcite-based powder had larger specific surface area (i.e., 10.64 m²·g-¹) than the starting material (i.e., 4.05 m²·g-1). This finding was also consistent with the measurement of laser-diffraction (i.e., 9.7 vs. 15.0 μm of mean diameter). In addition, the results from the scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation indicated that surface roughness can be enhanced as particle size decreases as a result of particle-particle attrition. Thus, grinding the aquacultural bioresource by a high-energy ball milling can create the fine materials, which may be applied in the fields of inorganic minerals like aggregate and construction material.