A prill is a small aggregate or globule of a material, most often a dry sphere, formed from a melted liquid through spray crystallization.
Prilled is a term used in
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...
and
manufacturing
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to ...
to refer to a product that has been
pelletized.
ANFO explosive typically comprises Ammonium Nitrate prills mixed with aluminium powder.
The pellets are a neater, simpler form for handling, with reduced dust.
The material to be prilled must be in a solid state at room temperature and a low-viscosity liquid when melted. Prills are formed by allowing drops of the melted prill substance to congeal or freeze in mid-air after being dripped from the top of a tall
prilling tower. Certain
agrochemical
An agrochemical or agrichemical, a contraction of ''agricultural chemical'', is a chemical product used in industrial agriculture. Agrichemical refers to biocides ( pesticides including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and nematicides) a ...
s such as
urea
Urea, also known as carbamide, is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest amide of carbamic acid.
Urea serves an important ...
are often supplied in prilled form. Fertilizers (
ammonium nitrate
Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, although it does not form hydrates. It is ...
,
urea
Urea, also known as carbamide, is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest amide of carbamic acid.
Urea serves an important ...
,
NPK fertilizer) and some
detergent powders are commonly manufactured as prills.
[Vasant Gowariker, V. N. Krishnamurthy, Sudha Gowariker, Manik Dhanorkar, Kalyani Paranjape (2009). ''The Fertilizer Encyclopedia''. John Wiley & Sons. . .] However prilling of
ammonium nitrate
Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, although it does not form hydrates. It is ...
and
urea
Urea, also known as carbamide, is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest amide of carbamic acid.
Urea serves an important ...
has in recent years been replaced by
fluid bed granulation as this gives strong and more abrasion-resistant granules.
Melted material may also be atomized and then allowed to form smaller prills that are useful in cosmetics, food, and animal feed.
See also
*
Shot (pellet)
Shot is a collective term for small spheres or pellets, often made of lead. These were the original projectiles for shotguns and are still fired primarily from shotguns and less commonly from riot guns and grenade launchers, although shot she ...
References
Agricultural chemicals
Metallurgy
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