The attrition ball mill, type CAO B3000, from Dutch company Caotech is specially designed for the mixing, fine grinding and conching of chocolate, coatings, compounds and bread spreads. The batch capacity is 500 kg. This ball mill is a low speed agitated type, developed for temperature sensitive masses. “It has a unique configuration between grinding shaft, grinding tank and grinding media, resulting in an optimized use of the grinding efficiency”, emphasizes Sales Manager Olaf J. Schepel. A rotary lobe pump, a horizontally positioned ingredient mixer/conche and extraction device have been attached to the mill. The extraction device is used for the reduction of moisture content and volatile acids. This combination is designed to perform mixing, fine grinding and conching of the ingredients simultaneously. At the end of the process, the mass is discharged via a 3-way valve for further processing. According to the manufacturer, energy consumption as well as maintenance costs are low.