With the newly-developed S-Jet system, it is possible to achieve particle sizes in the nanometer range, which were previously achievable only with wet grinding, says this company. S-Jet (for steam and superfine) uses superheated steam as the grinding gas. Because steam has a considerably higher sound velocity than air, the possible peripheral speed of the flow inside the classifier wheel increases. Jet speeds of up to 1,200 m/s can be achieved with steam and the kinetic impact energy of the product particles within the fluidized bed increases more than fourfold; this leads to a considerable increase of the mill throughput, says the manufacturer. In addition to production-scale installations, the company has just launched a compact laboratory steam-jet mill, the S-Jet 25. — Netzsch-Condux Mahltechnik GmbH, Hanau, Germany