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Unlocking Battery Potential: Why Ball Milling Is Powering the Next Generation of Energy Storage

July 15, 2025

As the world races toward electrification, lithium-ion batteries are being pushed to new limits – higher capacity, faster charging, and longer lifespans. Behind the breakthroughs in chemistry and cell design lies a crucial enabler: particle engineering.

At the heart of that process is a trusted workhorse – the ball mill.

What Is Ball Milling – and Why Does It Matter?

Ball milling is a mechanical process used to reduce the particle size of solid materials. In the battery industry, it's much more than just grinding – it’s an essential tool for:

• ·         Activating surfaces of powders
• ·         Homogenizing slurries
• ·         Enabling solid-state synthesis
• ·         And even coating or modifying particles

By carefully controlling particle size, surface area, and morphology, ball mills help optimize electrode behavior, electrolyte interactions, and even cycling stability – all of which impact real-world battery performance.

 

How Do Ball Mills Support the Battery Value Chain?

Ball mills play a role at every stage of battery innovation – from material development to recycling:

1.      Active Material Synthesis

High-energy ball mills like the RETSCH Emax allow researchers to synthesize novel cathode materials via mechanochemical methods. This dry, solvent-free approach is not only eco-friendly but also enables materials with unique properties that are hard to achieve using traditional wet chemistry.

2.      Particle Size Optimization

Cathodes like NMC and anodes like graphite or silicon must be milled to precise size ranges. Too coarse, and you risk poor energy density. Too fine, and you lose conductivity or encounter agglomeration. Ball mills offer tight control to hit the “sweet spot.”

3.      Slurry Homogenization

Before being coated onto current collectors, battery slurries must be well-mixed. Planetary ball mills ensure uniform particle dispersion, leading to smooth, consistent coatings with fewer defects.

4.      Recycling and Recovery

Spent batteries are crushed and milled to recover valuable metals. Cryogenic ball milling, for instance, allows for low-temperature size reduction of plastic-encased battery components, improving yield and purity.

 

From Cryo to High-Energy: Solutions for Every Stage

• ·         CryoMill: Ideal for polymers and heat-sensitive materials
• ·         MM 500 nano: Ultra-fine grinding at nanoscale
• ·         Emax: High-energy milling for rapid mechanochemistry
• ·         PM series: Planetary mills for routine powder preparation and mixing

With accessories like temperature-controlled jars, automated grinding protocols, and contamination-resistant materials (e.g., zirconia or tungsten carbide), these mills are tailored for demanding battery R&D environments.

Milling Toward Better Batteries

From the outside, a ball mill might look like a simple machine – but in the battery world, it’s a precision tool shaping the materials that define energy storage innovation.

For more details and study case data, download the full Retsch whitepaper:

Unlocking the Potential: The Role of Ball Mills in Battery Technology (PDF)

How Science Keeps Your Battery from Falling Apart: The Role of Slurry Stability in Lithium-Ion Cells

July 9, 2025

Behind every powerful smartphone, electric vehicle, or energy storage unit is a lithium-ion battery – and behind every lithium-ion battery is something much less visible but equally important: a stable slurry.

What’s a Battery Slurry?

In battery manufacturing, slurries are mixtures of active materials, binders, solvents, and additives used to coat the electrodes inside the battery. These coatings need to be uniform, smooth, and durable – because even tiny inconsistencies in the slurry can lead to big problems like:

• ·         Uneven electrode surfaces
• ·         Poor adhesion
• ·         Reduced battery life
• ·         Increased failure risk

So what makes a good slurry? The answer lies in dispersion stability – and that’s where chemistry meets cutting-edge measurement tools.

The Hansen Approach: Matching “Like with Like”

The Hansen Solubility Parameter (HSP) approach is a clever way to predict whether materials will mix well and stay dispersed. HSP breaks down a solvent’s behavior into three forces:

• ·         Dispersion (δD) – like Van der Waals forces
• ·         Polarity (δP) – based on molecular polarity
• ·         Hydrogen bonding (δH) – self-explanatory!

By plotting these parameters in 3D space, formulators can visualize whether a binder and solvent are “compatible.” Think of it like a compatibility map – if two materials sit close together in this space, they’re likely to form a stable mixture.

This method helps researchers choose the right combinations and reduce costly trial-and-error during formulation. But even the best predictions still need real-world confirmation.

Measuring Stability with Static Multiple Light Scattering (SMLS)

While HSP gives you the theoretical “match,” real-world confirmation is critical. That’s where Static Multiple Light Scattering (SMLS) comes in.

Unlike traditional visual observation or endpoint analysis, SMLS captures the full kinetics of instability—such as sedimentation, creaming, or aggregation—as they happen. The TURBISCAN sends a light beam through the sample and measures how it scatters as particles migrate or separate. This allows for:

·         Quantify how stable a slurry really is

·         Detect early signs of particle agglomeration

·         Optimize the timing for coating or processing

The result is a much faster, more sensitive understanding of how your slurry behaves over time – without needing dilution, centrifugation, or prolonged shelf-life testing. By applying the Hansen approach and verifying it with SMLS measurements, labs can drastically reduce trial-and-error– and get to better battery performance.

 

 

Why It Matters for the Battery Industry

The battery industry is in a constant battle with the "battery trilemma" - the challenge of simultaneously achieving high energy density, fast charging, and long cycle life. Improving one often means compromising another. Manufacturers are under pressure to push all three boundaries at once, while keeping production scalable and cost-effective.

This makes every step of the battery manufacturing process critical – especially slurry preparation. Poor dispersion or unstable mixtures can lead to uneven coatings, wasted materials, and inconsistent performance. But by applying Hansen Solubility Parameter (HSP) analysis alongside Static Multiple Light Scattering (SMLS), formulators gain better control over slurry behavior. The result: less trial and error, reduced waste, and more reliable, high-performing electrodes that help move the needle on all three fronts of the battery trilemma.

Want to learn more? Read the full technical application note here:
Optimize Lithium-Ion Battery Slurries Using the Hansen Approach

How Particle Size Impacts the Performance of Lithium-Ion Batteries

July 2, 2025

Nitrogen Analysis and Distillation in Pharmaceutical Laboratories

June 25, 2025

In the high-stakes environment of pharmaceutical laboratories, accuracy and compliance are paramount. Whether ensuring the consistency of raw materials or verifying the nitrogen content in active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), laboratories require robust, reliable, and compliant analytical solutions. Among the most critical analytical processes is nitrogen determination, often performed via Kjeldahl analysis and distillation techniques.

Enter VELP Scientifica, a global leader in analytical instrumentation whose solutions are widely trusted across the pharmaceutical sector for their precision, automation, and full regulatory traceability. In Canada, these high-performance instruments are distributed and supported by ATS Scientific Inc., a trusted supplier of premium laboratory technologies.

Why Nitrogen Analysis Matters in Pharma

Nitrogen is a key element in many pharmaceutical compounds. Determining its content is essential for:

• Validating the composition of amino acids, proteins, and other nitrogen-containing compounds.
• Ensuring raw material quality, particularly in fermentation processes.
• Supporting quality control (QC) and batch release by meeting pharmacopoeial standards (e.g., USP, EP).

Inaccurate nitrogen analysis can lead to flawed formulations, regulatory non-compliance, and potential product recalls — consequences no pharmaceutical company can afford.

The Kjeldahl Method: Gold Standard for Nitrogen Analysis

The Kjeldahl method remains the reference technique for determining organic nitrogen. Although modern alternatives like Dumas combustion exist, Kjeldahl analysis remains dominant in the pharmaceutical industry due to:

• Its broad applicability across sample types.
• Its alignment with pharmacopeial methods.
• Its high level of accuracy and reproducibility.

The process involves:

• Digestion: Sample is digested with sulfuric acid and a catalyst to convert nitrogen to ammonium sulfate.
• Distillation: The digest is made alkaline and distilled to release ammonia.
• Titration: Ammonia is captured in boric acid and titrated to quantify nitrogen content.

Modern Alternatives: Dumas Combustion and Elemental Analyzers

While the Kjeldahl method remains widely accepted, many pharmaceutical laboratories are also adopting combustion-based nitrogen analysis for its speed, automation, and chemical-free operation. VELP offers a full suite of high-performance elemental analyzers to meet these evolving needs:

VELP NDA 702 – Dumas Nitrogen Analyzer

An advanced solution for fast, safe nitrogen/protein analysis via combustion. Ideal for high-throughput labs, the NDA 702 delivers results in just 3–4 minutes with no hazardous chemicals required. It is cloud-connected for traceability and remote monitoring.

VELP CN 802 – Carbon/Nitrogen Analyzer

Designed for simultaneous carbon and nitrogen analysis, the CN 802 is perfect for labs analyzing raw materials, fermentation broths, or intermediates. It provides high accuracy, reproducibility, and automated workflows.

VELP EMA 502 – CHNS-O Elemental Analyzer

Offering complete elemental analysis of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen, the EMA 502 supports broader pharmaceutical testing needs with excellent sensitivity and regulatory alignment.

These alternatives provide flexibility for labs seeking rapid turnaround, reduced reagent handling, and compliance with newer sustainability mandates all while maintaining analytical integrity.

Supporting Sustainable Lab Practices

VELP is also a pioneer in green lab initiatives. Their units consume less water and energy, and paired with VELP’s SMS Scrubber systems, they provide effective acid fume neutralization, improving lab safety and environmental compliance.

Investing in Accuracy and Confidence

For pharmaceutical laboratories, investing in VELP Scientifica’s Kjeldahl and distillation systems means more than just upgrading equipment, it’s a commitment to precision, compliance, and operational efficiency. As regulatory demands grow and product complexity increases, having a trusted solution for nitrogen analysis is essential.

Enhancing Accuracy & Safety in Pharma Lab’s Workflows

June 19, 2025

In the pharmaceutical industry, precision and reproducibility aren’t just goals, they’re regulatory mandates. Every step in a pharmaceutical analytical workflow must meet strict guidelines for Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) compliance. When it comes to acid digestion and reagent dosing for trace metal analysis or quality control, manual workflows pose serious risks: variability, exposure to hazardous acids, and costly delays.

Enter the Milestone easyFILL, an automated, high-throughput reagent addition system that brings consistency, safety, and speed to pharmaceutical laboratories across Canada.

Sample Preparation Workflow

When dealing with a wide variety of matrices, from active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to excipients, raw materials, and biologics, each may require different sample preparation methods before trace elemental analysis by ICP-MS or ICP-OES.

Traditionally, lab technicians manually:

• Pipette acids under a fume hood
• Track reagent volumes by hand
• Transfer vessels between dosing, digestion, and dilution steps

This time-consuming and repetitive process increases operator exposure to corrosive reagents such as HNO₃, HCl, or HF. Even minor inconsistencies during manual handling can lead to out-of-spec results, triggering re-analysis, deviations, or regulatory scrutiny.

Milestone’s easyFILL addresses these challenges by automating the reagent addition process, significantly reducing operator contact with hazardous acids. Its built-in exhaust system further improves safety by directing acid vapors to the laboratory’s extraction system, ensuring a cleaner and safer working environment.

Precision Dosing for Consistent Results

Milestone’s easyFILL dispenses precise volumes of up to six reagents using calibrated, PTFE-lined tubing and a high-accuracy peristaltic pump. For pharmaceutical applications, this ensures:

• Consistent acid-to-sample ratios
• Reduced inter-batch variation
• Better method validation and reproducibility

By automating this critical step, labs achieve tighter USP <232>/<233> and ICH Q3D compliance for elemental impurities testing.

Reduced Exposure to Hazardous Acids

Operator safety is critical in regulated environments. Milestone easyFILL performs all dosing inside a sealed, vented enclosure, with zero direct handling of corrosive acids. The automated rinsing of internal lines after each cycle further prevents cross-contamination, a major concern when running multi-compound studies or GMP batches.

Automated Dosing that Meets Regulatory Demands

Time is not just money, it’s regulatory pressure, data integrity and safety. The Milestone easyFILL delivers a fast, compliant, and reliable solution for sample prep, allowing labs to:

• Boost throughput
• Ensure consistent analytical quality
• Minimize risk of human error
• Improve operator safety
• Meet international pharmaceutical regulations

Working together… providing solutions!

Milestone’s easyFILL delivers the accuracy and consistency researchers demand. ATS Scientific Inc., works closely with labs providing access to expert technical support and personalized service backed by decades of industry experience, ensuring smooth integration and ongoing success with your instruments. 

 

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