Kaolin production lines are divided into dry grinding powder lines and wet washing & purification lines. Actual throughput heavily depends on finished fineness, purity requirements, equipment configuration and process flow. Below is standard industrial capacity classification aligned with kaolin-mill.com technical references.
Key Note Before Reference
Capacity figures refer to finished kaolin output (ton per hour, TPH). Output drops significantly when producing ultrafine powder (≥1250 mesh) or high-purity low-iron grades due to stricter classification and longer processing cycles.
1. Dry Process Kaolin Grinding Line (Most common for ceramic, filler, coating-grade dry powder)
Dry lines include crushing → feeding → grinding → air classification → dust collection. No water washing; suitable for low-impurity raw kaolin.
Small-scale line
- Capacity: 1–5 TPH (24–120 tons/day)
- Main mill: Small Raymond mill or compact ultrafine ring roller mill
- Typical product: 200–600 mesh ordinary ceramic/filler kaolin
- Application: Small local processing factories, pilot production, multi-grade small-batch switching
Medium-scale line (most popular commercial configuration)
- Capacity: 5–18 TPH (120–430 tons/day)
- Main mill: Medium/large Raymond mill, MTW trapezium mill, standard ultrafine mill
- Typical product: 325–1500 mesh plastic filler, paint and general coating kaolin
- Can be upgraded with ceramic wear parts and front-end magnetic separation for high-whiteness specifications
Large-scale dry grinding line
- Capacity: 18–45 TPH (430–1080 tons/day)
- Main mill: Large vertical roller mill or multiple grinding units running in parallel
- Suitable for mass production of medium-fine kaolin (80–400 mesh)
- Limitation: Unit output falls sharply when targeting above 1500 mesh ultrafine powder
Ultrafine high-purity dry line (for paper coating, premium cosmetics)
- Capacity: 0.4–8 TPH
- Equipment: Ultrafine ring roller mill; jet mill lines only reach 0.1–1.5 TPH
- Fineness target: 1250–2500 mesh; equipped with ceramic-lined grinding chambers to avoid secondary iron pollution
2. Wet Process Kaolin Washing & Purification Line
Wet flow: Scrubbing → desanding → high-gradient magnetic separation → flotation → filter pressing → drying. Used for raw ore with high iron/titanium impurities to produce high-brightness coating-grade kaolin.
Small wet washing plant
- Capacity: 2–6 TPH slurry feed; 1–3 TPH dry finished powder
Medium wet washing plant
- Capacity: 6–20 TPH raw ore feed; 3–10 TPH dry kaolin
Large integrated wet purification plant
- Capacity: 20–60 TPH raw ore feed, supporting continuous bleaching and surface modification
3. How Fineness Affects Actual Capacity (Critical for buyers)
Taking a single Raymond mill production line as an example:
- 200–325 mesh ceramic-grade kaolin: 8–18 TPH
- 800–1250 mesh filler/coating kaolin: 4–9 TPH
- 1500–2500 mesh high-gloss coating kaolin: 1.5–5 TPH
The finer the target powder, the lower the hourly output, as the classifier returns more coarse particles for regrinding. High-purity requirements (extra magnetic separation, ceramic lining) further reduce effective throughput by 10%–25%.
4. General Selection Reference Summary
| Plant Scale | Dry Finished Capacity | Typical End Products |
|---|---|---|
| Small Pilot Plant | 1–5 TPH | Ordinary ceramic kaolin, small batch trial orders |
| Standard Medium Commercial Line | 5–18 TPH | Plastic, rubber, general paint filler (325–800 mesh) |
| Large Mass-Production Line | 18–45 TPH | Low-to-medium fineness construction & ceramic raw material |
| Ultrafine High-Grade Line | 0.4–8 TPH | Paper coating, high-whiteness premium coating kaolin |
| Jet Mill Special Ultra-Pure Line | 0.1–1.5 TPH | Electronic grade, cosmetic, special functional kaolin |
Most standard turnkey kaolin dry grinding lines selected by global mineral processors fall within 5–18 TPH finished output. Customers targeting high-value high-whiteness and ultrafine specifications should not only focus on nominal equipment capacity, but also reserve a reasonable margin considering fineness and purification processes. JACAN offers customized line layout, matching magnetic separation, ceramic-lined grinding and multi-stage classification according to client target output, fineness and whiteness indicators.
