dressing requests to
the Northern Regional Research Laboratory, Peoria, Illinois.

Plants designed to produce at least 1-1/2 tons per hour of ground shell
products will cost upwards of $60,000. A well-engineered plant of such
size will require three to five men per shift. Among other factors, the
working capacity of a grinding plant depends upon the quantity of shells
available and the ability of the organization to merchandize its
products. The plant should be located in an area in which at least 5,000
tons of nut shells or fruit pits are annually available at low
transportation costs.

Uses of Shell Products

The more important uses for nut shell products, together with their
specifications for particle size, are shown in Table 1.

Table 1.--Uses for ground nut shells and fruit pits

+------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Applications | Size |
| | |
| Deburring, cleaning, burnishing and polishing | |
| in metal stamping, electroplating and | No. 10 to No. 50 |
| plastics industries | |
| Soft-grit blasting | No. 10 to No. 30 |
| Fillers for plastics and plywood adhesives | Finer than No. 100 |
| Insecticide diluents and carriers | Finer than No. 140 |
| Explosives | No. 10 to No. 100 |
| Fur cleaning | No. 10 to No. 100 |
| Poultry litter and mulch (almond and peanut) | 1/4 to 3/4 inch |
| Fillers for fertilizers (almond and peanut) | Finer than No. 20 |
+------------------------------------------------+--------------------+

Experience shows that no matter how nut shells or fruit pit shells are
ground both under- and oversize particles will be produced. The hard,
friable character of most of the nut shells makes their reduction to
fine size particles less difficult than for tough materials, such as
corncobs, or fibrous materials such as woods. Shells from almonds
because of their bulk and very fibrous nature are somewhat less
convenient to handle than other shells. Good business practice shows
that sales outlets should be found for each fraction so that grinding
expenses can be kept at a minimum.

Because there are some differences in physical