If you have been exploring data destruction equipment, you have probably encountered the terms granulator and disintegrator. They are often used interchangeably, which can make it difficult to understand whether they refer to the same machine or two different types of equipment.
A granulator is a high-end industrial shredder that reduces numerous bulk materials into particles called granules using rotating knives, stationary knives, and a screen. The word originated in the plastics market, where granulators were developed to process plastic scrap for recycling. The product is used to convert plastics, paper, cardboard, CDs and DVDs, credit cards, ID badges, flash drives, VHS tapes, cassette tapes, silicone chips, books and magazines, and other industrial materials into small fragments. Granulators are commonly utilized in the plastics recycling, electronics recycling, pharmaceutical, waste and recycling facilities, and general manufacturing industries.
A disintegrator is a specialized type of granulator designed for high-security destruction. What makes it different from a granulator is that it is evaluated and approved by the National Security Agency (NSA) and uses a very fine particle screen that is 3/32." The machine is used to destroy classified and highly sensitive information by the military, intelligence agencies, federal government, and organizations handling top secret information. Like any granulator, a disintegrator operates using rotating and stationary knives to cut materials into minute particles. Nevertheless, it is constructed to take in significantly greater volumes than a granulator and can accommodate much smaller screens when security requirements demand tinier particle dimensions. Industrial paper shredders do not exist in the Level 6/P-7 high-security space, which is where disintegrators come in. Disintegrators provide the high level of security required for private data while destroying far more material than any high-security paper shredder can handle. Disintegrator motor sizes range from roughly 1.5 HP to more than 200 HP, making them well-suited for centralized destruction facilities and organizations with demanding workloads.
Why Use a Disintegrator Instead of Burning or Shredding Materials?
Burning has become an inappropriate method of destroying old documents and plastics. Incineration is not a safe or practical data destruction solution, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not allow it. The plastics and coatings on materials that need to be demolished can generate toxic environmental contaminants when burned. In fact, sometimes residues harden on the internal components of incinerators. This results in expensive and time-consuming repairs.
Some people think they can feed their shredders plastic and items with metallic coatings. While many paper shredders can tolerate plastic in limited quantities, it is not mechanically healthy and will lead to problems down the road the more of it you run.
It is best to use a disintegrator for eradicating plastics, metallic coatings, and light metals, rather than shredding or burning. This is because it uses a constant and cooling flow of air through its cutting chambers to automatically bag disintegrated waste containing plastics, metallic coatings, brass, and aluminum. These materials will not damage the disintegrators.
In addition, disintegrators have a longer service life than shredders, and have a higher throughput. NSA approved shredders tend to have an average lifespan of five years, while disintegrators have an indefinite lifespan. High-capacity, high-security shredders are rated to destroy a maximum of approximately 100 lbs. per hour. If you have anything other than small quantities of materials to obliterate, you should use a disintegrator. These machines can break down anywhere from approximately 525 to 7,500 lbs. of material per hour, depending on the model and screen size.
How Does a Granulator and Disintegrator Work?
Granulators and disintegrators operate using the same basic size-reduction technique. Both machines have a high-speed rotary knife mill, which uses a number of rotating and stationary knives working together to produce a scissor-like cutting action.
Step 1: Material is Fed Into the Machine
The operator inserts materials such as paper, hard drives, solid state drives (SSDs), optical media, plastics, or other items into the machine through a feed opening or conveyor system.
Step 2: Rotating Knives Cut the Material
Inside the cutting chamber, an open rotor consisting of two to five rotating hardened steel knives passes through two stationary bed knives (0.005” gap) at 500 to 3,600 revolutions per minute for up to 6,000 cuts per minute. These rotating knives work against stationary knives to repeatedly cut, shear, and reduce the material into smaller pieces.
Step 3: The Material is Continuously Recirculated
Unlike a shredder, which typically makes one pass before discharging the material, a granulator or disintegrator keeps the material inside the cutting chamber. The debris is continuously cut over and over again.
Step 4: A Screen Controls Particle Size
Beneath the cutting chamber is a perforated metal screen. The screen defines the maximum size that particles can be before leaving the destruction chamber. Larger pieces stay inside the unit and keep being reduced. Once particles are small enough to pass through the screen, they exit the machine with the help of a vacuum or fan cyclone system that draws air through the device. This process is what enables both granulators and disintegrators to construct tiny particle sizes.
Step 5: The Destroyed Material is Collected
Once the particles travel through the screen, they are discharged into a waste collection container such as a drum, bag, cart, or dumpster for disposal or recycling.
The Key Difference Between a Granulator and Disintegrator
While every disintegrator is a granulator, not every granulator is a disintegrator. The key difference between the two products is the screen size and certification. A granulator can use a wide variety of large screen sizes, and the biggest screen for a granulator yields a particle size of 3” (76.2 mm). In contrast, a disintegrator uses a small 3/32” screen that delivers a particle size of 3/32” (2.4 mm) and has been tested and approved by the NSA for destroying classified information. You can't put a 3/32" screen on a granulator and call it a disintegrator, because the NSA has not evaluated it for classified applications.
Because of the small 3/32” screen, material inside a disintegrator is processed for a longer period before it can pass through, producing much finer particles than a granulator. Finally, granulators are used for destroying plastics, recycling, waste reduction, and general data destruction. Disintegrators are granulators built for high-security data destruction that are used to decimate confidential and highly sensitive information.
