A high shear mixer is an industrial device used in blending and homogenizing materials. This is done by the use of fast rotation and shearing forces to combine substances.
These mixers are necessary for different sectors such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food & beverages and chemicals among others where achieving uniform blend is very important.
In this article we will discuss how does it work?, operating principles behind it and its advantages.
How Does It Work?
It works by quickly rotating a mixing head, which usually consist of rotor and stator. Rotor-stator configuration is important because it generates high shear forces required for efficient mixing. The following steps explain how does it work:
- Intake: Materials to be mixed are fed into the mixing chamber where rotor and stator reside.
- High-Speed Rotation: Driven by a powerful motor, the rotor spins at high speeds. This creates strong centrifugal force that sucks materials into the mixing zone.
- Shearing: When passing through the narrow gap between rotor and stator, materials undergo intense shearing forces that break down particles or droplets making them small sized, hence ensuring thorough mixture.
- Discharge: Then homogenized mixture is let out from the mixing chamber ready for next processing step or final use.
Operating Principle
The operating principle of a high shear mixer is based on generating enough shear forces to disrupt and disperse particles within a mixture.
To achieve this, the rotor rotates at high speed inside the stationary stator, causing the following effects:
- Velocity Gradient: Difference in speeds between these two parts leads to creation of high velocity gradient needed for shearing.
- Turbulence: Due to its very fast spinning rate, the rotor induces turbulence around the point where blending takes place, thereby increasing intermingling efficiency among different components being mixed together.
- Cavitation: At extremely elevated rates; cavities can be formed when low pressure regions are produced by blades moving through liquids – this event called cavitation results into release of energies which are capable of causing breakage among solid substances situated within vicinity of occurrence.
Benefits
There are many reasons why people prefer using high shear mixers over other types. Some of them include the following:
- Efficient Mixing: the Rapidity with which these devices operate coupled with intense shearing forces ensures quick and thorough mixtures, thus resulting into consistent products that have uniform characteristics throughout.
- Particle Size Reduction: These equipments are very efficient in reducing particle sizes especially useful in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics industries where smooth textures need to be achieved through stable emulsions’ formation thus enabling easy penetration into body systems for desired effects realization.
- Versatility: They can handle various materials ranging from liquids up to semi-solid forms as well as powders, making it suitable for different applications like powder blending etc.
- Improved Product Quality: By ensuring that there is even distribution of all components present within given batch; this type of blender enhances overall quality standards hence stability becomes guaranteed during final stages such as packaging or storage period which may last longer than expected due to external factors affecting perishability rate among others.
- Scalability: High shear mixers are available in different sizes starting from small laboratory ones used during research work up to large scale industrial machines used for mass production purposes thus manufacturers can maintain uniformity across different volumes without compromising on quality.
- Time-Saving: Higher efficiency levels realized by these mixers leads to reduced mixing times therefore improving productivity because more batches can be handled within same duration thereby lowering operational costs associated with prolonged working hours among staffs.
- Energy Efficiency: Though very fast, the modern high shear mixers are constructed to save power by using the minimum amount of energy required for maximum mixing performance.
- Hygiene and Cleanability: High shear mixers are usually created considering sanitary conditions; thus, they have surfaces and parts that can be cleaned easily. This is very crucial in industries such as food processing, pharmaceuticals manufacturing or even cosmetic production where hygiene is a matter of concern because any slight contamination may lead to fatal results.
If you need to buy high shear mixer please contact us, we have 0.75KW to 45KW high shear mixer, any size can be customized.