INLINE MIXING EQUIPMENT

INTRODUCTION
A high-shear mixer or inline mixer disperses, or transports, one phase or ingredient (liquid, solid,
gas) into a main continuous phase (liquid), with which it would normally be immiscible. A rotor
or impellor, together with a stationary component known as a stator, or an array of rotors and
stators, is used either in a tank containing the solution to be mixed, or in a pipe through which
the solution passes, to create shear. A high-shear mixer can be used to create emulsions,
suspensions, Lysol (gas dispersed in liquid), and granular products. It is used in the adhesives,
chemical, cosmetic, and food, pharmaceutical, and plastics industries for emulsification,
homogenization, particle size reduction, and dispersion.
In an inline high-shear rotorstator mixer, the rotorstator array is contained in housing with an
inlet at one end and an outlet at the other, and the rotor driven through a seal. The components to
be mixed are drawn through the generator array in a continuous stream, with the whole acting as
a centrifugal pumping device. Inline high-shear mixers offer a more controlled mixing
environment, take up less space, and can be used as part of a continuous process. Equilibrium
mixing can be achieved by passing the product through the inline high-shear mixer more than
once.

USES OF HIGH-SHEAR INLINE MIXING TECHNOLOGY

High-shear mixers are used throughout the chemical process industries, wherever it is necessary
to produce standardized mixtures of ingredients that do not naturally mix. These include:

Pharmaceuticals, preparations of suspensions and granular products

Paper manufacture, bleaching and preparation of paper pulp
Food preparation, emulsions for sauces and dressings
Manufacture of cosmetics and toiletries

HIGH SHEAR IN-LINE MIXING EQUIPMENT

High-shear In-Line mixers are devices used to generate high velocity gradients across small
distances (resulting in high shear stress and shear rates) in order to disperse, break up, or
homogenize a second immiscible phase. Different devices base on different physical mechanisms
are used to produce high shear.
High Shear In-Line mixers are supremely efficient and rapid in operation and are capable of
reducing mixing times by up to 90%. The action of any In-Line mixer can be modified with the

use of rapidly interchangeable work heads. This enables any machine to mix, emulsify,
homogenize, solubilize, suspend, disperse and disintegrate solids.
High shear inline mixing equipment includes:

(high speed) rotor-stator devices

valve homogenizers, such as:
valve homogenizers
ultrasonic homogenizers

CHARACTERISTICS
The Inline mixing equipment includes following characteristics and features:

Aeration free
Self-pumping
No bypassing
Interchangeable work heads
Sanitary construction
Easy maintenance
Lower power requirements
Eliminates agglomerates and fish eyes
Creates stable emulsions and suspensions
Reduces particle size
Rapidly dissolves solids
Accelerates reactions

The in-line mixer is

Not affected by piece products

FEATURES

Suitable adjustments to the revolution speed

The degree of mixing can be altered during operation without dismantling
Fully compatible with CIP cleaning practice

Viscosity: up to 500.000 mPAS

Temperature: -30C up to +240C

Operating pressures up to 300 bar (without causing noticeable pressure loss) Drive unit
and a pipe housing around the rotation mixing shaft.
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standard designs: V2a (material no.1.4301) or V4a (material no. 1.4571)

Connections: whit worth threads, DIN flanges or DIN milk pipe connections; other
specifications can be met on request.

seals: rotary shaft sealing rings and mechanical seals

Drives: standard regulated and non-regulatedtypes, can be electric, spew wheel backgeared and regulating geared motors.

Rotation control: regulating gears orfrequency converters

HOW IT WORKS
Silversons line of high shear In-Line mixers offers a great many
advantages to the processor - speed, versatility, self-pumping, aeration-free,
guaranteed efficiency. At the heart of every mixer is Silverson's high
performance rotor/stator work head.
STAGE 1
The high-speed rotation of the rotor blades within the precision machined
mixing work head exerts a powerful suction, drawing liquid and solid
materials into the rotor/stator assembly.

STAGE 2
Centrifugal force then drives the materials towards the periphery of the workhead where they are
subjected to a milling action in the precision-machined clearance between the ends of the rotor
blades and the inner wall of the stator.

STAGE 3
This is followed by intense hydraulic shear as the materials are forced, at high velocity, out
through the perforations in the stator, then through the machine outlet and along the pipework. At
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the same time, fresh materials are continually drawn into the workhead, maintaining the mixing
and pumping cycle.

STATIC MIXER
A static mixer is a device for mixing two fluid materials. Normally the fluids to be mixed are
liquid, but static mixers can also be used to mix gas streams, disperse gas into liquid or blend
immiscible liquids. The
device consists of mixer
elements contained in a
cylindrical (tube) or
squared housing. These
can vary from about 6
mm
to
6
meters
diameter. Static mixer
elements consist of a
series of baffles made
of metal or a variety of
plastics. Similarly, the
mixer housing can be
made of metal or
plastic.
Typical
construction materials
for
static
mixer
components included
stainless
steel,
polypropylene, Teflon,
PVDF and polyacetal.
The overall system design incorporates a method for delivering two streams of fluids into the
static mixer. As the streams move through the mixer, the non-moving elements continuously
blend the materials. Complete mixing depends on many variables including the fluids' properties,
tube inner diameter, number of elements and their design.

Static mixers consist of mirror image inserts (elements) placed inside a pipe, capable of altering
the fluid flow, and rearranging the distribution of fluid elements across the pipe cross
section.Static mixers consist of mirror image inserts (elements) placed inside a pipe, capable of
altering the fluid flow, and rearranging the distribution of fluid elements across the pipe cross
section. Static mixers are only capable of homogenizing the content of the pipe across its cross
section but not along its length.

HOW IT WORKS
A small amount of energy is required to adequately mix oil and water in a pipeline using
conventional shear, reverse flow and collision to produce a homogeneous mixture of water
droplets and oil droplets downstream of the mixing element with minimal net pressure drop.
Static mixers have no moving parts and are virtually maintenance free. Using the energy
available from the fluid in the pipeline and calculating the number of elements required for
mixing enables clients to achieve truly mixed liquids at the mixers outlet.
The mixer consists of a number of helical blending elements mounted in a stainless steel tube

ADVANTAGES

3A certified
Low-cost mixing
tank is required
Reliable
mixing
pipes
Easy to maintain
Fast and easy CIP-

alternative - no
directly in the

cleaning

APPLICATIONS
Today, static mixers are used for a wide range of different applications in many different market
segments. A common application is mixing two-component adhesives (e.g., epoxy) and sealants.
Other applications include wastewater treatment and chemical processing. Static mixers can be
used in the refinery and oil and gas markets as well, for example for desalting crude oil. In
polymer production, static mixers can be used to facilitate polymerization reactions or for the
admixing of liquid additives.

CLASSIFICATION OF STATIC MIXERS

Static mixers are classified according to the flow regime under which they operate.Static mixers
are available for:

Laminar flow
Transitional flow
Turbulent flow

STATIC MIXER FOR LAMINAR FLOW

In laminar flow the only mechanism for radial mixing is molecular diffusion.Each element in
laminar static mixers typically produces spit and a rotation (90 or 180) of the flow, which is
then fed to the next element.Such actions result in further sub-divisions of the flow and the
generation of striations leading to mixing.

STATIC MIXERS FOR TURBULENT FLOW

In turbulent flow, turbulent eddies are responsible for radial mixing. Flow in open pipes produces
radial mixing if enough pipe length is provided (at least 100 pipe diameters). Static mixers for
turbulent flow rely on vortex generation to produce mixing.

ROTARY-STATOR
High-speed rotary-stator mixers are devices in which a rotor rotates at high speed inside a casing
provided with slots. A small gap exists between the rotor and the stator. As the liquid (and its
dispersed phase) move through the rotor-stator assembly they are subjected to high shear,
resulting in break up effects.
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In order to configure a
variety of application
wide selection of rotors
(generators) for all
generator
designs
combination of varying
energy. In addition, they
accommodate materials
and initial particle size.
(generators)
are
than those for batch machines because there is less of a requirement for
batch mixing.

machine to meet a
needs, IKA offers a
and
stators
machines. Different
provide
a
levels of dispersing
are also designed to
of different viscosities
In-line
rotor-stator
designed differently
pumping, as there is in

It is important to note that the differences between the coarse, medium, fine and other generators
is not only the number of rotor and stator teeth rows. There is also a significant difference in the
geometry from one generator to the next. The number of slots, width of the slots, and other
geometric features will also change to define the performance of the generator.
In-line Rotary stator consists of small high-speed mixers placed inside a casing fed with a
continuous stream of the materials to be mixed. The residence time of in-line mixers is usually of
the order of seconds.

It is normal practice to specify a generator for an application based on prior experience. In most
cases, the machine is configured for a specific application, so it is important to have an
understanding of the product. When it is uncertain if a generator configuration will perform
according to expectations, it is always recommended that a trial or test is performed in the
laboratory.