Mixers
Liquid mixers - tank devices consisting of a tank (cylindrical, conical or cylindro-conical in shape) and an agitator or a set of agitators dedicated to a given process/product. Our mixers may be produced in any configuration of agitators and technological equipment.Classification of mixers with respect to the vessel shape:
- cylindrical (horizontal or vertical) mixers – the simplest to produce
- conical mixers – with a quasi constant diameter-height ratio guaranteeing repeatability of their working parameters whatever the level of the substance processed.
- cylindro-conical mixers
Conical mixers– due to the geometry of their workspace, they permit mixing of various volumes maintaining the same ratio of the level of the medium to the mixing diameter, which is very beneficial when processing various volumes with the same series of types of a device. Due to the shape of the device, the hinged lid is opened upwards at an angle permitting easy and thorough inspection of the chamber.
Cylindrical mixers – their chief advantage is the simple and classic design. Due to their shape, the lid is opened upwards permitting thorough inspection of the chamber.
Cylindro-conical mixers: a combination of a cylindrical part of the jacket and a conical bottom with a large-angle generatrix.
Example mixers with respect to product process:
1) Homogenizing mixers - devices intended for manufacture of cosmetic and pharmaceutical products: creams, ointments, pastes. The devices are made in compliance with the highest GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) and GEP (Good Engineering Practice) standards.
Our mixers may be constructed in any configuration depending on the required capacity (30 – 4000 l) and working parameters, taking into account the end-user’s specific production needs. According to an individual customer’s requirements, the devices may be equipped with such systems as:
- control and adjustment of heating-cooling
- control – measurement of pressure
- control – measurement of the substance level/weight
- Control – measurement of pH, oxygen, etc.
The devices may be equipped with a dedicated control system with a program permitting high automation of the process to increase its efficiency and safety.
Depending on the control system complexity, it is possible to visualize and record selected parameters of the production process, with particular operators being allowed access to selected functionalities. The automatic control system may be serviced remotely via a local area network or the Internet.
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2) Laboratory mixers - these may be used for producing small batches of various pharmaceutical/cosmetic substances or in a laboratory – for preparing the production of new assortments. Their design and equipment match those used in high-capacity production devices, permitting an easy transfer of technology from a laboratory to a large-scale production line.
Equipment:
- a gate agitator with scrapers
- a paddle or MIG agitator
- a homogenizing agitator working in a system with an external cycle
- a water jacket powered by its own electric heating system, or a steam jacket
- own system of technological vacuum preparation (a vacuum pump mounted on the frame of the device)
- a lid lifting mechanism
- a system for controlling and monitoring the working parameters of the device
The device may be constructed in any configuration in accordance with the end-user’s needs.
KATES POLSKA Sp. z o.o. has its own laboratory mixer of V=50L, which we provide to our customers for the purpose of conducting necessary pre-production tests. The device is lent to a customer or made available to them at our premises.
Applications in the food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical industries.
3) Mobile mixers - a group of devices intended for use wherever machinery needs to be periodically relocated due to specific technology or auxiliary processes, such as cleaning.
Mobile mixers may be constructed in the shape of a cylinder, within the 7-350 litre capacity bracket, or a cone, within the 30-250 litre capacity bracket.
The configuration of agitators permits installation of any type of agitator produced by KATES.
Applications in the food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical industries.
Example designs:
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4) Mixing units - these are broadly defined mixing devices consisting of a mixing unit (an agitator + a lid) installed on the same frame as a lifting system and/or wheels. The coupled bin capacity bracket: 20-500 l (due to the work and safety regulations). Mixing units are compatible with conical or cylindrical bins.
Types of agitator used:
- a gate agitator (with scrapers)
- a paddle agitator
- an Inter MIG agitator
- a horseshoe agitator
- a propeller agitator
- a turbine agitator
- a disk agitator
Applications in the food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical industries.
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5) Planetary-motion gate mixers - devices intended for mixing thick products. The device is characterized by its compact, robust design. The device consists of a triple-jacket tank and a mixing unit comprised of a gate agitator with scrapers and a planetary-motion gate agitator.
Powder mixers
Mixing is one of the basic processes commonly used in various industries. The process of mixing may proceed in a forced manner – due to applying external energy, e.g. with agitators or by rotating a tank filled in with the substances to be mixed.
Mixing is aimed at achieving mutually uniform distribution of the ingredients involved. It consists in changing the configuration of different particles of the medium in order to make it homogenous in a single- or multiphase environment as regards the concentration, thickness, temperature and other properties of the mixture. It is also a way to intensify the processes of heat transfer and mass transfer, as well as to hasten a reaction. Optimization of mixing is aimed at obtaining the required degree of blending in a short time and with the smallest possible input of energy.
What reflects the quality of blending is the distribution of concentration of particular ingredients, i.e. the homogenity of the mixture. In the event of mixing two components characterized by similar physical properties (thickness and particle diameter), the process may theoretically result in a number of states of blending:
- the state of complete segregation – two separate agglomerations can be distinguished within the mixture
- the state of partial blending
- perfect disorder
- the state of partial order
- ideal blending, which is a state of order characterized by an appropriate configuration of particular elements.
Heterogeneous mixtures (consisting of particles of varied diameters) easily get segregated and hence they never reach the state of the so-called perfect disorder. During the process of mixing, segregation nearly always takes place when the components significantly differ in their physical properties. The mechanism involved is that finer grains, which are initially at the top, go to the bottom during the mixing process and stay there, even though the process has not been stopped. Similar behaviour may be observed while mixing ingredients of significantly different thicknesses.
Devices for mixing loose substances find application in the following industries:
Horizontal mixers