Industrial mixer. Nowadays many industrial processes are based on mixing. It applies to the pharmaceutical, chemical, food industries, and metallurgy as well as agriculture and agricultural chemistry.
The variety of physical and chemical characteristics of the processed materials poses a challenge of choosing the optimal mixer from the variety of the devices available on the market.
In general, an industrial mixer must meet the following requirements:
- Uniform distribution of starting materials
- Absence of voids and clots in a mixture;
- Simple design;
- Reliable operation;
- Full compliance with health and safety regulations.
The structure of the most typical mixers consists of the following parts:
- Mixing drum;
- Loading mechanism;
- Unloading mechanism;
- Engine;
- Transfer mechanisms;
- Frame.
The mixing process takes place in the drum. The raw material is fed into the drum by the loading mechanism and the finished mixture is removed by the unloading mechanism. The transfer mechanisms provide a torque transmission from the motor shaft to the moving parts of the mixer. All parts are mounted on the frame.
The quality of the resulting mixture is influenced by:
- The relative velocity of the moving parts of the mixer and the mixture;
- The volume of the treated material;
- The duration of the mixing process.
When the mixer is chosen correctly, the mixing process achieves better results and reduces energy consumption.
However, the research to develop the new and more efficient mixers continues. Its goal is to reduce metal consumption and the cost of maintenance and increase performance efficiency. The last criteria strives to increase the amount of produced product with decreased energy consumption.