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TABLE OF CONTENTS
First, Select the Right Blender  5
Understand the pros and cons of three key kinds of devices

Improve Mixer Performance  9

Inexpensive changes may enhance results from long-installed equipment

Recharge Your Approach to Mixing  15

Consider inline mixing to minimize costs and improve quality

Additional Resources  18

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First, Select the Right Blender

Understand the pros and cons of three key kinds of devices

Tom Blackwood, Contributing Editor

T
he choice of blender type dramat- blenders: mechanical, gravity and fluid-as-
ically can affect end results. Yet, sist devices.
often we put a product in whatever
blender is available. That’s a mistake. Each MECHANICAL BLENDERS
blender is unique; they may vary in typical Most such units are small capacity. Let’s
blend time and quality, blender capacity, look at four options.
scaleup, maintenance and attrition. So, let’s • The double-cone blender has been the
compare blender types. workhorse of the industry, especially for
batch operations. Blend times typically
The number of options can seem over- run one to two hours. Maintenance is low.
whelming. One manufacturer’s selection Attrition is moderate but particles may
guide I recently looked at showed several segregate on discharge. Internals, which
hundred blender types. I don’t doubt that come in many variations (ribbons, baffles,
their differences are real in the eyes of the etc.), can improve blend quality and mini-
designer — but I’ve usually found that the mize segregation.
particulate solids characteristics of the • Paddle or ribbon blenders provide much
material to be blended are more import- lower blend times and often serve in
ant than some subtle variation in a unit’s continuous processes. Low-speed units
mechanical design. For simplicity, I suggest may reach a good blend in one to 15
concentrating on three overall types of minutes. In contrast, high-speed devices

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The fluidized bed is probably the most

effective fluid-assist blender.

may achieve the same blend in five to 30 The traditional static flow tube smooths out
seconds but the number of fine particles small variations. However, mass-flow or multi-
generated may override blend quality. cone blender designs largely have replaced it
Maintenance is moderate but attrition is because they can reach a high quality blend
high for high-speed devices. in a couple of turnovers. Moreover, they are
• Riffle blenders can match the blend qual- easier to scale up than flow tubes and are
ity of a high-speed blender and create lower in maintenance. Other than attrition
less attrition. However, their maintenance from the pneumatic conveyor, particle break-
(cleaning) is high and they don’t scale up age is minimal in these devices.
very well.
• Screw blenders aren’t known for blending FLUID-ASSIST BLENDERS
applications but can reach a good batch These devices often are costlier than the
blend in three to five minutes with mod- other two categories but compensate by
erate attrition. Maintenance is high but providing better blend quality. Let’s exam-
scaleup is easy. ine four alternatives.
• The lift-tube blender could be consid-
For continuous operation and the best ered a gravity blender — but recirculation
blend quality, I suggest a loss-in-weight is internal to the device and blending
feeder. It scales up easily and creates little can take place during tank filling, which
to no attrition. The device demands only smooths out production variations over a
low to moderate maintenance but often is longer time frame. Scaleup is moderately
an expensive alternative. easy and maintenance is low. Attrition is
negligible because the recirculation loop
GRAVITY BLENDERS has no feeders or elbows. The design of
Storage of large quantities of bulk material the internal cone controls blend quality.
frequently requires some blending to com- • The fluidized bed probably is the most
pensate for segregation or process variations. effective fluid-assist blender. It works well
Achieving the best quality blend may call in batch or continuous operation. Blend
for recirculation via pneumatic conveying. time is on the order of minutes versus

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hours and scaleup is easy. Most mainte- • Blenders using a jet or venturi work
nance is external to the device; proper well with fine materials and can give an
grid design minimizes attrition. excellent blend. Scaleup is easy but main-
• The spouted bed, a cousin to the fluidized tenance can be high. These devices better
bed, is a favorite for coating particles as suit liquid/particle blending.
well as giving a good blend in only one
turnover. Attrition is very low, especially Throughout this column I haven’t talked
with big and light particles, because most much about blend quality because this
attrition occurs as the particles fall back mostly is a function of the particles in the
onto the bed. Scaleup is moderately system. Experimental data are a must to
easy; units require little maintenance and define blend quality.
cleanup is easy.

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Improve Mixer Performance

Inexpensive changes may enhance results from long-installed equipment

By David S. Dickey, MixTech, Inc.

M
any processors rely on mixing equip- turbines in medium- to low-viscosity blend-
ment that is more than 25 years old. ing and solids suspension applications. A
Even if the equipment isn’t worn out, typical pitched-blade turbine (Figure 1)
it almost certainly was designed for different has four blades made of flat plates. The
conditions and often different processes or most common hydrofoil impellers have
products. The design may not suit the current three blades with a curved cross-section
application or product. In the last 25 years, (Figure 2). The curved cross-section is
many products have become more viscous or called camber; it furnishes a degree of lift
non-Newtonian, making mixing more difficult. and a smooth change of flow direction. Just
like the wings on an airplane, the hydro-
Over that same period, new types of foil blades provide a downward force with
impellers and ways of applying them have an efficient transfer of power. The advan-
improved mixing with the same power and tage of the hydrofoil impellers is greater
speed. These developments often open up efficiency in creating axial flow. The axial
opportunities to enhance performance with- flow pattern generated in a stirred tank
out replacing the equipment or resorting to produces good vertical circulation, which
expensive upgrades. helps to carry surface additions throughout
the vessel. In solids suspension, the axial
While not a recent improvement, hydrofoil flow directed toward the bottom of the
impellers have replaced many pitched-blade vessel lifts solids off the bottom. Delivering

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PITCHED BLADE TURBINE HYDROFOIL IMPELLER

Figure 1. Typical unit uses four blades Figure 2. Most-common design features three
made of flat metal plates. Source: SPX blades, each with a curved cross-section.
Flow Lightnin. Source: SPX Flow Lightnin.

the same power at the same speed with The first step in assessing a unit is to estab-
a slightly larger diameter hydrofoil impel- lish the current design. Older equipment
ler may improve mixer performance at a may lack good drawings. Even when draw-
modest cost for a new impeller. ings are available, they may not include
modifications made after the original
Some mixers have under-loaded motors. equipment was installed. Many equipment
A unit with a 25-hp motor actually only modifications can enable cost-effective
may deliver 10 hp to the mixed liquid. improvements to process performance
This points up the difference between without completely replacing an old mixer.
two important and often confused Beyond basic tank dimensions and impeller
characteristics: motor power and impeller type, the two most critical characteristics of
power. The motor power establishes the mixing equipment are impeller diameter and
maximum power the impeller can deliver rotational speed. For low viscosity turbulent
to the fluid. The impeller power reflects liquid mixing, impeller power is propor-
the rotational force (torque) the impeller tional to the rotational speed cubed and
applies to the fluid and the rotational the impeller diameter to the fifth power.
speed or rate of energy dissipation. For instance, a 10% boost in the rotational
Impeller conditions, power, torque, tip speed will raise the impeller power by 33%.
speed and pumping rate are the key Increasing the impeller diameter by only 5%
factors that create the mixing intensity will push up the impeller power by 28%.
and process performance of a mixer.
Increasing the impeller power may offer an When analyzing mixing equipment, you
opportunity for improvement. must ensure accurate measurement of the

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Single Impeller Dual Impellers Large Dual No Baffles

Impellers

Increasing Viscosity

IMPACT OF VISCOSITY
Figure 3. When using turbine-style impellers, viscosity can significantly affect the optimum equip-
ment configuration.

speed and impeller diameter. Changing the THE IMPACT OF VISCOSITY

speed of an existing mixer may be difficult In a variety of mixing processes, viscosity
and expensive. Modifying or replacing an plays a major role in determining success
impeller may be easier and less costly. How- or failure. Viscosity basically is the inter-
ever, an impeller modification, especially if nal resistance to fluid motion. However,
it adds weight, may cause mechanical prob- that resistance takes many different forms.
lems that require evaluation before changes Newtonian viscosity, which is the sim-
are made. plest type, follows Newton’s definition of
viscosity, i.e., a constant describes the rela-
All mixers are 100% efficient with respect tionship between shear stress and shear
to impeller power input. All the power rate. However, that doesn’t mean that
delivered to the fluid eventually becomes viscosity is always the same. Temperature
molecular motion, which is heat. In most sit- affects viscosity. Viscosity usually is lower
uations involving low viscosity blending, the at higher temperatures, which means that
amount of power input to the fluid doesn’t blending becomes easier. Merely adjusting
noticeably affect the process temperature. the process temperature can solve some
In cases of intense or high viscosity mixing, mixing problems.
the power input can cause a measurable
and sometimes undesirable increase in the Many fluids with higher viscosity demon-
process temperature. strate non-Newtonian properties such as

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shear-thinning or shear-thickening behavior.

Shear-thinning fluids have a lower apparent
viscosity when they experience velocity
gradients in the liquid. Velocity gradients
exist around a mixing impeller and in recir-
culating flow patterns. As shear thickening
implies, the apparent viscosity increases
at higher shear rates. Many shear-depen-
dent fluids are time independent, meaning
that only the current shear rate affects the
apparent viscosity. The viscosity of time-de-
pendent non-Newtonian fluids not only
depends on the current shear rate but also
on whether the shear has been increasing HIGH VISCOSITY MIXER
or decreasing. The viscosity of some fluids Figure 4. This unit features high-speed
disperser blades and a low-speed angled
is permanently altered by shear. Other sweep impeller.
non-Newtonian viscosity effects include
viscoelasticity and yield stress. Viscoelastic and kerosene, have viscosities less than 10
fluids exhibit an elastic return, something cP and are almost always considered to be
like bread or pizza dough. Yield stress fluids low viscosity liquids for mixing applications.
have a gel characteristic, like ketchup or
hair gel. The yield stress limits the initial (Centipoise (cP) is a metric unit commonly
motion of the fluid but allows flow once the used to measure and express dynamic
initial resistance is overcome. In all cases, viscosity. Centistokes (cSt) is used for
non-Newtonian fluid behaviors make mixing kinematic viscosity, which is the dynamic
more difficult than for a similar viscosity in a viscosity divided by the fluid density. This
Newtonian fluid. density can be expressed as specific grav-
ity relative to water or grams per cubic
High viscosity mixing creates several mixing centimeter. Because most hydrocarbon
difficulties and often requires special equip- liquids have a density about 0.80–0.90 that
ment. The term “high viscosity” means of water, their cSt viscosities typically are
different things to different people and in 10%–15% higher than the cP viscosities for
different situations. Using common materi- the same fluid.)
als as references helps to understand some
ranges for “low” and “high” viscosity. Typical Even motor and cooking oils with typi-
solvents, such as water, acetone, gasoline cal viscosities between 10 cP and 200 cP

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behave as “low” viscosity liquids in most to cause complete fluid motion. Some
industrial-size mixers. However, by the mixers for high viscosity applications may
time you get to glucose (500 cP), corn have multiple impellers for different process
syrup (1,400 cP) and honey (5,000 cP), the requirements. Figure 4 depicts a mixer for
effects of viscosity on mixing become more such a service; it has both high-speed dis-
evident. The fluid motion at these moderate perser blades and a low-speed impeller with
viscosities begins to decline away from the angled sweep blades.
mixing impeller because the viscosity resists
the fluid flow. When using turbine-style Simply blending liquids of different viscos-
impeller mixers with these moderate vis- ities is difficult but mixing another phase
cosity fluids, you often must resort to more with a liquid can be far tougher. Incorpo-
or larger impellers to accomplish uniform rating the second phase, whether solid
blending. A single impeller in a baffled tank particles, a gas or an immiscible liquid,
might handle a low viscosity application usually begins with a dispersion process.
while a slightly higher viscosity may require The requirements for a dispersion applica-
two impellers and a moderately high viscos- tion differ from those for liquid blending.
ity may demand two larger impellers. At a The mixing intensity necessary to initially
sufficiently high viscosity, the resistance to disperse particles, gases and immiscible liq-
motion at the wall may eliminate the need uids usually occurs in the immediate region
for baffles. As the number and size of impel- of the mixing impeller. The equipment also
lers increase, so does the impeller power must provide a recirculating flow pattern
requirement. Figure 3 shows the progres- sufficient to maintain a degree of uniformity
sion from a single impeller to dual impellers for the dispersed phase. Some dispersions
to larger impellers and then to impellers are intended to form a stable product.
without baffles. More or different impel- Others must continue to be agitated to
lers might provide the increased mixing retain sufficient uniformity for the desired
required for processes at higher viscosities. process result.

“Extremely high” viscosity materials such as For any mixing process, the equipment
peanut butter (250,000 cP) and caulking should be sufficiently versatile and robust
compound (5,000,000 cP) barely flow at to handle reasonable differences in raw
room temperature. Even at elevated tem- materials or operating temperatures. Pre-
perature, such materials can be difficult to dictable raw material variations shouldn’t
mix. Creating the desired uniformity in these cause frequent failures. In the kitchen or
products requires special mixing equip- laboratory, increasing stirring speed or
ment, often with large diameter impellers, extending mixing time often can achieve

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robust mixing. However, making similar characteristics of the mixing requirements.

changes in large industrial units can be dif- The equipment may need to satisfy a
ficult, especially if those features aren’t built combination of requirements, especially
into the equipment design. However, pro- in batch processes where the demands
duction changes, such as order of addition change during different steps. Sometimes
or process intensification, sometimes can those differences may involve competing
result in significant improvements. requirements with disparate operating con-
ditions for optimum results. In some cases,
ACHIEVING SUCCESS old methods or equipment cause poor
Identifying process improvements that results. In other cases, insufficiently robust
increase performance and enhance effi- operations and equipment lead to inconsis-
ciency requires a focus on determining tent results.
the actual problem. Attempting to correct
something that isn’t the cause of the prob- In any attempt to improve a mixing process,
lem will result in a waste of time and money carefully evaluate changes to ensure they
or even cause worse problems. won’t make things worse. In most cases,
you can find a path forward that will lead
A real difficulty in solving mixing prob- to an improvement with minimal risk to the
lems is that the equipment can provide a current conditions.
wide variety of results. Its contributions
can differ depending on the process. The DAVID S. DICKEY is senior consultant for MixTech, Inc.,

differences aren’t always single or unique Coppell, Texas. E-mail him at [email protected].

Mixing eHANDBOOK: Master Your Mixing 14

 www.ChemicalProcessing.com

Recharge Your
Approach to Mixing
Consider inline mixing to minimize costs and improve quality

By Ralf Buergelin, IKA

Whether regenerative energy, electro Lithium-ion battery (LIB) technology com-

mobility or mobile electronics, all these bines high-energy density, high available
electrical systems require a storage medium capacity per cell with short charging times
of electrical energy to function. Capacity and long life. A LIB rechargeable cell usually
needs for such systems are skyrocketing consists of an anode, cathode, separator
and are expected to grow exponentially. and conductive electrolyte. It is essential
Rechargeable batteries based on lithium-ion that the high-viscosity coating composi-
technology are state of the art. tions on the electrodes be homogeneous
and without changes in the material prop-
Battery research focuses on choosing the erties. This achieves identical electrical
best materials and formulations. The use properties and full performance, which is
of a suitable manufacturing technology critical during production.
for mass production is important to
produce rechargeable batteries with To prepare the coating compositions, liquid
consistently good quality at the lowest solvents are mixed homogeneously with
cost. While only minor optimizations pulverulent solids, such as binders and
are possible in terms of material costs, active material, to give a high-viscosity
potential remains for reduced production mass, with the risk of agglomeration forma-
costs, shortened process times and tion. The incorporated solvent volatilizes as
automated production. temperature increases. Because mechanical

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MIXER COMPARISON
Figure 1. Compared to a standard plant mixer, inline mixers can cut processing time significantly
while also reducing power consumption.

mixing processes inevitably release heat Because this process often leads to lump
energy, dispersing with high efficiency formation and the mixture remains inho-
is important. mogeneous despite long mixing times,
additional filters and subsequent dispersing
CONVENTIONALLY MIXED processes must be used. After the container
Coating compound production previously has been emptied, residual amounts adhere
was done with low-efficiency, slow-run- to the stirring tool as well as the container
ning batch processes. High-speed stirrers wall, which leads to complicated cleaning
for binder solutions and planetary mixers and high solvent use.
were and are mostly used for blending. The
low energy input is one of the reasons why ADVANCED MIXED
these machines have such long mixing and The rapidly increasing demand for coating
dispersing times. As a result, many batch materials and requirement for materials
devices are required, which are expen- down to nano size necessitate advanced
sive to purchase, maintain and clean. To production technology that works effi-
achieve an even dispersion, the complete ciently and is suitable for mass production.
batch always is circulated with a large stir- At the heart of advanced dispersion tech-
ring tool. nology are in-line devices. The product to

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be dispersed forcibly is fed by a pipeline processes large quantities in a short

to the mixing tool. In this case, mixing time. After completion of the carbon
energy is entered in the smallest volume paste, the product is transferred to a
with high-speed tools, thereby completely buffer tank.
processing all product components in an 2. The active powder is introduced and
efficient manner. dispersed by gravity using an in-line
dispersing unit. The goal is gentle dis-
Output and results now are measurable persion of a large percentage of powder
with throughput and possibly with the with low temperature increase and min-
number of runs. In-line devices can be used imized air intake. The binder-C paste,
both in a recirculation batch in-line process produced in the first process step,
and as fully continuous systems operating forms the liquid phase. This is supplied
in one pass. Material losses are minimized, continuously with a mass flow-con-
and cleaning is carried out in a continuous trolled positive displacement pump.
clean-in-place (CIP) cycle (Figure 1). At the same time, the active powder
also is metered in through a differential
THE OPTIMAL PROCESS dosage scale and regulated in the cor-
The optimal process for the production of rect proportion.
coating materials for rechargeable batteries
consists of two process steps: In this in-line dispersing process, the prod-
1. The binder solution is prepared with an uct components are mixed, dispersed and
in-line suction-dispersing device. For discharged at a high intensity in the small-
this purpose, the solvent is introduced est volume. The throughput is determined
in the mixing vessel. The necessary by the feed systems for the liquid phase
amount of binder and conductivity and the solids. Additionally, the mixing
agent is metered in using two solid intensity is determined by the speed and
funnels. The disperser circulates choice of the product-adaptable dispers-
the solvent and draws in the binder ing tool. Through the process management
powder. Solid and liquid combine in in each pass, the finished product is made
the smallest volume under highest with minimal temperature increase and the
turbulence. As a result, the binder pow- highest efficiency.
der is optimally wetted and dissolved
agglomerate-free. The carbon powder RALF BUERGELIN is director product management,

then is inducted in and dispersed. The IKA Germany. He can be reached at Ralf.buergelin@

machine generates a vacuum that ika.de.

Mixing eHANDBOOK: Master Your Mixing 17

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