High Shear Mixing for Disintegration and Particle Size Reduction

Efficient disintegration and particle size reduction can be crucial mixing processes in ensuring high product quality. Traditional methods often require a pre-cutting or grinding stage or extended mixing cycles to produce a satisfactory mix, adding both cost and complexity to production. 

Silverson high shear mixers are designed to rapidly break down, disperse and solubilise solids, enabling manufacturers to process challenging materials with greater efficiency. The degree of particle size reduction will depend on the hardness of the product, but for many applications the use of a Silverson mixer will dispense with the need for conventional size-reduction equipment.

How is a high shear mixer able to do this? The rotor/stator workhead. Once the mixer is started, the high-speed rotation of the rotor blades within the precision-machined rotor/stator workhead exerts a powerful suction, drawing liquid and solid materials into the rotor/stator assembly.

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.

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

Mixer Options for Disintegration and Particle Size Reduction

Silverson Machines has a range of mixers suitable for disintegration and particle size reduction:

Silverson D2500 Disintegrator/Dissolver

The Silverson D2500 Disintegrator/Dissolver will disintegrate, solubilise or disperse the largest of solids - up to 1 metre across - in a single operation, often reducing processing times from days to hours.

The Disintegrator 2500 incorporates a powerful and unique Silverson mixer located in the bottom of a custom-built vessel. The mixer exerts a massive suction downwards from the surface of the liquid, pulling down even the most buoyant of solids, no matter what the size. These solids are literally ripped apart and dispersed throughout the mix, and with the refinement of a Silverson In-Line mixer included in the system, are totally solubilised or suspended.

There is no need for pre-grinding, slicing or cutting of large solids and the mixer can process poly-wrapped bales without prior removal of wrapper, eliminating the need for cutting and excess waste.

Duplex Disintegrator/Dissolver

For smaller scale and in-tank operations, similar results can be achieved with the Silverson Duplex. The Duplex was specifically developed for the disintegration and solubilisation of solid rubbers and polymers for the luboil and adhesive industries.

The Duplex differs from the standard multi-purpose batch mixers in having two workheads facing in opposite directions; the upper head pulls materials down from the surface of the mix, while the lower head draws material up from the base of the vessel.

The combined use of two workheads makes the Duplex ideal for applications where light or buoyant material (powders, rubbers and polymers, etc.) needs to be drawn down from the surface of a mix and rapidly dispersed. 

For more information, please contact Silverson Machines.