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7 Common Types of Industrial Mixers

IQS Newsroom — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 10:50:00 +0000

Industrial Mixers

Industrial mixers are a complex, intricate, and precision tool used to mix and combine chemicals and substances for production, manufacturing, and industrial use. The wide range of industrial mixers includes small compact ones that are capable of quickly combining plastic polymers for plastics production to ones that can pulverize and mix pellets and stones.
The industries that depend on mixers are the cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and food industries since mixing is a necessary part of their production processes. Most people associate mixing with food production because of the obvious relationship. Beyond the production of food there is a limitless number of uses for mixers. They can be found in any industry that requires the combining of like or unlike substances.

Types of Industrial Mixers

It is impossible to have just one type of mixer since raw materials and ingredients widely differ. Materials for mixing, blending, and combining have different properties, characteristics, and attributes that require the adjustment of the mixing method to accommodate the diversities of the materials. The specialization of mixers includes homogenizers, dispersers, and particle reducers.
Though there are a wide range of mixers, they can be divided into three categories, which are diffusing, shearing, and convection.
Diffusion mixers rotate about an axis in a tumbling motion and use gravity to impel materials.
Convective mixers have a horizontal or vertical static shell, which can be in an assortment of geometrical shapes. Mixing is completed using some form of impeller or mixing element such as paddles or blades.
Shearing mixing is a high speed process that is part of the convection group. The shearing process involves the rapid movement of an impeller that shears, disperses, pulverizes, and greatly impacts materials such that they become smoother and mix easier.

Convective Mixers

Convective mixers have a short mixing cycle that rapidly mixes materials using an impeller that rotates at a high rate of speed. The rapid movement of the impeller creates heat that assists in the mixing process. The speed of the mixing process splits the particles of the material, which optimizes the mixing. Convective mixers are too aggressive for use as diffusive mixers.

Tumbler Mixers

Tumbler mixers are a form of diffusion mixer that rotates to mix the materials and use air in the mixing process. Mixing occurs by gravitational force as the tumbler rotates around its axis at a controlled speed. Tumbler mixers do not have agitators, impellers, or paddles but complete the mixing process very efficiently.

Fluidization Mixers

Fluidization mixers use the high flow rate of gases to fluidize powders, which assist in heating or cooling the mixture. Fluidization mixers are recommended for mixing low to medium density materials ranging from powders to pellets. They are the fastest type of mixer capable of completing a cycle in ten seconds up to two minutes with 30 seconds being the most typical. The paddles are placed at an angle and have overlapping paths to increase the efficiency of the mixing process.

Agitator Mixers

Agitator mixer is a general term that covers a wide arraign of agitator types that include anchor, paddle, propeller, turbine, and helical. The agitation process includes the rotation of an impeller or impellers that releases centrifugal force. They are ideal for combining immiscible substances that do not mix easily.

Emulsifier Mixers

The main function of an emulsifier mixer is to combine two substances that do not normally combine, such as oil and water. When two materials are unable to naturally blend, they are referred to as immiscible, or unable to form a homogeneous mixture. In the emulsification process, the materials are forced through tubes and small filters that place the liquids under great pressure. The process breaks down the molecular structure of the substances such that they are able to blend easily.

Homogenizers

The homogenization process is breaking down bigger molecules into small ones such that even distribution can occur. It is the emulsification of globules that have a macron size and forcing them into micron size in order to produce a stable and balanced dispersion. A homogenizer mixer is the tool that is used to produce emulsification. Homogenization is a shearing process that spins and crushes materials.

Drum Mixers

Drum mixers have the broadest number of variations of mixer types and include ones that are portable. The choice of a drum mixer is due to their tight seal, maneuverability, and stackability. The variations of drum mixers include ones that can have their contents mixed while other versions serve as a container for mixing, much like typical mixers. They are used to mix materials that have a low to medium viscosity such as slurries and cement. Drum mixers can have internal blades or impellers and serve as batch mixers.

Paddle Mixers

Paddle mixers have a set of paddles that are set at the precise angle to supply a sufficient amount of axial and radial dispersion to break up materials. During the mixing process the paddles churn and turn the ingredients to achieve the appropriate consistency.

Ribbon Blenders

The name of ribbon blenders is a reference to the ribbon-like blades that form the paddles of the blender that rotate around a central axis. They have a “U” shaped shell that contains the double helical ribbon that creates the convective two directional motion. The rotational force of the two part ribbon pushes the product in one direction while a second ribbon moves it in the opposite direction.

Static Mixers

A static mixer has a helical static mixing element, which is inserted into a pipe or tube. They are used to mix gases, liquids, or to mix a gas and a liquid. Static mixers are capable of dispersing a gas into an immiscible liquid to form a homogenous solution. The mixing components can take a variety of shapes depending on the manufacturer and the types of materials to be mixed. The flow of the gases and liquids, through the pipe, breaks down their molecules to blend and mix them.

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Steam Boilers: An Important Part of History

IQS Newsroom — Fri, 26 Dec 2014 14:16:03 +0000

Steam Boilers

Imagine life before steam. Transportation was more difficult. Communication was more difficult. Commerce was more difficult. The list goes on and on. The invention of the steam engine was an integral part of industry during the Industrial Revolution. Today, it is involved in or responsible for nearly all electricity generated and consumed around the world.
Steam boilers are vessels in which steam is produced and captured. It is then used in order to heat homes and businesses. It can also be used as an energy source for industrial processes. The specific term “steam boiler” is typically used in reference to heat generation; however, technically it can be applied to any type of equipment heats water and stores or uses the steam for a specific purpose. Most steam boilers are examples of high pressure boilers. Pressure builds as large quantities of steam collects inside a contained enclosure. When enough steam is built, the energy released can power the moving parts of a machine.
Steam boilers, when used for heat generation, have very few components. They widely vary in shape and size depending on its specific application. Steam boilers have a pressure vessel to store steam, a heat source and a valve to release steam. The pressure vessel is typically made of steel. The success and productivity of a pressure vessel depends on its construction. Poor pressure vessel construction could cause boiler failure, which could be catastrophic. Following the strict regulations set forth by the ASME is just one way to prevent boiler failure.
The boiler’s heat source could be coal, natural gas or other fossil fuel, wood or electric heating elements. Each source has its advantages and disadvantages as far as efficiency, expense and environmental damage. The boiler valves are also very important to the boiler’s construction because they are responsible for directing pressurized steam and releasing it during emergencies (in order to prevent explosions).

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Advantages of Paint Booth Design

IQS Newsroom — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 13:09:28 +0000

Paint booth devices typically refer to any type of structure that is designed to prevent contamination and unwanted air flow in areas involving painting. Over the years these technologies and industry has greatly improved. These products come in a variety of configurations ranging as small as a bench top paint booth or as big as an aircraft paint booth. Since the term paint booth can be somewhat a board term there are a number of there are a number of factors to consider when selecting the best paint booth for your application.

Photo Courtesy of System Technologies, Inc.

Paint booths offer a number of distinct advantages when used correctly. Cross-draft paint booths are very economical because they require the least amount of materials. This type of paint booth does not require an upper plenum which is necessary in various other types of paint booths. Side draft paint booths are ideal for creating an even pattern of airflow around the painting area. This style of paint booth pulls the unwanted contaminates down and away from the finish. The disadvantage of this paint booth is it can be rather expensive as it requires duct-work and a number of exhaust fans. The user is also limited in the number of places he or she can stand so the over-spray is caught in the airflow.

Downdraft paint booths offer a significant amount of cleanliness. Airflow is pulled around the painted object and then pushed away from underneath the object. This allows for the user to stand at any location in the paint booth and the over-spray will be caught in the airflow. The risk of dust landing on the finish is greatly reduced with the downdraft paint booth design. This style of paint booth has additional start up costs such as pits, tunnels, or ramps. Although this paint booth can be very expensive there is a trade-off of the number of corrections that are required after the paint has dried.

Photo Courtesy of System Technologies, Inc.

There have been some recent developments in the paint booth industry involving waterborne finishing and the creation of newer flash-off systems. These flash-off devices are designed to for portability as well as energy efficiency. This product produces a unique turbulence that is designed to interrupt the laminar airflow during the flash-off process. By utilizing two environmentally friendly motor/fan assemblies this allows for reliable airflow at the lowest cost. One additional advantage is this system does not utilize compressed air. Overall paint booths are an ideal investment for controlling hazardous materials, providing explosive protection in your work zones, and creating a clean painting environment.

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Pressure Vessel Safety: Leak Before Burst

IQS Newsroom — Wed, 03 Sep 2014 14:42:15 +0000

Pressure vessels are, by nature, volatile and potentially dangerous. The job of a pressure vessel is to hold a liquid or gas at a certain temperature that is different from the outside temperature. Pressure vessels are used in a variety of industrial processes to distill liquids, compress air, hold hydraulic and pneumatic fluids and much more. Due to the highly dangerous nature of these products, there are many different regulations placed onto any pressure vessel manufacturer to ensure the safety of the vessel and the employees using the vessel.
The regulations for each pressure vessel manufacturer vary depending on where the vessel is in use. Most countries have their own unique regulation system, but some regulations cross countries. Some of the most common guidelines regulating the design of pressure vessels come from the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code in North America, the Japanese Industrial Standard, the CSA in Canada, and European standards from Lloyd’s and other international regulation companies.
One aspect of pressure vessels that nearly every country agrees on is the pressure release mechanism for when the pressure vessel has too much built-in pressure. This pressure release system prevents the vessel from exploding and causing extreme damage to surrounding equipment and employees. This safety feature is known as the leak before burst regulation.
The leak before burst regulation works in such a way that when excessive pressure is applied on the vessel that could normally cause an explosion to occur, the vessel starts to crack instead. These cracks allow the liquid or gas inside the container to leak out slowly, which relieves the high pressure and prevents the unit from exploding. However, it does not prevent other safety risks, such as the risk of inhaling chemicals or harmful gasses during the release of the pressure.

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Helium Stored in Pressure Vessels

IQS Newsroom — Wed, 03 Sep 2014 14:23:00 +0000

I’ve always thought helium tanks resembled torpedoes. All that is missing is the fins at the end and the explosive innards. In a way, submarines are a kind of a giant pressure vessel. I’ve used a helium tank a couple times handing out balloons at the local farmers market. The pressure in the tank pushes the helium out and fills a balloon making some lucky child very happy. Of course, chances are their hopes and dreams are desecrated when the balloon escapes and ascends into the heavens.
Helium that escapes confinement is lost from our atmosphere forever. It is the second lightest element in the universe which means it’s to light to stay in our atmosphere. However that does make the gas a great lifting agent. It is also a noble gas. Helium doesn’t mix with lesser, peasant gases which makes it pretty stable. Among other things, helium acts as a non-reactive buffer for welding. The gas doesn’t just make people smile by making balloons float, it’s actually pretty useful, but for being the second most abundant element in the universe, there isn’t much of it on earth.
As long as helium is still here people will get a kick out of inhaling it and talking like chipmunks at parties. I used to love doing this when I was younger until I learned it can be dangerous if you inhale too much. I never understood why, because helium is a non-toxic gas. It turns out if you inhale too much helium you won’t get enough oxygen and suffocate. Taking helium directly from the tank can also cause lung damage. If your inhaling from balloons, there may be other stuff your inhaling that can cause damage to your body.
I hope the world is not completely drained of helium anytime soon. Parties wouldn’t feel right without balloons floating around. I still think it’s fascinating that we mine for helium. The concept of digging for gas is still hard to wrap my head around. Either way whenever I hear about pressure vessels I always think of helium tanks. This is most likely because helium tanks are the only pressure vessels i know of that I’ve had any interaction with.

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Pros and Cons of Fluidized Beds

IQS Newsroom — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 18:18:05 +0000

The purpose of a fluid bed dryer is to make a solid behave as a fluid. This is usually accomplished by introducing pressurized fluid through the particulate medium. After this, the medium will have many similar characteristics and properties as fluids, such as the ability to free-flow under gravity. One of the several applications fluidized beds are utilized for is chemical reactors. Some advantages of using a fluidized bed include uniform particle mixing and temperature gradients. Unlike pack beds that have poor mixing, fluidized normally allows for a more uniform product compared to other reactor designs. The reactor can also operate at a continuous state with a fluidized bed.
There are a few disadvantages to using fluidized beds. Due to the expansion of the materials in the reactor, the size of the vessel must be increased, which leads to a higher initial capital cost. Also, because the fluidized material is solid, this leads to some erosion of the components inside. The method is also quite complete and there is a lack of understanding of behaviors of the materials. However, research is underway in an effort to gain more knowledge on the process.

Advantages of Fluidized Dryer

● High rates of moisture removal due to an excellent gas-particle constant which results in high heat and mass transfer rates.
● High thermal efficiency is usually achieved if part of the thermal energy for drying is supplied by the internal heat exchanger
● Lower capital and maintenance cost
● Reduced contact time for drying.
● Ease of control.

Disadvantages of Fluidized Dryer

● High pressure drops results as a result of the need to suspend the entire bed in the gas which equally leads to high energy consumption.
● Requires increased gas handling due to extensive recirculation of exhaust gas for high thermal efficiency operation.
● Poor fluidization and low flexibility especially if the feed is too wet.
● Not the best choice of equipment when organic solvents need to be removed during drying.
● Non-uniform product quality for certain types of fluidized bed dryer.
● Entertainment of fine particles.
● High potential for attrition; and in some cases agglomeration of fine particles.
● The conventional hot air fluidized bed dryer is not a good choice of dryer when handling toxic or flammable solids since there is the danger of fire or explosion of flammability limits are exceeded.
Fluidized beds, or fluid bed dryers, are utilized in a number of different industries including agricultural, food, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries for agglomerates and powders. It is a faster option for drying materials than batch drying. A continuous stream of material enters the tank as the dried product makes its exit. Coal power plants sometimes use fluidized bed systems which can captures sulfur pollutants to burn coal more efficiently. The mixture of the goal and gas will enable combustion without releasing nitrogen oxide.

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Heat Exchangers: Paper and Pulp Applications

IQS Newsroom — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 14:28:00 +0000

Certain industries benefit more then others from specific industrial products or machines. Heat exchangers are pretty popular across the board, but are absolute essentials for the paper industry. Without heat exchangers, paper mills would have exceedingly high energy costs, which is bad for the environment as well as the purse size of the paper companies. There are a couple ways that the paper and pulp industry utilize heat exchangers, both of which are financial boosts, eco-friendly, efficient and effective methods.
In essence, the paper process, beginning with wood pulp processing and refining and then going into the bleaching and cleaning before the paper formation, is all done with heat exchanger help. Specifically, plate heat exchangers are used to heat the liquids used to create pulp from wood, a process involving chemical compounds that pull apart the wood structure, leaving a goopy like substance that can be formed into paper after more processing. Secondary processes involve bleaching or dying the pulp, which is a process also heated by plate or spiral heat exchangers. After the desired color is achieved, the pulp becomes paper by way of a paper machine, which knits the pulp into thin webs that form sheets. During which all the moisture is removed and some style of blower is utilized to dry it out completely.
One part of the paper machine also uses a type of heat exchanger known as a waste heat recovery system, which is one of the ways that heat exchangers are able to save companies energy, resources and money. A waste heat recovery machine is able to absorb the heat and moisture in a room to be reused without putting a greater strain on the energy source that usually provides air and water for the paper making process. In essence it is a recycling system that has no down side.

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6 Types of Industrial Ovens

IQS Newsroom — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 18:36:35 +0000

Industrial ovens are a necessary part of many different factory processes. Ovens are used to cure, bake, cook, dry, heat, and perform many other functions in factories. An industrial oven is usually created for a specific purpose, such as a large bread oven or ceramic-drying oven. In general, ovens cannot switch functions. In the industrial world, there are six different types of ovens that help facilitate industrial processes on a large scale. These ovens include:
Baking ovens: A baking oven is used for baking. A baking oven can combine the functions of a drying and curing oven, creating a chemical reaction inside the oven until a desired temperature is reached. Baking ovens can also remove moisture from an object. Baking ovens are usually used in the food production industry.
Drying ovens: A drying oven simply removes the moisture from an object through heat. Drying ovens are used to dehydrate products, cure ceramics, and dry paint.
Curing ovens: A curing oven is used to cure a material and transform it into another texture or hardness. Curing ovens are commonly used for curing ceramics and creating powder coatings.
Clean room ovens: A clean room oven is a unique form of oven that heats objects to a specified temperature to kill off contaminants. A clean room oven is often used in industries were any contamination can ruin the production, such as in the production of camera lenses, semiconductor manufacturing, and in biotechnology processing.
Batch ovens: A batch oven is a large oven that has a walk-in feature. During baking, objects are rolled into the oven on wheeled carts or other containers. These ovens are often used for curing meats, cooking baked goods on a large scale, or curing paint on different industrial products.
Continuous ovens: A continuous oven is an oven that a conveyor passes through on the way to another production line. The continuous oven heats whatever passes under to remove moisture, cook the material, or cure a coating.

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Baking Oven: The Mass Production of Food

IQS Newsroom — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 17:49:12 +0000

Having worked in the food service department of a college as a sous chef and a caterer I have had my fair share of experiences with industrial ovens that were made for baking. Making massive amounts of food for hungry college students requires a series of very large baking ovens that are designed with numerous racks so more then one thing can be cooked or baked at once. That is why an industrial baking oven can also be known as a batch oven. Regardless of what it is called, a baking oven in a commercial context such as a school or a catering business is used for the mass production of food and therefore must live up to the same sorts of standards imposed on other industrial machines.
The precision and perfection required of manufacturing machines such as hydraulic presses and robotic automation machines are not standards one would immediately assign to industrial ovens. However, a baking oven in a large commercial context does need to be incredibly dependable. The type of heat needs to be consistent, uniform and precisely the same as the temperature knobs dictate, and cooking or baking quickly is more important in these contexts since the mass production of food means hunger needs to be purged immediately.
Portable ovens are another style of baking oven used in the mass production of food. In a catering situation, it may be that most of the food is nearly cooked before hand then sent in a hot box to the event location where it is completed in portable ovens so the food is served perfectly prepared and steaming. When dealing with food in mass quantities, but still living up to a certain standard of excellence, these are things that must be considered. A baking oven in a restaurant, catering service, bakery or school setting will always have a lot of demands and must be well manufactured to meet them.

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How to Clean Your Sandblasting Cabinet

IQS Newsroom — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 19:04:03 +0000

Sandblasting cabinets keep your workspace clean as you blast away rust, paint, dirt, and other contaminants from the surface of an object. But after blasting these materials away, what happens to them? The particles can build up inside your cabinet, making the inside a contaminated environment that can scratch and damage delicate materials and objects. The best way to ensure the quality of your materials is to routinely clean out the inside of your cabinet to remove unwanted contaminants and keep the cabinet clean between each use.
Remove all blasting media from the inside of the cabinet with a small brush. Dispose of the used media. Some media is reusable, but most media dulls after the first use and does not perform as well in future uses. If your media is reusable, rinse it with water and use a degreasing cleaner to remove any other unwanted dirt from the surface of the media. Allow the media to dry completely before using it again.
Use a scrub brush to clean out the walls of the cabinet with degreasing cleaner. Do not use a soap cleaner, as this can cause unwanted soap build-up inside the cabinet.
Rinse the cabinet with water and a soft cloth until the water runs clear. Allow the unit to dry completely before using it again with other blasting media. Clean the outside of the unit with the same degreasing cleaner to avoid dust and grease build-up on the outside of the cabinet.
If you maintain your sandblasting cabinets, they will last for many years and provide outstanding results every time. This is one easy way to prevent unnecessary mistakes while sandblasting while keeping the safety of the operation uppermost. A clean blasting cabinet is a safe and effective blasting cabinet that will produce perfect results every time.

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