PARTICLE TECHNOLOGY

Final Assignment

M. Talha Azhar
Registration # (2019-Ch-18)
B.Sc. Chemical Engineering

February 27, 2020

University of Engineering and Technology, Multan

 Mixing of Solids:
“The intermingling of two or more Phases is
known as mixing.”
The mixing of solids, whether free flowing or cohesive,
resembles to some extent the mixing of low-viscosity liquids. Both
processes intermingle two or more separate components to form a
more or less uniform product. Some of the equipment normally used
for blending liquids may, on occasion be used to mix solids.

Mechanisms of Mixing:
Lacey (1954) identified three mechanisms of powder mixing:
(1) Shear mixing.
(2) Convective mixing.
(3) Diffusive mixing.

Mixing of Solids:
Achieving good mixing of particulate solids of different size and
density is important in many processes for example in
Pharmaceuticals.
 It is more art than science.
 One can never achieve perfect mixing unlike that in fluid phase.
 In the mixing of solid particles, the following three
 Mechanisms may be involved:
– Convective mixing, in which groups of particles are moved
from one position to another,
– Diffusion mixing, where the particles are distributed over a
freshly developed interface, and
 – Shear mixing, where slipping planes are formed.
 A trough mixer with a ribbon spiral involves almost pure
convective mixing, a simple barrel-mixer involves mainly a form
of diffusion mixing and a shear hoppers involves shear mixing.

Both the requirements of the mixing device and the properties

of desired material vary widely from one problem to another.
 Sometime a very high degree of uniformity is required
 Sometime a rapid mixing action is necessary
 Sometime a minimum amount of power is needed.

The performance of an industrial mixer is judged by:

 The time required
 The power load
 The properties of the product.

Types of Mixers:
a. For paste and heavy material;
– Kneader mixer
– Mixing rolls
– Muller mixer
– Pug mill
– Dispersers

b. For granular solids;

– Paddle mixer
– Ribbon mixer
– Tumbling mixer
– Internal screw mixer
– Impact wheel
1. Kneader mixer:
 Two arm kneader handles suspensions, pastes and light plastic
masses. Kneading is a method of mixing used with deformable
solid or pastes.
 It involve squashing the mass flat, holding it over itself and
squashing it once again.
 Sometime kneading machine tear the mass apart and shear it
between the moving blade and stationary surface.
 Material to be kneaded is dropped into trough and mixed for 5 –
20 minutes. Sometime the mass is heated while in the machine.
Trough is often unloaded by tilting it so that it content spill out.
 In many kneader mixer trough is open.
Kneading –“squashing the mass flat, folding it over on itself and
squashing it once more”.
 Also tear the mass apart and shear it between a moving blade and
stationary surfaces.
 For deformable and plastic solids.
 Large energy requirement

2. Peddle mixer:

a. Working Principle;

Among Horizontal Mixers, Paddle Mixers are widely used in

applications where small amounts of liquid additives are mixed into
raw materials. Its high-speed choppers and twin shafts result in
excellent homogeneity in the finished product. Paddle mixers meet
the needs of high output, large scale mixing of raw materials.
 b. Construction;
 The Twin Shaft Paddle Mixer is a batch powder mixer within two
parallel drums with counter-rotating overlapping shafts that are
equipped with paddles fixed at a predetermined angle with a high
mixing efficiency.
 Paddles have close tolerances to the troughed walls and provides a
region of low shear force near the walls. Bulk blending and
Dispersive mixing, regardless of density or particle size, is handled
gently with the Twin Shaft Paddle mixer.
 Paddle Mixer consists of drive unit, vessel, double shaft paddles,
choppers and discharge system etc.

c. Applications;
It has a vast application in the following industries,
 Chemical
 Pharmaceuticals
 Food
 Pesticide
 Pigment & Dye
 Cosmetics
 Animal Feed
 Metallurgy
 Battery
 Construction Material
 Ceramic Powder
 Mining Industry
 Coffee mixture
 Baby food
3. Ribbon mixer:
 Ribbon mixers are very widespread in process industries for
bulk solids dry mixing.
 Although other mixers designs exist which are over-performing
ribbon blenders in some areas (mixing speed, hygienic
design...), ribbon blenders are still a very simple and robust
solution to mix dry materials offering decent mixing
performances which are sufficient for many applications.
 It is not rare to have 40-50 years old industrial ribbon blenders
in factories, still perfectly operational. Many manufacturers
propose industrial ribbon blenders, from few hundreds liters to
several cubic meters.

a. Working Principle;
I. Ribbon blenders are convective mixers: The mixture movement
is forced by the rotation of the ribbon which is circulating the
product in 2 directions: the ribbon is actually made in 2 parts, 1
external ribbon circulates the product in 1 direction while
another ribbon located inside the 1st one moves the product in
the other direction (it can be possible to have even more
complex profiles to attempt optimizing the mixing efficiency and
thus the mixing time).
II. By mixing enough time, those 2 axial movement, coupled with
some radial movement (blades "cutting" the material when
rotating), will allow to reach the required degree of
homogeneity. The twist of the helix must be studied by the
manufacturer so that the direction in which the outer ribbons is
pushing is towards the outlet valve of the mixer, if it is not the
case, good discharging rate of the mixer cannot be achieved.

b. Applications;
 Blending large volumes of dry solids.
 Dry powder to wet phase mixing.
 Mixing of bulk drugs, chemicals, and cosmetic powders.
 Dry Blending of capsule formulations.
4. Tumbling Mill:
In this type of mixer movement of whole mixer is responsible for
mixing of solids.

a. Working principle;
1. Closed vessel rotating about its axis.
2. Shape of vessels include v mixer, double cone, rotating cube.
3. Mechanism is diffusion mixing.
4. Quality of mixture is limited
5. Baffles may be installed in an attempt to reduce segregation.

b. Applications;
1. Food products
2. Milk powder
3. Coffee
4. Dry flavors
5. Ceramics Powders
6. Pigments
 5. Internal Screw Mixer:

a. Construction;
 Internal screw mixture is made up of carbon steel. Mixture casing
is vertical tank containing helical conveyors.
 Mixture inside shaft is required its rotating in forward or backward
directions. And outside casing is fixed. It also consists of an inlet
and outlet valve.
 Helical shaft is connected with the motor which allows it to rotate.
Shaft is very close to the conical container which allows effective
mixing.
 Two types of mixing phenomena are involved: extensive mixing
and intensive mixing.
 Extensive (also known as distributive) mixing is responsible for
spatial distribution of the individual particles within the
polymeric matrix.
 a. Working principle;
 Internal mixers are designed to provide intensive and extensive
mixing. Intensive mixing occurs in the narrow gap formed
between the rotor tip and the mixing chamber wall.
 The mixture is repeatedly passed through this high shear field
where fluid mechanical stresses separate and rupture
agglomerates; dispersive forces are similar to those in a two-roll
mill. Extensive mixing takes place between the rotors: the mixture
is circulated from side to side and from one end of the mixer to
the other after passing through the shear zone.
 Energy dissipation from intensive mixing results in heating of the
mixture.

 This heat is removed through the walls of the mixing chamber, the
rotor bodies, and other contact parts (ram, discharge door, etc.)
through cooling channels. The effective heat transfer of internal
mixers can be the limiting factor to intensive work, since discharge
temperatures cannot exceed the critical temperature of the
mixture, which is determined, for example, by thermal breakdown
of organic phase, onset of undesirable reactions (e.g., cross-
linking), or the decrease of continuous-phase viscosity to a point
where dispersion cannot proceed. Poor heat transfer will cause
these temperature limits to be reached before dispersion is
complete.
 6. Impact wheel:
 The Cyclonic high-shear impact mixer is a
revolutionary high-speed, intensive paddle
mixer and agglomerator that has been
specially designed for cohesive powders
with liquids or melt binders.
 It also handles pastes, slurries and liquids
with varying characteristics with ease due to
its combination of high-shear and high-
impact forces. This high shear impact
mixer offers a high level of homogeneity in
the end product, such as frequently
demanded by the food-, chemical-, plastic-,
toner-, mineral-, cosmetic- and
pharmaceutical industry.

a. Construction;
 The mixing vessel is conical
shaped and has a central rotor
which rotates at a speed up to 30
m/s. The speed of the rotor creates
centrifugal forces that push the
product to the vessel wall where the
shape of the vessel causes an
upward movement. The cover
guides the product towards the
center of the mixer and at the top,
an impact blade efficiently disperses cohesive powders and liquids.
 High degree of liquid dispersion and agglomerate size
homogeneity can be achieved in the Cyclonic with ultra-short
processing times.
 It creates a high-shear field along the wall which leads to rapid
build-up of agglomerates and the impact blade controls the
maximum agglomerate size.

b. Working Principle;
 Impact wheel has a stationary shell which is made up of thick steel,
the impact wheel rotor is at center of shell which collects the feed
from the inlet and then vigorously mixes the material.
 Due to rotation of wheel the material mixes and sometimes gets
grinded.
 Impact wheel contains the hammer connected to the wheel.

7. Change Can Mixer:

 Impact wheel has a stationary shell which is made up of thick
steel, the impact wheel rotor is at center of shell which collects
the feed from the inlet and then vigorously mixes the material.
 Due to rotation of wheel the material mixes and sometimes gets
grinded.
 Impact wheel contains the hammer connected to the wheel.

a. Types;
The types of change can mixers are,
1. Pony mixer
2. Beater mixer

Pony Mixers;
 Agitator consists of vertical blades held on rotating head positioned
near the wall of the can
 Agitator is slightly mounted eccentrically, Can rest on a turn table
driven in direction opposite to that of agitator.
 Blades are slightly twisted. When mixing is completed blades are
cleaned and can is replaced.
 Beater Mixer;
 Can or vessel is stationary
 Agitator has a planetary motion
 Visits all parts of vessel
 Beaters are shaped to pass with close clearance over the side and
bottom of mixing vessel

8. Muller Mixer:
a. Construction;
Mulling is the rubbing action similar to that in motor and
pestle.
 b. Working Principle;
 In this particular design of Muller the pan is stationary causing
the central vertical shaft is driven, causing the Muller wheel to
roll in a circular path over the layer of solid or paste on the pan
floor.
 The rubbing action results from the slip of wheel on the solid.
 Plow guided the solid under the Muller wheel or to the opening
in the pan floor at the end of cycle when the mixture is being
discharged.

9. Masticators:
a. Construction;
A masticator is heavier in construction, and draws more
power than a kneader mixer. It can disintegrate scrape rubber and
compound the tough plastic masses that can be worked at all.
Masticators are often called Intensive mixer.

b. Working Principle;
In all these machines, the mixing is done by two heavy blades
on parallel horizontal shafts turning in a short trough with a saddle-
shaped bottom. The blades turn towards each other at the top,
drawing the mass downward over the point of saddle, then shearing
it between the blades and wall of the trough.
The circles of rotation of the blades are usually tangential, so
that the blades may turn at different speed in any desired ratio.
Material, to be kneaded or worked is dropped into the trough and
mixed for 5 to 20 minutes or longer

10. Dispersers:
a. Construction;
A disperser is also very heavy in construction, and draws even
more power than a kneader; it works additives and coloring agents
into stiff materials. It also can disintegrate scrape rubber and
compound the tough plastic masses that can be worked at all.
 b. Working Principle;

This is a heavy duty two arm mixer, in which the
agitators are in the form of interrupted spirals. The shafts turn at 30-
40 rev/min. Solids are charged in from above and held in the trough
during mixing by an air-operated piston under a pressure of 1-10
atm. Mixed materials are discharged through a sliding door in the
bottom of the trough. The heat generated is removed by cooling
water sprayed on the walls of the mixing chamber and circulated
through the hollow agitated shafts.

11. Mixer-Extruders:
 The discharge of continuous kneader is restricted by covering
it with an extrusion die.
 Pitched blades of the rotor build up considerable pressure in
the material.
 Material is cut and folded and subjected to additional shear
 Contain one or two horizontal shafts.
 Heating jacket is provided.
 a. Working Principle;
If the discharge opening of the continuous kneader is
restricted by covering it with an extrusion die, the pitched blades of
the rotor build up considerable pressure in the material. The mix is
cut and folded while in the mixing chamber and subjected to
additional shear as it flows through the die.

12. Mixing Rolls:


 Smooth metal rolls at variable speeds.
 For pastes and deformable solids to intense shear.
 3 to 5 horizontal roll in vertical stack.
 Material moves from slower to faster ones.
 Batch roll mills has two rolls set in horizontal plane and require
long mixing time and attention.
 Used for dispersing solids in rubber and plastic materials.

a. Applications;
– Chemical
– Pharmaceuticals
– Food
– Pesticide
– Pigment & Dye
– Cosmetics
– Animal Feed
– Metallurgy
– Battery
– Construction Material
Crystallizers:
Formation of solid particles within a homogeneous phase.

Types of Crystallizer;
 Vacuum crystallizer.
 Crystal crystallizer
 Swenson walker crystallizer.
 Double pipe color crystallizer.
 Wolf bock crystallizer
 Tank crystallizer.

1. Vacuum Crystallizer:
Vacuum crystallizer operate on the principle of
“Adiabatic boiling” wherein the feed liquor is exposed to high
vacuum resulting in evaporation and cooling of the liquor. The
concentrated liquor is fed to the continuous crystallizer in an acidic
or alkaline condition.

a. Explanations;
 Vacuum crystallizer may be continuous or batch.
 The batch vacuum crystallizer is particularly useful when
processing material that tend to grow on the walls of continuous
crystallization equipment.
 Vacuum crystallizer use a condenser with a booster to maintain
a vacuum inside the crystallizer body. This vacuum makes it
possible to generate a supersaturated solution when very low
operating temperature are needed.
 The crystallizer body can be seen on the left, with the condenser
and booster slightly above and to the right of it.

b. Uses;
– To produce Gabber’s salt at a mineral plant.
2. Swenson-Walker Crystallizer:
Swenson walker crystallizer is a continuous type crystallizer
designed to make the large uniform crystals. This operation involves
both heat and mass transfer. It works on principle of super saturation
by cooling.

a. Principle;
It works on principle of super saturation by cooling. A very
common type of continuous crystallizer using cooling alone to bring
about supper saturation is the Swenson-walker crystallizer.
 b. Construction;
 It consists of U-shaped open through with a semi cylindrical
bottom.
 A water jacket welded to the outside of trough.
 A slow speed, long pitch, spiral agitator running at about 7 RPM
and set as close to bottom of the trough as possible.
 Water jacket is divided into section so that differential cooling
may be used in the various zones.

c. Advantages;
– Less floor space is required
– Saving labor.
– Continuous process
– Crystals of uniform size.

Disadvantages;
– Scraper may break crystal to the little extent due to agitation.

3. Tank Crystallizer:
Simple stirred batch reactor.

a. Advantages;
For pharmaceuticals, where uniform, well-defined crystals are
important. High value, low volume products.

b. Disadvantages;
 Labor is costly
 Longer time