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By Professor Alvin W. Nienow, PhD, DSc, CEng, CSci, FIChemE, FREng.
"The advantages of using the rotary jet head mixing system in the food industry is clear"
Professor Alvin W. Nienow from University of Birmingham, who is internationally recognized for his work concerning mixing, has become aware of the advantages of the ISO-MIX Mixing Technology.
"At anything except the smallest scale, it is very difficult to achieve good mixing by the use of rotating stirrers without introducing baffles, vertical strips placed in the vessel to prevent gross swirling, known as vortexing, of the liquids. However, if cleaning-in-place is required, such baffles make the job very difficult. With the ISO-MIX rotary jet head mixing system baffles are not used and good mixing without vortexing is achieved. They are also ideal for cleaning-in-place since they were developed for mixing from that original area of application and indeed have been extensively used in the food industry for that purpose.", he says and concludes: "The advantages of using the rotary jet head mixing system in the food and related industries, where good mixing with easy and effective cleaning-in-place is required, is clear."
As a professor of chemical engineering who has taught short courses on mixing for industry for many years as well as acting as a consultant, I know that one of the biggest dilemmas for those in the process industries needing to achieve good mixing by the use of rotating stirrers, even of miscible liquids, arises when high levels of cleanliness are also required. At anything except the smallest scale, it is very difficult to achieve good mixing by the use of rotating stirrers without introducing baffles, vertical strips placed in the vessel to prevent gross swirling, known as vortexing, of the liquids. Without baffles, there is poor top to bottom flow and the power needed to be put into the liquid if good mixing is to be achieved, is strictly limited if the sucking in of air/gas from above the surface of the liquid is to be avoided. However, if cleaning-in-place is required, such baffles make the job very difficult. This dilemma is very acute in the food industry. Cleaning-in-place is very common and the use of baffles is rare, therefore. Certainly, if used, it is generally with reluctance. With the ISO-MIX rotary jet head mixing system, baffles are not used and good mixing without vortexing is achieved, very similar to that obtained by rotating agitators with baffles in low to medium viscosity fluids. They are also ideal for cleaning-in-place since they were developed for mixing from that original area of application and indeed have been extensively used in the food industry for that purpose. The ISO-MIX rotary jet head system is a new mixing concept but the element of randomness introduced by the motion of the fluid jets as they emerge from the jet head suggests that the concept should give other advantages. The circulation by pump also offers certain possibilities for enhanced mixing, including multi-phase flows, which require further development. However, the advantages of using the rotary jet head mixing system in the food and related industries, where good mixing with easy and effective cleaning-in-place is required, is already clear.
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