High Shear Mixers

High shear mixers are used for the mixing, emulsifying, homogenizing, dispersing and disintegrating of solids and liquids in the chemical, cosmetic, food, pharmaceutical and related industries. High shear mixers are normally used when two liquids or a solid and a liquid do not naturally mix together or when the solid part requires some particle size reduction.

There are generally two types of high shear mixer a batch high shear mixer and an inline high shear mixer. The batch high shear mixers consist of a motor and shaft to which a high shear workhead is fitted. The high shear batch mixer can be suspended over a vessel using a hydraulic floor stand or alternatively permanently mounted to a vessel. The batch mixers can come with a range of interchangeable workhead and screens which offers great versatility when mixing a number of different products. The batch high shear mixer workhead comprises of a rotor that rotates at high speed within a stationary stator or screen. The high speed rotation exerts a powerful suction, drawing liquid and solid materials upwards from the bottom of the vessel into the centre of the workhead. Centrifugal force then drives the material towards the periphery of the workhead where a milling action occurs between the ends of the rotor and the inner wall of the stator. This is followed by an intense hydraulic shear as the material is forced at high speed out through the perforations in the stator. The materials from the head are projected rapidly at high speed towards the sides of the mixing vessel. This process continues hundreds of times until the batch has been homogenized. The advantage of this type of mixer is that it rapidly reduces process times and is so versatile it can be adapted to perform the widest range of mixing applications.

The inline high shear mixer consists of a motor and housing with an inlet and outlet in which the high shear workhead is located. The high shear inline mixer is connected to the process via pipework either as sanitary screw or flanged fittings. The high speed rotation of the rotor blades within the workhead exerts a powerful suction which draws liquid and solid materials into the mixer via the inlet. The centrifugal force then drives material towards the periphery of the workhead where they are milled between the ends of the rotor blades and the inner wall of the stator. This is followed by an intense hydraulic shear as the materials are forced at high speed out through the perforations in the stator, then through the outlet and along the pipework. Fresh material is continuously drawn into the workhead, maintaining the mixing and pumping cycle. Just like the high shear batch mixer the inline comes with a range of interchangeable workheads and screens.

There are also a number of different variations of inline mixers these include multi purpose inline mixer, multishear mill and a jacketed inline mixer. The advantages are the same as the high shear batch mixer the only difference is that the high shear inline mixer offers a continuous process rather than a batch process.

Manufacturers of industrial high shear mixers include Silverson, Greaves, Moritz, Premier colloid mills, Ross, Quadro Ytron, IKA and many more.