Horizontal Cooling Mixers are primarily used in the processing of rigid and flixible pvc. They are used to rapidly cool hot dry-blend material that is mixed in a High Intensity Mixer. They are a high efficiency, batch type, cooling mixer. A cooling jacket is installed with flow bars for proper channeling of chilled water for quick and uniform cooling of the dry-blend. The end plates of the cooler are also jacketed providing additional cooling surface area. All product contact areas such as the inner shell, the lid, the shaft, and the paddles are of stainless steel.
Chill water is circulated around the cylinder, end plates, and lid of the unit. The water is usually mixed with a glycol solution so that the chill water can be circulated at temperatures below 32F. The lower the temperature of the circulated chill water, the faster the heat-transfer rate from the dry-blend material. Once the dry-blend is cooled down to its discharge temperature, it is pneumatically conveyed to storage silos before being processed.
Horizontal Cooling Mixers are usually used in conjuction with High Intenisty Mixers in Automated Blending Systems to properly optimize a plants blending efficiency.
There are horizontal mixers spread throughout many industries. Most are manufactured with a U-Tough design and are mixed with the use of single armed paddles. The single paddled arms agitate the material and are typically driven with a small horse power motor. The tip speed of the paddle is usually at 2 to 3 meters/second. At this speed, material is tumbled and folded onto itself. Due to the single paddled arms and the smaller associated motor, the mixing time can take up to 15-20 minutes dependent on the unit’s size.
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In a Reliance Industries unit that is manufactured with a cylindrical design the material is mixed with cross-flow paddles. The arms extend the full length of the mixers diameter and have paddles on both ends. The cross-flow paddles cover the entire length of the mixer twice. In order to mix the material properly within the cylinder a higher horsepower motor is used to create a forced fluid bed in the mixer. This produces a homogeneous blend of ingredients that may have different particle sizes and different specific gravitates in a short time without an appreciable rise in temperature. The cylindrical design and close clearance between the blade and the mixer body insures there are no “dead spots” in the mixer. Material is typically mixed in 3-5 minutes.
High Intensity Mixers are primarily used in the processing of plastics, toners, and color concentrates. The mixers are a batch style unit that consist of a vertical bowl, a bottom entry drive shaft for the mixing tools, lid, bottom side discharge, and a motor.
The interior of the bowl, tools, and lid are made of Stainless Steel construction to prevent in deterioration caused by the product. All areas not in contact with the product are made out of a mild steel construction. The tools that mix the material are belt driven by pulleys that are mounted with the drive and driven shafts. High Intensity Mixer manufacturers such as Reliance Industries, Inc. size their units from 4L lab units to 2000L production units. The units come with many easy clean and maintenance friendly features.
The mixing tools fluidize the material in the mixer. Material is brought up to proper temperature due to the forced vortex motion of the material and the subsequent friction. When material has reached its proper state it is discharged from the bowl through a pneumatically actuated discharge chute.
In an Automated Blending System, as is found in many PVC Pipe and Siding manufacturing plants, the High Intensity Mixer in conjunction with High Efficiency Cooler form the heart of the process.
