Friday, July 15, 2011

How Is Inline Mixing Different Than Static Mixing

By Adriana Noton


When the first chemicals were mixed, the procedure was made manually and the results were usually not too good. There was always some inconsistency in the emulsion resulted from the combination. Now, using inline mixing, the combining of chemical substances offers better results. With the use of computerized machines, a lot of money can be saved in production and transportation. The first machines that were used were static mixers. After some time, combining chemicals became an automated technique and the production time was decreased.

Emulsions contain water in a high amount, reaching even ninety percent sometimes. It may not be enough just to have better blending, as these diluted chemicals occupy very much space and they usually generate various issues. Some problems are related to transportation, as the emulsions can degrade during transports.

Because it may be too expensive to transport chemical substances, many companies that have high amounts of liquids to manage, may choose to store them for long periods of time. If the liquids stay for too much time in the same place, the environment created can be a good one for bacteria growth. In order to avoid the development of microorganisms, the scientists have decided to implement technologies that are used in the textile industry, such as static mixing or inline mixing.

Static mixers are not having moving parts, and this may be a great advantage. In 1960, the first static mixer was created. The device decreases the particle size to a point in which the particles create a strong connection together, that usually resists in time. In order to reach a certain particle dimension, the parts can be divided many times. The baffles are the tools that help in the division of streams. When the parts are small enough, they can connect, forming a consistent mix.

Continuous blend or inline mixing was first used around 1990. Being made from a static mixer that is implemented into an automated machine, it also has an automated pump and one or more flowmeters.

The parts needed for the system to work are usually chosen according to the number of chemical substances that have to be mixed and according to the volume needed. In the textile industry and not only in it, the components that have to be contained by an inline mixer are: static mixers, mass flowmeters, inline heaters, progressive cavity pumps and programmable logic controllers.

Mass flowmeters manage the quantity of each substance that is pumped for mixing and they can also offer valuable information like temperature or density. Progressive cavity pumps can help in the movement of the mixed chemicals. The products that can be handled by a progressive cavity pump are numerous, as they can be from abrasive materials to different liquids.

Because of a new technology, inline mixer mixing is an automated operation and it can be used for creating combined chemical substances. In comparison with the old static mixers, the automated devices are more efficient and they make better emulsions. However, a static mixer can be a part of an inline system.




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