Silverson Machines offers the widest capacity range from a single manufacturer, providing mixing solutions from laboratory mixers through to full scale production machines capable of processing volumes of up to 30,000 litres. This product line includes a range of in-tank, top-entry mixer models, supplied with interchangeable rotor/stator workheads, allowing one mixer it to be used on a wide variety of different products.
In contrast to conventional stirrers and agitators, which are limited to performing simple tasks such as blending liquids of similar viscosities and maintaining in-tank uniformity, a Silverson Batch mixer can be used for a range of applications and processes. These mixers are able to eliminate agglomerates and fish eyes, create stable emulsions and suspensions, reduce particle size and rapidly dissolve solids. Each mixer, with its precision-engineered Silverson rotor/stator workhead, far outperforms conventional mixers, cutting processing times by up to 90%, improving quality, product consistency and process efficiency.
The option of a mobile hydraulic floor stand further increases the flexibility of these mixers, allowing them to be moved from vessel to vessel.
As well as cutting processing times, Silverson Batch mixers can help to cut processing costs in various ways depending on the application. For example a Silverson Batch mixer can produce a 66 Brix sugar solution at ambient temperature, so there is no need to heat the water. When processing Resins, liquid and powdered resins can be easier to dissolve than solid or chip forms but are very costly. With a Silverson Batch mixer, solid resins can be rapidly solubilised at ambient temperature.
Full yield can be achieved when mixing gums and thickeners, as the Batch mixer draws powders, even those that tend to raft on the surface of the liquid, down into the rotor/stator workhead, which rapidly hydrates and disperses them before agglomerates can form. Filtration stages can be eliminated, allowing products to be reformulated with reduced gum content.
Batch mixers can also be used for the reclamation of waste material such mis-shapen sweets that need to be disintegrated and re-dissolved so that the sugar can be reclaimed and reused. Silverson mixers are widely used for this application and can efficiently disintegrate and dissolve individual sweets or clumps of product that have stuck together.
Other reclaim applications include chocolate, rubbers, polymers, paper and even excess pasta.
A food manufacturer recently purchased 3 Silverson Batch mixers to rework their excess pasta product. The company was keen to save money and also try to reduce the amount of waste they were creating so began looking for ways to reincorporate some of the waste product into new batches. As the pasta was still in its fresh form it could be reworked into subsequent batches.
Silverson performed a demonstration for the customer using the Batch mixer to create a slurry from the waste pasta, which could be used in new batches of product up to 5% of the total batch. By using this method the company was able to reduce costs on raw materials and eliminate the cost of having waste product taken away. The costs were reduced significantly enough that it was forecast the Batch mixers purchased would pay for themselves through savings made within 2 years.
Silverson Batch mixers can be supplied as stand-alone mixers for a vast array of applications, completing the entire mixing process. But for some more complex applications, where sub-micron particles sizes are required, a Silverson Batch mixer can be beneficial when used as a preliminary processing step before colloid mills and/or high pressure homogenisers. Where Batch mixers are used as the preliminary processing stage, they will uniformly disperse and reduce materials down to a small, uniform particle size to help prevent equipment blockages further down the processing line.
For in-tank mixing applications which are beyond the capabilities of a conventional agitator or stirrer but do not necessarily require the intense high shear of a rotor/stator Batch mixer, Silverson also have a solution. The Silverson Ultramix, a single-shaft, single-piece mixing head design. The highly efficient in-tank movement provided by the small diameter workhead is capable of moving the entire contents of vessels. This powerful vortex can rapidly incorporate large volumes of powders making the Ultramix ideal for rapidly wetting out gums & thickeners or other shear sensitive ingredients.
Along with the standard Top-entry Ultramix mixer, this model can also be supplied as a Bottom Entry unit, designed to fit into the bottom or side of a mixing vessel. The Silverson Bottom Entry range is especially useful for applications with low liquid volumes in the formulation as well as ultra-hygienic applications in the pharmaceutical and food industries.
As well as the range of top and bottom entry In-tank mixers, the Silverson product range includes Laboratory, Pilot Scale, In-Line and Powder/Liquid mixers. To find out more about the entire Silverson product range visit: www.silverson.co.uk or contact sales@silverson.co.uk
