The chemical process industries require a ton of exact and accurate mixing.  The success of mixing can make or break production.  When applications do not have accurate mixing it lowers the process development, decreases the yields of production, and negatively impacts the bottom line.  The industry is looking to also reduce energy requirements and find static mixers that can give the best mixing while improving efficiency.

What is a Static Mixer?

A static mixer is a condensed piece of equipment that is a motionless mixer.  It is an energy-efficient solution for mixing fluids to produce a homogenous output.  Because the static mixer has no motors, no moving parts, and no auxiliary power, it eliminates maintenance and downtime within the process.

How do Static Mixers Work?

The most common mixing apparatus is the agitated tank, which is used to accomplish a diverse array of process objectives.  The agitators use rotating impellers to produce flow in the material to be mixed.  On the other hand, static mixers consist of stationary elements that are placed in a conduit to obstruct and direct the flow that is driven by another device, usually a pump.  These stationary elements induce motion in the flowing fluid that is a function of element design and vary according to flow regime and process objectives.

Static Mixers Versus the Competition

Static Mixers are best when they are used for continuous processes.  The biggest competition to static mixers is stirred tanks.  However, in order to meet the requirements, we discussed above in the chemical process industry static mixers outshine the competition.

Static Mixers can mix within minutes whereas a tank can take several hours or days in some instances.  For products that degrade over time tanks are not the optimum choice, making static mixers a high-demand product.  Also, the blending of materials throughout a tank takes more time.  Thus, making it difficult to achieve a good blend when rapid mixing is a requirement.

Rapid mixing is important when reactions are being carried out.  Static mixers can meet the needs and achieve blending in seconds when possible.  This speed is a huge determining factor for the chemical process industry.

In stirred tanks, it imparts energy to the agitated material through rotating impellers. They typically occupy a small fraction of the vessel volume.  This creates a broad dissipation rate in the impeller zone, being orders of magnitude higher than the lowest energy dissipation rates.  While static mixers occupy a significant portion of the conduit volume and provide a drastically more uniform energy dissipation rate.

Improving on Traditional Mixers

Komax has improved upon the traditional static mixers with a more efficient model that is based on advancing technology.  They have created the Triple Action Static Mixer with its three-step design.  There are three distinctive types of mixing from two-by-two divisions, cross-current mixing, and counter-rotating vortices, and back-mixing.

You can apply the Triple Action Static Mixer to applications involving heavy slurries and pastes to the mixing of low-viscosity materials like water additives.  It gives uniform temperature and predictable blending for all applications across industries.

Komax can customize the design based on diameter, metals, ports, connections, and neck flanges to fit any industrial production line.  If you have specific needs, give our engineers, a call to create a solution for your facility.  We have over 100,00 installations worldwide, helping plants get quality products that are accurate and efficient. Get your quote today!