High viscosity mixers are mixers designed for mixing materials with laminar mixing processes because the ingredients have such high

viscosities Viscosity is a measure of a fluid's rate-dependent resistance to a change in shape or to movement of its neighboring portions relative to one another. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of ''thickness''; for example, syrup h ...

that a turbulent mixing phase cannot be obtained at all or cannot be obtained without a high amount of heat. The process can be used for high viscosity liquid to liquid mixing or for paste mixing combining

liquid Liquid is a state of matter with a definite volume but no fixed shape. Liquids adapt to the shape of their container and are nearly incompressible, maintaining their volume even under pressure. The density of a liquid is usually close to th ...

and

solid Solid is a state of matter where molecules are closely packed and can not slide past each other. Solids resist compression, expansion, or external forces that would alter its shape, with the degree to which they are resisted dependent upon the ...

ingredients. Some products that may require laminar mixing in a high viscosity mixer include putties,

chewing gum Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its tex ...

, and

soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

s. The end product usually starts at several hundred thousand

centipoise The poise (symbol P; ) is the unit of dynamic viscosity (absolute viscosity) in the centimetre–gram–second system of units (CGS). It is named after Jean Léonard Marie Poiseuille (see Hagen–Poiseuille equation). The centipoise (1 cP = ...

and can reach as high as several million centipoise. Typical mixers used for this purpose are of the Double Arm, Double Planetary or Planetary Disperser design. Models are built to include many features such as

vacuum A vacuum (: vacuums or vacua) is space devoid of matter. The word is derived from the Latin adjective (neuter ) meaning "vacant" or "void". An approximation to such vacuum is a region with a gaseous pressure much less than atmospheric pressur ...

and jacketing to remove air and to control the temperature of the mixture. Capacities are available from 1/2 pint to several thousand gallons. High Viscosity Mixing - Technical Paper
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References

{{Reflist Industrial equipment Industrial machinery Plastics industry Rotating machines

See also

References