Static mixers are a brilliant example of an industrial tool in which incremental innovation has produced major benefits in a whole host of industrial processes, delivering precision and consistent quality.
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1. Precise and continual mixing
Static mixing is a key process for extruded and injection moulded products because the mixers combine gas streams and fluids in very precise amounts using a continuous mixing process. Products that have to be kept in a certain state until they are used are particularly suitable for static mixing. That’s why you find these mixers in a huge range of applications including chemical processing, sealants and adhesives. They’re also used in the treatment of wastewater and many other contexts.
2. Consistently homogenised materials
Inline static mixers can deliver two more major benefits. The first is consistency and the second is homogenisation, which is the process by which two or more substances that wouldn’t naturally dissolve into each other are broken down into smaller particles so that they become one emulsified substance. We are used to hearing of this in homogenised milk, but it features in many other food industry and industrial processes as well. The mixer can create mixtures that have the desired texture, colour, temperature and ingredient ratio as well as the right viscosity, and the mixers can also produce much finer emulsions. It’s part of the reason that the food industry can deliver such consistent products to supermarkets and consumers.
3. Controlled application process
In many static mixers, the actual mixing process takes place in a small piece of pipe. This enables the mixture’s ratio or ingredients to be changed very rapidly and efficiently. In a large conventional mixer, on the other hand, you might have to empty the container and adjust the ingredients.
4. Precisely shaped mixers give greater control
Because inline static mixers like those at https://www.statiflo.com/ can be shaped exactly as required for even the most precise application, they can give much greater control and a tighter seal.
5. Static mixers make compliance easier
When a static mixer is used, it’s much easier to meet industry standards on reaction, absorption and heat transfer. This makes them reliable and adaptable to a large number of applications. This means that compliance can be achieved more affordably and consistently than with other mixing methods.