EP1273340A1 - Soupape d'homogénéisation avec élément intermédiaire rotatif - Google Patents

Soupape d'homogénéisation avec élément intermédiaire rotatif Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1273340A1
EP1273340A1 EP02077806A EP02077806A EP1273340A1 EP 1273340 A1 EP1273340 A1 EP 1273340A1 EP 02077806 A EP02077806 A EP 02077806A EP 02077806 A EP02077806 A EP 02077806A EP 1273340 A1 EP1273340 A1 EP 1273340A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
fluid
seat element
intermediate seat
homogenization
elements
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP02077806A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP1273340B1 (fr
Inventor
Jan Schol
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Stork Food and Dairy Systems BV
Original Assignee
Stork Food and Dairy Systems BV
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Stork Food and Dairy Systems BV filed Critical Stork Food and Dairy Systems BV
Publication of EP1273340A1 publication Critical patent/EP1273340A1/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP1273340B1 publication Critical patent/EP1273340B1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
    • B01F25/00—Flow mixers; Mixers for falling materials, e.g. solid particles
    • B01F25/40—Static mixers
    • B01F25/44—Mixers in which the components are pressed through slits
    • B01F25/441—Mixers in which the components are pressed through slits characterised by the configuration of the surfaces forming the slits
    • B01F25/4412—Mixers in which the components are pressed through slits characterised by the configuration of the surfaces forming the slits the slits being formed between opposed planar surfaces, e.g. pushed again each other by springs
    • B01F25/44121—Mixers in which the components are pressed through slits characterised by the configuration of the surfaces forming the slits the slits being formed between opposed planar surfaces, e.g. pushed again each other by springs with a plurality of parallel slits, e.g. formed between stacked plates
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
    • B01F25/00—Flow mixers; Mixers for falling materials, e.g. solid particles
    • B01F25/40—Static mixers
    • B01F25/44—Mixers in which the components are pressed through slits
    • B01F25/442—Mixers in which the components are pressed through slits characterised by the relative position of the surfaces during operation
    • B01F25/4423—Mixers in which the components are pressed through slits characterised by the relative position of the surfaces during operation the surfaces being part of a valve construction, formed by opposed members in contact, e.g. automatic positioning caused by spring pressure
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
    • B01F27/00—Mixers with rotary stirring devices in fixed receptacles; Kneaders
    • B01F27/27—Mixers with stator-rotor systems, e.g. with intermeshing teeth or cylinders or having orifices
    • B01F27/271—Mixers with stator-rotor systems, e.g. with intermeshing teeth or cylinders or having orifices with means for moving the materials to be mixed radially between the surfaces of the rotor and the stator
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
    • B01F35/00—Accessories for mixers; Auxiliary operations or auxiliary devices; Parts or details of general application
    • B01F35/30—Driving arrangements; Transmissions; Couplings; Brakes
    • B01F35/32—Driving arrangements
    • B01F35/32005—Type of drive
    • B01F35/32015—Flow driven

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a homogenization valve for the homogenization of a fluid.
  • the homogenization valve disclosed in this publication comprises a housing in which a treatment area is provided, in which area several annular seat elements, stacked on top of one another, have been placed.
  • the seat elements comprise central holes that together form an internal chamber, which is connected to a fluid inlet. Passage gaps that are in fluid communication with the internal chamber are left clear between the wall surface parts of opposite seat elements situated furthest inwards.
  • Each passage gap opens into an annular groove that is cut into a central part of the wall surfaces of the opposite seat elements.
  • the annular grooves of all seat elements together are in communication with each other by means of ports in the groove walls, and are in fluid communication with a fluid outlet. Homogenization of the fluid occurs substantially in the passage gaps, through which the fluid is passed at high speed.
  • a homogenization valve according to the preamble of claim 1 is known from DE-C-227 225.
  • This document discloses a homogenization device having multiple lenses grinded on each other. Two different types of lenses can be distinguished, namely inner and outer lenses, which are mounted one after the other in an alternating arrangement in an cutout of a mouthpiece. The inner lenses are mounted on a spindle. The spindle can be rotated by means of a separate turbine-like device and can thereby cause the inner lenses to rotate as well. The turbine-like device can be rotated by the fluid which is to be homogenized.
  • a drawback thereof is that the operation is unsatisfactory. Providing a separate turbine-like device as well as a drive spindle renders the homogenization device expensive and complex. Furthermore a drawback is that the lenses are not free to assume their optimal position during operation of the device or to rotate at their own optimum speed. A constant gap height between the lenses is thus often not present.
  • the object of the present invention is to overcome the abovementioned disadvantages at least partially or provide a useful alternative, and in particular to provide an efficiently operating homogenization valve with a long service life, and by means of which a very high degree of homogenization can be achieved.
  • the homogenization valve in this case comprises a first seat element, a valve element, and at least one intermediate seat element situated between them.
  • the seat elements together bound a feed-through channel that connects to a fluid inlet or fluid outlet.
  • the seat elements and the valve element have the freedom relative to each other during operation, as a result of fluid pressure, to produce homogenization passage gaps between the opposite elements.
  • the passage gaps are in fluid communication with the fluid inlet, on the one hand, and with the fluid outlet, on the other hand.
  • the at least one intermediate seat element is rotatably mounted, in other words it has the freedom to rotate about its axis relative to the elements situated below and above it.
  • drive wall parts are provided on the rotatable intermediate seat element, which at least partly extend under such an angle with respect to the direction of the flow of the passing fluid that a fluid flow that during operation flows along the drive wall parts of the rotatably mounted intermediate seat element sets said intermediate seat element in the abovementioned rotating motion.
  • the rotation of the intermediate seat element advantageously ensures stabilization of said intermediate seat element relative to the elements situated below and above it. Chattering is consequently prevented in an efficient manner. Any unevenness in the wall surfaces of the elements that bound the passage gaps is automatically evened out as a result of the rotation.
  • the substantially constant gap height ensures a considerable increase in the quality of the homogenization.
  • the rotation of the seat element itself contributes to an improvement of the homogenization treatment. Rotational forces are exerted upon the fluid flowing through the passage gap and ensure that the fluid is better homogenized. This makes it possible to use a smaller housing to obtain a certain production capacity, or to achieve a higher production capacity.
  • the rotation of the intermediate seat element is achieved by providing the rotatably mounted intermediate seat element with drive vanes, each provided with at least one drive wall part directed at an angle relative to the direction of flow of the fluid flowing along.
  • the fluid flowing along will cause the intermediate seat element to rotate to the left or to the right.
  • means can also be provided for making the fluid flow in a whirling manner along the rotatably mounted intermediate seat element.
  • An example is spiral-shaped grooves in housing walls of the homogenization valve. The whirling of the fluid flow will exert forces upon the rotatably mounted intermediate seat element and cause the latter to rotate.
  • the drive wall parts are in particular provided on an outer peripheral wall of the rotatably mounted intermediate seat element. This has the advantage that it does not impede the ingoing fluid flow and consequently does not adversely affect the homogenization treatment.
  • the drive wall parts can be provided on one or both wall surfaces of the rotatably mounted intermediate seat element bounding the passage gaps.
  • the drive wall parts can be provided on an inner peripheral wall of the rotatably mounted intermediate seat element.
  • At least two rotatably mounted intermediate seat elements are provided, in which case the fluid flow during operation makes the intermediate seat elements rotate in opposite directions.
  • This can be achieved by making the drive wall parts on the one intermediate seat element slant towards the one side relative to the direction of flow of the fluid and making the drive wall parts on the other intermediate seat element slant towards the other side relative to the direction of flow of the fluid.
  • the opposed directions of rotation help to achieve a further improvement of the homogenization treatment and a further increase in the production capacity.
  • the seat elements have the same or different speeds of revolution relative to each other, for example by varying the number, the slanting position and/or the positioning of the drive wall parts.
  • the invention also relates to a method for operating a homogenization valve according to claim 9.
  • a housing of the homogenization valve is indicated by the reference numeral 1.
  • a first seat element 2 and a valve element 3 are accommodated in the housing 1.
  • An intermediate seat element 5 is situated between the first seat element 2 and the valve element 3.
  • the first seat element 2 and the intermediate seat element 5 together bound a centrally situated feed-through channel 7, which is connected to a fluid inlet.
  • the valve element 3 is provided with a stepped conical recess with a maximum diameter that is substantially equal to the minimum diameter of the feed-through channel 7.
  • a space 8 is left clear in the housing 1, which space is connected to a fluid outlet.
  • each passage gap 10 On the inside each passage gap 10 is in fluid connection with the fluid inlet by way of the feed-through channel 7, and on the outside is in fluid connection with the fluid outlet by way of the chamber 8.
  • the intermediate seat element 5 is rotatably mounted, in other words it has the freedom, without significant forces having to be exerted upon it, to rotate about an axis 12 relative to the first seat element 2 and relative to the valve element 3.
  • the freedom to rotate in the case of the embodiment shown is related to the freedom to produce passage gaps 10 at the top and bottom side as a result of fluid pressure.
  • the intermediate seat element 5 is ultimately, as it were, in a suspended floating position, balancing between fluid flows at the top and bottom side between the first seat element 2 and the valve element 3.
  • the intermediate seat element 5 is provided with drive vanes 15.
  • the drive vanes 15 are provided both on the bottom and on the top wall surface of the intermediate seat element 5.
  • each of the drive vanes 15 is provided with an upright drive wall surface that is disposed at an angle relative to the radial. Said slanting drive wall surfaces ensure that a fluid flowing out of the passage gaps 10 at high speed during operation pushes the vanes 15 aside and makes the intermediate seat element 5 rotate relative to the first seat element 2 and the valve element 3.
  • the intermediate seat element 5 is preferably designed with a diameter that is greater than that of the first seat element 2 and the valve element 3.
  • the drive vanes 15 are provided here on the outermost wall surface parts of the intermediate seat element 5 that extend past the passage gaps 10. This has the advantage that the homogenization process in the passage gaps 10 is subject to little or no influence from the play of forces occurring between the outgoing fluid flow and the drive vanes 15.
  • the intermediate seat element 5 is bounded laterally by an outer ring 18, a small space being left free between the ring 18 and the intermediate seat element 5. This gives the intermediate seat element 5 to some extent the freedom while already rotating to seeks its optimum position between the elements 2, 3 situated above and below it, in other words the position at which the top and bottom passage gaps 10, viewed over the entire periphery, have substantially an equal gap height. A sort of fluid bearing can also occur between the outer ring 18 and the intermediate seat element 5.
  • Three holes 19 are provided in the outer ring 18, which holes open into a space behind the outer ring 18. Fluid emerging from the bottom passage gap 10 does not flow directly upwards, but passes through the holes 19 into the space behind the outer ring 18, and flows from there upwards into the chamber 8 in the direction of the fluid outlet.
  • the homogenization valve comprises a housing 41 containing a first seat element 42, a valve element 43, and an intermediate seat element 45 situated between them.
  • the first seat element 42 is provided with a number of feed-through channels 47, which are situated around a central axis of the homogenization valve and are in communication with a fluid inlet.
  • a chamber 48, surrounding the elements 42, 43, 45 is provided in the housing, which chamber 48 is connected to a fluid outlet 49.
  • homogenization passage gaps 50 can be produced between the elements 42, 43, 45.
  • the first seat element 42 comprises an integral upward-projecting shaft part 51, around which the intermediate seat element 45 is freely rotatably mounted.
  • the intermediate seat element 45 is provided with six feed-through channel apertures 53.
  • a collision plate 55 is provided around the intermediate seat element 45, which collision plate 55 reinforces the homogenization effect during operation by the fact that fluid flowing out of the passage gaps 50 collides with said plate.
  • the collision plate 55 also ensures that the fluid coming out of the bottom passage gap 50 flows in the direction of the fluid outlet 49.
  • the intermediate seat element 45 is provided with drive vanes 58 on its outside peripheral edge. Said drive vanes 58 are mounted at an angle relative to the vertical. The fluid flowing out of the bottom passage gap 50 is then forced to pass the drive vanes 58. The forces occurring in the process cause the intermediate seat element 45 to rotate about the shaft pin 51.
  • Fig. 6 shows a variant of an embodiment of an intermediate seat element 60, which can be used, for example, in the homogenization valve in Fig. 4.
  • the intermediate seat element 60 is again provided on its outside with drive vanes 61.
  • the innermost part of the intermediate seat element 60 is, however, left fully clear in this case.
  • This element 60 is designed to function without bearing around a central bearing pin, and to centre itself during operation.
  • the homogenization valve comprises a first seat element 70, an intermediate seat element 71 and a valve element 72 whose inside peripheral edges are chamfered at the position of homogenization passage gaps 73 situated between them.
  • the chamfers together ensure that during operation, in other words under the influence of fluid pressure, and in particular under the influence of fluid that is forced through the passage gaps, a centring in the horizontal plane of the rotatably mounted intermediate seat element 71 is promoted.
  • Fig. 8 shows a variant of self-centring with a first seat element 80, an intermediate seat element 81, and a valve element 82, in which the opposite wall surfaces of the elements 80, 81 and 82 are mounted at an angle relative to the horizontal.
  • This slanting arrangement of the passage gaps 83 also promotes self-centring of the intermediate seat element 81.
  • the intermediate seat element 81 for example, slip to the left, then the gap height of the passage gaps 83 would immediately become smaller on this left side, while the gap height of the passage gaps 83 would immediately become larger on the right side. This will cause the flow resistance of the fluid through the left part of the passage gaps 83 to become greater than that on the right side, which in turn results in the intermediate seat element 81 being pushed to the right.
  • the valve element can be vertically adjustable, so that the heights of the passage gaps can be varied.
  • the drive wall parts can also form part of cavities or grooves that are provided in the rotatable intermediate seat element.
  • a very efficiently working homogenization valve with one or more intermediate seat elements, rotating in opposite directions or in the same direction, is provided.
  • the homogenization valve advantageously combines a high homogenization production capacity with very good quality of homogenization. Thanks to the automatic self-centring of the freely rotatably mounted intermediate seat elements, there is no longer any question of noise nuisance as a result of chattering of the intermediate seat elements. Wear is consequently considerably reduced, as a result of which an advantageous extension of the service life is achieved.

Landscapes

  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Dispersion Chemistry (AREA)
  • Lift Valve (AREA)
  • Multiple-Way Valves (AREA)
  • Centrifugal Separators (AREA)
EP02077806A 2001-07-06 2002-07-08 Soupape d'homogénéisation avec élément intermédiaire rotatif Expired - Lifetime EP1273340B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
NL1018487A NL1018487C2 (nl) 2001-07-06 2001-07-06 Homogenisatieklep met verdraaibaar tussenzittingselement.
NL1018487 2001-07-06

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1273340A1 true EP1273340A1 (fr) 2003-01-08
EP1273340B1 EP1273340B1 (fr) 2007-09-12

Family

ID=19773687

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP02077806A Expired - Lifetime EP1273340B1 (fr) 2001-07-06 2002-07-08 Soupape d'homogénéisation avec élément intermédiaire rotatif

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1273340B1 (fr)
AT (1) ATE372823T1 (fr)
DE (1) DE60222331T2 (fr)
NL (1) NL1018487C2 (fr)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
ITPR20090023A1 (it) * 2009-04-01 2010-10-02 Bertoli S R L Valvola di omogeneizzazione
US10151398B2 (en) * 2013-10-21 2018-12-11 Gea Mechanical Equipment Italia S.P.A. Homogenizing valve for removing fibers from fibrous fluids

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE277225C (fr) *
US2057925A (en) * 1935-07-10 1936-10-20 Union Steam Pump Company Viscolizer valve
US4199267A (en) * 1977-09-20 1980-04-22 Imperial Group Limited Treatment of slurries and liquids

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE277225C (fr) *
US2057925A (en) * 1935-07-10 1936-10-20 Union Steam Pump Company Viscolizer valve
US4199267A (en) * 1977-09-20 1980-04-22 Imperial Group Limited Treatment of slurries and liquids

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
ITPR20090023A1 (it) * 2009-04-01 2010-10-02 Bertoli S R L Valvola di omogeneizzazione
US10151398B2 (en) * 2013-10-21 2018-12-11 Gea Mechanical Equipment Italia S.P.A. Homogenizing valve for removing fibers from fibrous fluids

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP1273340B1 (fr) 2007-09-12
DE60222331D1 (de) 2007-10-25
NL1018487C2 (nl) 2003-01-10
DE60222331T2 (de) 2008-06-19
ATE372823T1 (de) 2007-09-15

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