EP3421120B1 - Mélangeur à rotor double face et méthode de mélange - Google Patents

Mélangeur à rotor double face et méthode de mélange Download PDF

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Publication number
EP3421120B1
EP3421120B1 EP18174436.8A EP18174436A EP3421120B1 EP 3421120 B1 EP3421120 B1 EP 3421120B1 EP 18174436 A EP18174436 A EP 18174436A EP 3421120 B1 EP3421120 B1 EP 3421120B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
rotor
openings
stator
food product
protrusions
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.)
Active
Application number
EP18174436.8A
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German (de)
English (en)
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EP3421120A1 (fr
Inventor
Thomas PERMIN
Palle Bach JENSEN
Frederik LARSEN
Hans Henrik Mortensen
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.)
Tetra Laval Holdings and Finance SA
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Tetra Laval Holdings and Finance SA
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Publication of EP3421120A1 publication Critical patent/EP3421120A1/fr
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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
    • 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
    • B01F27/2711—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 provided with intermeshing elements
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01F—MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING OR DISPERSING
    • B01F2101/00—Mixing characterised by the nature of the mixed materials or by the application field
    • B01F2101/06—Mixing of food ingredients

Definitions

  • the invention relates to an apparatus and a method for mixing fluid food products.
  • the apparatus has two stators and a rotor that is positioned between the stators.
  • mixers for efficiently combining different ingredients.
  • the mixers come in different forms and have different advantages.
  • One type of mixer is the high shear mixer, which may be used in wide range of applications from mixing whole tomatoes into a tomato paste to mixing milk powder and water into recombined milk.
  • the high-shear mixers may be used for mixing ingredients that would normally be immiscible.
  • a high-shear mixer based on the rotor-stator principle this can be made possible by that a disc-shaped rotor is rotating with respect to a stator such that flows with different velocities are formed at different distances from a center of the disc-shaped rotor, in small gaps that are formed between the rotor and the stator.
  • the different velocities give rise to a shear, which provides for that ingredients can mix more efficiently. Due to the shear formed in high-shear mixers it is also possible to efficiently create e.g. emulsions and suspensions.
  • the apparatus comprises a housing provided with an inlet and an outlet, a first stator and a second stator that are fixedly arranged in the housing, and a rotor rotatably arranged in the housing and positioned between the first stator and the second stator, such that a first fluid path is formed between the first stator and a first side of the rotor, and a second fluid path is formed between the second stator and a second side of the rotor. Openings are provided in the rotor, such that the openings form a fluid channel between the first side and the second side of the rotor.
  • the openings are advantageous in that a flow of food product may be efficiently distributed on both sides of the rotor. This facilitates even distribution of pressure levels on both sides of the rotor, which achieves a better balanced rotor that can be run at higher speeds to thereby increase the apparatus' mixing capacity.
  • the rotor may be, with respect to the openings, rotationally balanced, which further improves the balancing of the rotor.
  • the rotor comprises a hub connected to a rotational axle of the apparatus, a section that surrounds the hub and which comprises protrusions that face the first and the second stators, and connecting portions that are formed between the openings in the rotor and which connect said section to the hub.
  • the connecting portions may in one embodiment be seen as spokes that connect said section to the hub, i.e. the connection portions may be spoke-like connectors.
  • the connecting portions have a radial extension that is at least 25% of a radius of the rotor.
  • the connecting portions and the openings are located within a ring shaped area of the rotor, the openings having a total area that constitutes at least 25% of the ring shaped area.
  • the protrusions may comprise a set of peripheral protrusions that are located at periphery of the rotor, the set of peripheral protrusions being separated, as seen in a tangential direction of the rotor, by a number of gaps, and the openings may have a total area that is larger than a total area of the gaps.
  • the first flow path may be formed from the inlet, between the first stator and a first side of the rotor, and to the outlet.
  • the second flow path may be formed from the inlet, through the openings in the rotor, between the second stator and a second side of the rotor, and to the outlet.
  • the openings may be given a size that allows, of a total amount of fluid food product that is fed through the apparatus from the inlet to the outlet, between 40% and 60% of said total amount of fluid food product to pass through the first fluid flow path. The remaining amount of the fluid food product then passes through the second fluid flow path.
  • the apparatus may further comprise a chamber that is located adjacent the second side of the rotor to receive fluid food product that flows through the openings.
  • the chamber has, as seen in an axial direction of the rotor, a depth that is larger than a height of protrusions that are arranged on the second side of the rotor to face the second stator.
  • a method for mixing a liquid food product by using an apparats according to the first aspect which apparatus may include any of the features described above.
  • the method comprises: feeding the liquid food product into the apparatus via an inlet; transferring the liquid food product through a first gap formed between by a first side of a rotor provided with protrusions and a first stator provided with protrusions; transferring via openings in the rotor a second portion of the liquid food product through a second gap formed between a second side of the rotor provided with protrusions and a second stator provided with protrusions; forming a mixed liquid food product by collecting a first mixed portion from the first gap and collecting a mixed second portion of the food product from the second gap; and feeding out the mixed liquid food product via an outlet.
  • a total area of the openings in the rotor may be chosen such that hydrodynamic forces from the first gap and the second gap are balanced in an axial direction of the rotor.
  • Fig. 1 illustrates an apparatus 100 for mixing liquid food products.
  • the apparatus 100 has a motor 101 that is connected to a housing which in the illustrated embodiment comprises a front cover 102a, a main cover 102b and a back cover 102c.
  • the covers 102a-102c are attached to each other by bolts to form the housing.
  • Product can be fed into the apparatus via an inlet 104, which is located in a center portion of the front cover 102a. After being mixed the product is fed out from the apparatus 100 via an outlet 106 that is located in the main cover 102b.
  • first stator 108a and a second stator 108b are provided inside the housing.
  • the first and the second stator 108a, 108b are provided with protrusions 110a, 110b, also known as teeth or blades, facing in directions towards each other.
  • a rotor 112 is provided between the first and second stator 108a, 108b .
  • the rotor 112 has protrusions 114a on a first side 116 that are arranged to interact with the protrusions 110a of the first stator 108a.
  • Protrusions 114b are arranged on a second side 118 of the rotor 112 to interact with the protrusions 110b of the second stator 108b.
  • the rotor 112 is be provided with openings 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, 120e.
  • Fig. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the apparatus 100 in further detail. Because the openings 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, 120e provide for that the product can move from the first side 116 to the second side 118 of the rotor 112, mixing will occur in a first gap 122 and a second gap 123 that are located on each side of the rotor 112, between the rotor 112 and the respective stator 108a, 108b.
  • a first part of the product that enters the inlet 104 moves from the inlet 104 to the outlet 106 along a first flow path 124.
  • a second part of the product that enters the inlet 104 moves along a second flow path 126.
  • the first and second flow paths 124,126 follow each other from the inlet 104.
  • the first flow path 124 continuous in the first gap 122.
  • the second flow path continuous thorough the openings 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, 120e and into the second gap 123.
  • the protrusions 110a of the first stator 108a, the protrusions 110b of the second stator 108b and corresponding protrusions 114a, 114b of the rotor 112 may all have the same height H, different heights on the first side 116 and the second side 118 is an option.
  • a chamber 127 is arranged on the second side 118 of the rotor 112, around a center portion of the rotor 112.
  • a depth D of this chamber 127 may be greater than the height H of the protrusions 114a, 114b.
  • a drain outlet 105 is located at a lowermost side of the main cover 102b.
  • the drain outlet is sealed by a valve (not shown) during operation of the apparatus 1. This valve is opened when the apparatus shall be drained from liquid, for example during service and maintenance.
  • Fig. 3a illustrates a front view of the first side 116 of the rotor 112 and Fig. 3b illustrates a perspective view of the rotor 112.
  • the rotor 112 is in use attached to an shaft 107, which in turn is connected to the motor 101 such that the rotor 112 rotates around its rotational axis R (see Fig. 2 ) when the motor 101 is started.
  • the rotor 112 has a hub 128 that is connected to the shaft 107. As illustrated in Fig. 3a and Fig. 3b , the hub 128 may be provided with a recess such that it can be assured that the rotor 112 does not slide with respect to the shaft 107 during rotation.
  • the rotor 112 is secured to the shaft 107 by a bolt.
  • the protrusions 114a, 114b of the rotor 112 are located on an outer part of the rotor 112, at section 130.
  • the hub 128 and the section 130 are joined to each other via connecting portions 132a, 132b, 132c, 132d, 132e.
  • These connecting portions 132a, 132b, 132c, 132d, 132e are separated by the openings 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, 120e.
  • the rotor 112 illustrated in Fig. 3a and Fig. 3b is a disc-shaped rotor with a radius R1.
  • the hub 128 is enclosed within an area defined by a circle with radius R3.
  • the section 130 can be defined as a ring-shaped area that has outer radius R1 and an inner radius R2.
  • An area A in which the openings 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, 120e and the connecting portions 132a, 132b, 132c, 132d, 132e are located is here a ring-shaped area that is defined by an outer radius, here R2, and an inner radius, here R1.
  • the connecting portions 132a, 132b, 132c, 132d, 132e may, as illustrated in Fig. 3a and 3b , have a spoke-like shape that connects the section 130 with the protrusions 114a, 114b to the hub 128.
  • the protrusions 114a on the first side 116 of the rotor 112 have at a periphery 134 of the rotor 112 peripheral protrusions 136a, 137a that are, as seen in a tangential direction T of the rotor 112, separated by gaps 138a.
  • the protrusions 114b of the second side 118 of the rotor 112 have at the periphery 134 of the rotor 112 peripheral protrusions 136b, 137b that in the tangential direction T are separated by gaps 138b.
  • a total area of the openings 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, 120e may be greater than a total area of all peripheral gaps 138a, 138b on the rotor 112.
  • the total area of the gaps is the sum of all peripheral gaps on the rotor 112.
  • the total area of the openings is the sum of the aeas A1, A2, A3, A4, A5 of all openings.
  • the rotor may, with respect to the openings 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, 120e, be rotationally balanced.
  • connecting portions 132a, 132b, 132c, 132d, 132e may have a radial extension R2-R3 that is at least 25% of the radius R1 of the rotor. The radial distance is then calculated as the radius R2 minus the radius R3.
  • the openings 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, 120e may have a total area A1+A2+A3+A4+A5 that constitutes at least 25 % of the area A of a ring in which the openings 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, 120e and the connecting portions 132a, 132b, 132c, 132d, 132e are located.
  • the area A is calculated as the area of a circle with the radius R2 minus the area of a circle with the radius R3.
  • the openings 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, 120e may be given a size that allows, of a total amount of fluid food product that is fed through the apparatus from the inlet 104 to the outlet 106, between 40% and 60% of said total amount of fluid food product to pass through the first fluid flow path 124. The remaining amount of the fluid food product then passes through the second fluid flow path 126.
  • a separating wall between the periphery of the rotor 112 and the outlet 106 may be arranged, so that two separate streams from a respective side of the rotor 112 is received. By measuring the flow rate of the separate streams, for different areas of the openings, the appropriate area may then be empirically determined. Conventional calculations using dynamic fluid principles may also be used for determining the area.
  • Fig. 4a illustrates a front view the second stator 108b and Fig. 4b illustrates a perspective view of the second stator 108b.
  • the first stator 108a may be identical to the second stator 108b.
  • the stators 108a, 108b are fixedly attached to the housing 102a, 102b, 102c.
  • Fig. 5 provides a flowchart 500 of a method for mixing a liquid food product using for instance the apparatus 100 illustrated in Fig. 1 .
  • the liquid food product is fed 502 into the apparatus 100 via the inlet 104.
  • the feeding may be accomplished by any suitable pump, and the apparatus is then, at the inlet 104 and the outlet 106, connected to conventional liquid source respectively liquid recipient.
  • a first portion of the liquid food product is transferred 504 through the first gap 122 formed by the first side 116 of the rotor 112 provided with the protrusions 114a and the first stator 108a provided with the protrusions 110a. This effects mixing of the first portion of the liquid food product.
  • a second portion of the liquid food product is transferred 508 via the openings 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, 120e, and further through the second gap 123 formed by the second side 118 of the rotor 112 provided with the protrusions 114b and the second stator 108b with protrusions 110b. This effects mixing of the second portion of the liquid food product.
  • a mixed liquid food product is then formed 512 by collecting the first (now mixed) portion outside the first gap 122 and the second (now mixed) portion of the food product outside the second gap 123.
  • the mixed liquid food product is fed 514 out via the outlet 106.
  • a total area of the openings 120a, 120b, 120c, 120d, 120e in the rotor 112 and a total area of the gaps 138a, 138b of the rotor 112 may be chosen such that the hydrodynamic forces from the first gap 122 and the second gap 123 are balanced in an axial direction D1. This choice may be accomplished by running rotors with different total areas of the openings and by observing any vibrations. It can then be empirically determined which area is most suitable, i.e. which gives the smallest amount of vibrations.

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Mixers Of The Rotary Stirring Type (AREA)

Claims (8)

  1. Appareil (100) destiné à mélanger des produits alimentaires fluides, l'appareil (100) comprenant
    un carter (102a, 102b, 102c) pourvu d'une entrée (104) et d'une sortie (106),
    un premier stator (108a) et un deuxième stator (108b) qui sont disposés de façon fixe dans le carter (102a, 102b, 102c), et
    un rotor (112) disposé avec faculté de rotation dans le carter (102a, 102b, 102c) et positionné entre le premier stator (108a) et le deuxième stator (108b), de telle sorte qu'un premier chemin de fluide (124) est formé entre le premier stator (108a) et un premier côté (116) du rotor (112), et un deuxième chemin de fluide (126) est formé entre le deuxième stator (108b) et un deuxième côté (118) du rotor (112),
    des ouvertures (120a-120e) sont ménagées dans le rotor (112), de telle sorte que les ouvertures (120a-120e) forment un canal de fluide entre le premier côté (116) et le deuxième côté (118) du rotor (112), le rotor (112) comprenant
    - un moyeu (128) raccordé à un axe de rotation (107) de l'appareil (100),
    - une section (130) entourant le moyeu (128) et comprenant des saillies (114a, 114b) qui font face aux premier et deuxième stators (108a, 108b), et
    - des parties de raccordement (132a-132e) qui sont formées entre les ouvertures (120a-120e) dans le rotor (112) pour raccorder ladite section (130) au moyeu (128), caractérisé en ce que
    les parties de raccordement (132a-132e) ont une extension radiale (R2-R3) qui représente au moins 25 % d'un rayon (R1) du rotor (112), et
    les parties de raccordement (132a-132e) et les ouvertures (120a-120e) sont situées à l'intérieur d'une zone en forme d'anneau (A) du rotor (112), les ouvertures (120) ayant une superficie totale (A1-A5) qui constitue au moins 25 % de la zone en forme d'anneau (A).
  2. Appareil (100) selon la revendication 1, dans lequel le rotor (112) est, par rapport aux ouvertures (120a-120e), équilibré en rotation.
  3. Appareil selon la revendication 1 ou 2, dans lequel
    les saillies (114a, 114b) comprennent un ensemble de saillies périphériques (136a, 136b) qui sont situées à une périphérie (134) du rotor (112), les saillies de l'ensemble de saillies périphériques (136a, 136b) étant séparées, vues dans une direction tangentielle (T) du rotor (112), par un certain nombre d'espaces (138a, 138b), et
    les ouvertures (120a-120e) ont une superficie totale (A1-A5) qui est plus grande qu'une superficie totale des espaces (138a, 138b).
  4. Appareil selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel
    le premier chemin d'écoulement (124) est formé depuis l'entrée (104), entre le premier stator (108a) et un premier côté (116) du rotor (112), et jusqu'à la sortie (106), et
    le deuxième chemin d'écoulement (126) est formé depuis l'entrée (104), à travers les ouvertures (120a-120e) dans le rotor (112), entre le deuxième stator (108b) et un deuxième côté (118) du rotor (112), et jusqu'à la sortie (106).
  5. Appareil selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel on donne aux ouvertures (120a-120e) une taille qui permet, sur une quantité totale de produit alimentaire fluide que l'on fait avancer à travers l'appareil de l'entrée (104) à la sortie (106),
    à 40 % à 60 % de ladite quantité totale de produit alimentaire fluide de passer à travers le premier chemin d'écoulement de fluide (124),
    tandis que la quantité restante du produit alimentaire fluide passe à travers le deuxième chemin d'écoulement de fluide (126).
  6. Appareil selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, comprenant une chambre (127) qui est située au voisinage du deuxième côté (118) du rotor (112) pour recevoir un produit alimentaire fluide qui s'écoule à travers les ouvertures (120a-120e), la chambre (127) ayant, vue dans une direction axiale (D1) du rotor (112), une profondeur (D) qui est plus grande qu'une hauteur (H) de saillies (114b) qui sont disposées sur le deuxième côté (118) du rotor (112) pour faire face au deuxième stator (108b).
  7. Procédé destiné à mélanger un produit alimentaire liquide au moyen d'un appareil (100) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, le procédé comprenant
    l'introduction (502) du produit alimentaire liquide à l'intérieur de l'appareil (100) par l'entrée (104),
    le transfert (504) d'une première portion du produit alimentaire liquide à travers un premier espace (122) entre le premier côté (116) du rotor (112) et le premier stator (108a) pour effectuer un mélange,
    le transfert (508), par les ouvertures (120a-120e) dans le rotor (112), d'une deuxième portion du produit alimentaire liquide à travers un deuxième espace (123) entre un deuxième côté (118) du rotor (112) et un deuxième stator (108b) pour effectuer un mélange,
    la formation (512) d'un produit alimentaire liquide mélangé par collecte de la première portion depuis le premier espace (122) et collecte de la deuxième portion depuis le deuxième espace (123), et
    l'extraction (514) du produit alimentaire liquide par une sortie (106).
  8. Procédé selon la revendication 7, dans lequel une superficie totale des ouvertures (120a-120e) dans le rotor (112) est choisie de telle sorte que des forces hydrodynamiques dans les espaces (122, 123) entre le rotor (112) et les stators (108a, 108b) sont équilibrées dans une direction axiale (D1) du rotor (112) .
EP18174436.8A 2017-06-30 2018-05-25 Mélangeur à rotor double face et méthode de mélange Active EP3421120B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP17179143 2017-06-30

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP3421120A1 EP3421120A1 (fr) 2019-01-02
EP3421120B1 true EP3421120B1 (fr) 2021-08-18

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EP18174436.8A Active EP3421120B1 (fr) 2017-06-30 2018-05-25 Mélangeur à rotor double face et méthode de mélange

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EP (1) EP3421120B1 (fr)
CN (1) CN209715009U (fr)
ES (1) ES2896922T3 (fr)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102019102585A1 (de) * 2019-02-01 2020-08-06 Ystral Gmbh Maschinenbau + Processtechnik Rotor für eine Vorrichtung zum Mischen von Pulver und Flüssigkeit und Vorrichtung zum Mischen von Pulver und Flüssigkeit

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE1144235B (de) * 1951-06-06 1963-02-28 Forsch Inst Prof Ing Chem Pete Dispergier- und Emulgiervorrichtung
FR1151883A (fr) * 1955-06-27 1958-02-06 Giovanola Freres Dispositif pour le traitement acoustique de milieux fluides
DE3239631A1 (de) * 1982-10-26 1985-05-09 Franz Joseph 6450 Hanau Backhaus Vorrichtung zum mischen von zutaten zur herstellung von sossen oder aehnliches
RU2090253C1 (ru) * 1994-12-29 1997-09-20 Фомин Владимир Михайлович Способ обработки жидкотекучих сред и роторно-пульсационный аппарат для его осуществления
AU2003304443A1 (en) * 2003-08-26 2005-03-10 Emulsion Technologies Corporation Emulsifier with pulsating rotors and stators

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CN209715009U (zh) 2019-12-03
ES2896922T3 (es) 2022-02-28
EP3421120A1 (fr) 2019-01-02

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