Chemical Plant & Engineering Provide the Best Mixing Solution
A leading supplier and manufacturer of Equine Nutritional Supplements recently found itself in the pleasant situation where demand was outstripping supply.
As a result of a growing client base, ranging from pony clubs through to some of the most noted stables in the world, the owners of the company were faced with the task of upgrading their existing ribbon blender with a mixer that could meet the demand and improve both productivity and finished product quality.
Chemical Plant & Engineering (CPE), a leading supplier and manufacturer of quality process equipment, came highly recommended and was contacted by the company to discuss their requirements.
The initial consultation between CPE and the Supplement Company identified the following process needs:
- A gentle action to minimize product degradation of the processed pellet vitamin mix
- Liquid addition for dust suppression and trace element addition
- High shear mixing for the muscle toner supplement
- Precision mixing for all products which includes micro, macro and bulk inclusions.
Based on the above criteria, CPE recommended the Chemplant Single Rotor Mixer and assisted in setting up on-site trials to demonstrate the specific features of the mixer and to ensure all process needs were achieved.
Trials were performed using a single rotor test mixer, complete with shear maker and liquid addition facilities, and were conducted across the entire product range.
The results achieved with the CPE mixer were above expectations and resulted in the subsequent findings:
- Decreased breakage in processed pellets due to the gentle action of the paddles
- Decreased mixing times from 12 minutes to 60 seconds providing a Cv of 5%
- Improved dispersion for liquid addition within a very short mix time
- Shear on demand with high speed cutters used for particle agglomeration reduction which reduced preparation time by eliminating sieving
- Reduced power consumption
The Chemplant test mixer passed all the requirements and out performed the existing ribbon blender on all facets. As a result, the company was able to reduce labour requirements and increase production to meet the global demand by selecting one mixer that was best suited to their diverse needs.
The Supplement Company was so impressed by the test results that during the mixers fabrication lead time they took advantage of the test mixers ability to improve their mixing and hired the test mixer to cover their immediate production needs.
