Equilibrium Mixing
High-shear mixers are used in industry to produce standard mixtures of ingredients that do not naturally mix. When the total fluid is composed of two or more liquids, the final result is an emulsion; when composed of a solid and a liquid, it is termed a suspension and when a gas is dispersed throughout a liquid, the result is a lyosol. Each class may or may not be homogenized, depending on the amount of input energy.
To achieve a standard mix, the technique of equilibrium mixing is used. A target characteristic is identified, such that once the mixed product has acquired that characteristic, it will not change significantly thereafter, no matter how long the product is processed. For dispersions, this is the equilibrium particle size. For emulsions, it is the equilibrium droplet size. The amount of mixing required to achieve equilibrium mixing is measured in tank turnover – the number of times the volume of material must pass through the high-shear zone.
Read more about this topic: High-shear Mixer
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