Chemical Engineering February 2014 - 25

Sharpe Mixers
Buss-SMS-Canzler
Your partner in developing new
products and processes
ure 6) feature a hydrofoil-style,
four-blade design that folds for easy
installation and opens with centrifugal
force, locking in place when
fully opened. This eliminates the
need for personnel to enter the tank
or vessel. They are designed
for new and retrofit installations
that do not allow for
impeller assembly inside of a
tank. They are available in sizes
Figure 6. Sharpe Mixers offers a
folding blade impeller, which features a
hydrofoil-style, four-blade design that
folds for easy installation and opens
with centrifugal force, locking in place
when fully opened
Technology (Figure 5) consists of
a rotor and stator mixing arrangement,
specially designed to create
negative pressure (vacuum) behind
the rotor, which can be used as the
motive force to suck powdered (or
liquid) ingredients directly into
the stream of the incoming liquid.
The resultant powder/liquid mixture
is then expelled centrifugally
through the openings in the fixed
stator before exiting the tangential
discharge connection.
The Inline SLIM differs from
other powder induction systems in
that it does not usually require the
use of a centrifugal pump on the
inlet or outlet side to create the suction
for the induction of powders.
Also, it does not use an eductor to
create the suction, thereby making
the Inline SLIM more tolerant of
flow and viscosity changes.
Impeller improvements
" One of the many challenges faced
by chemical processors includes
lowering costs by reducing labor
and increasing efficiency, " says Jeremy
Higginson, vice president of
engineering with Sharpe Mixers
(Seattle, Wash.; www.sharpemixers.
com). " Some vessels require large
expenditures of labor and permits
to enter due to their hazardous
nature, so we developed a folding
impeller that can fit through the
mixer nozzle and lock in place by
itself after operation. "
The folding blade impellers (Figup
to 210 inches in diameter. Their
design permits greater flexibility in
tank designs, and the blade locking
mechanism can be accessed from
outside the tank for removing the
mixer if needed.
" Costs can also be reduced by
using higher efficiency components, "
says Kyle Sides, applications
engineer with Sharpe Mixers.
" Premium efficient motors, higher
efficiency gearboxes and hydrofoilstyle
impellers can all contribute
to reduced costs. The more efficient
impeller results in less power usage
for the same mixing. This can add
up to thousands of dollars over the
course of a year for a given plant
and improve the payback period of
the new capital equipment. "
Sharpe's Hyflo impellers are
among the most energy efficient.
The Hyflo 218 is a universal energy-efficient,
low-blade angle impeller.
The high-flow efficiency is
a direct result of the blade characteristics.
During development, particular
attention was given to the
camber of the blade and the blade
angle. The camber approximates
the shape of an airfoil to provide
maximum flow efficiency. The camber
is the amount of apparent arch
to the blade when viewed from the
end of the blade towards the hub.
The proper amount of camber allows
the blade to be operated at
higher blade angles without incurring
a stalled condition.
Obviously, it makes sense to get
a feel for the mixing technologies
that are available today. An update
or different type of mixer may
make your chemical process more
time and energy-efficient, saving
money, reducing downtime and increasing
throughput.
■
Joy LePree
Molecular
Distillation
with Short Path Evaporators
for effective thermal separation
of heat sensitive products
under high vacuum of min.
0,001 mbar (a)
www.sms-vt.com
We live process engineering
and special manufacturing
Buss-SMS-Canzler GmbH
Kaiserstraße 13-15 * 35510 Butzbach * Germany
Tel: +49 60 33 - 85 - 0 * Fax: +49 60 33 - 85 - 249
E-Mail: info@sms-vt.com
Circle 6 on p. 60 or go to adlinks.che.com/50973-06
http://www.sms-vt.com http://www.sharpemixers http://adlinks.che.com/50973-06
Chemical Engineering February 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering February 2014
