Mixing Technologies

Water Treatment

Municipal water treatment facilities use continuous mixing to process drinking water for municipalities. There are a variety of sources for drinking water and therefore different processing steps for the water. Each process uses rotating and static mixing to treat the water for human consumption.

Chemineer agitators and Kenics static mixers are used throughout the treatment process to optimize performance, minimize downtime, and maintain plant effluent within permitted limits. 

Applications

• Rapid/Flash Mixers
• Flocculators
• Carbon Mixers
• pH Control
• Chlorine Mixers
• Lime Slurry

Wastewater Treatment

Municipal wastewater treatment facilities use biological, physical, and chemical processes to treat wastewater such as runoff, human waste, and industrial waste.  Removing chemical and biological contaminants before discharging into the environment is the main function of the plant.

Chemineer agitators and Kenics static mixers are used throughout the treatment process to optimize performance, minimize downtime, and maintain plant effluent within permitted limits. 

Applications

• Anoxic Mixers (Denitrification)
• Flash/Rapid Mixers
• Carbon Mixers
• Flocculators
• Sludge Mixers/Conditioning
• Digesters (Aerobic/Anaerobic)
• Aeration
• Polymer Mixers
• Lime Slurry
• Scum Mixers
• Equalization Mixers
• Neutralization Mixers

FGD (Flue Gas Desulfurization) involves the treatment of flue gas from coal fired power plants. The main goal is to remove sulfur, particulates, and other chemicals such as mercury from the flue gas prior to environmental release. Governmental regulations by the EPA put limits on the amount of impurities which can be released into the air. The use of mixers to clean and scrub the flue gas is used to help power companies meet permitted limits on the release of controlled substances.

Chemineer and Prochem rotating agitators and Kenics static mixers are utilized in the FGD process. Top entering and side entering units help scrub the flue gas and mix the slurries needed to process and treat the gas. Static mixers are used in the process and in the ducts of power plants to mix and homogenize continuous processing streams.

Applications

• Absorbers (Scrubbers)
• Ball Mill Slurry
• Limestone Slurry
• Cyclone/Filter Feed
• Sumps
• Thickener Underflow
• Wastewater

Corn refiners process corn into different components such as starch, germ, fiber, and gluten to process it further for a variety of applications. Mixing and agitation is central to the performance of a corn wet milling plant.

Corn wet milling products include starches, sweeteners, alcohols, gluten meal, proteins, and corn oil. Further processing and fermenting of starch and sugars in the mill or specialty plants produce value added products such as amino acids, ethanol, proteins, and polylactic acid, used in bio-degradable plastics.

Chemineer agitators and Kenics static mixers are used throughout the corn wet milling process. Chemineer, a global leader in agitators and static mixers, designs for fermentation processes have evolved over the years to provide increased capability to producers.

Applications

• Steepwater
• Mill
• Feed Area
• Starch Modification
• Refinery
• Oil Processing
• Ethanol Production
• Fermentation/Bioprocessing
• Waste Treatment

The two main areas in the oil and gas market are upstream operations such as exploration, recovery, storage, and transfer and downstream refining operations. Exploration for oil and gas includes offshore drilling rigs and land rigs. Downstream production includes the cracking of oil into transportation and fuel products and a variety of petrochemicals.

The exploration for oil and gas and downsteam processing utilizes Greerco high shear mixers, Kenics static mixers (ISO 3171), Chemineer rotating agitators, and Prochem side entering agitators throughout the processing steps.

Upstream Oil and Gas Mixing Applications

• Mud Mixers
• Wellbore Cement Mixers
• Homogenization of Water in Crude Oil Custody Transfer Lines/LACT
• Oil Storage/Basic Sediment and Water
• Desalting
• Oil Sands Mixers
• Natural Gas (CO2 Reduction)

Downstream Oil and Gas Mixing Applications

• Alkylation
• Asphalt Cooling
• Gasoline Blending
• Coal Slurry Applications

Ethanol can be produced in dry or wet mills from a variety of raw materials such as corn, sugar cane, soybeans, switchgrass, corn stover, and cellulosic materials. Advances and research in ethanol continue to find new and more energy efficient ways to produce ethanol and biofuels and new raw materials for production.

Methyl esters, or biodiesel, uses vegetable oils or animal fats instead of petroleum as the basis for diesel fuel. These oils and fats go through a transesterification process with alcohol, catalyst, and feed oils such as sunflower, soybean, peanut, rapeseed, fish, and palm. Biodiesel fuels must meet ASTM D6 to be used in diesel engines.

Chemineer agitators and Kenics static mixers are used throughout all ethanol and biodiesel production processes. High-efficiency impellers and lower-pressure drop static mixers help reduce the energy footprint. Chemineer Application Engineers can assist with laboratory and pilot plant agitator and mixer designs, then follow with scale up to production facilities.

Ethanol Applications

• Mash Slurry
• Mash Cooker
• Conversion Tank
• Saccharification Tank
• Flash Tanks
• Stillage (Thin, Intermediate, Whole)
• Prefermenter/Fermenters
• Beer Well
• pH Adjust
• Alpha Amylase
• AMG Enzyme
• Cellulosic Ethanol

Biodiesel Applications

• Degumming
• Neutralization
• Wet Soap Storage
• Glycerine Processing
• Oil Storage
• Blend Tanks
• Alcohol Storage
• Methanol Recovery
• Bleaching
• Transesterification Reaction
• Washing

The pulp and paper market includes the manufacture of paper from a variety of woods and cellulosic material. The pulp mill also includes recovery, coating, and effluent treatment applications.

The major pulping processes in the mill include mechanical, semi-chemical, sulfite, sulfate, and defibrated and there is significant modifications to the processes in specific plants.

Prochem and Chemineer rotating agitators and Kenics static mixers are used in all areas of the pulp mill. Extensive field experience in all applications allows Chemineer to provide an optimum solution for your process and local service to help with operation questions and expansion plans.

Applications

• Stock Chests (Dilution, Storage, Broke, Rejects, Blend, Dump, Machine, Equalizing, Latency)
• High Density Towers
• Blow Tanks
• Couch and Press Pits
• Bleaching Towers
• Recovery Operations (Black Liquor, Green Liquor, Smelt, Dregs, Tall Oil, Lime)
• Coatings (Clay Storage, Starch Slurry, TiO2, CaCO3, Dye, Polymer Make-Up)
• Water Treatment (Whitewater storage)

The key to understanding the production process of synthetic plastic, rubber, or fiber lies in the four methods commercially used in polymer production: bulk, solution, suspension, and emulsion.

Chemineer agitators and Kenics static mixers and heat exchangers are used extensively in polymer and plastic production. Batch reactors, continuous processing, tubular reactors, and heat exchangers are used, often in combination, in polymer production plants.

General Polymer Applications

• Bulk
• Suspension
• Emulsion
• Solution

Types of Polymers:

• PVC (Poly-Vinyl Chloride)
• Polystyrene/ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene-Styrene)
• Polyethylene
• PTA (Purified Terephthalic Acid)
• Polypropylene
• Polyesters
• Nylon
• Bio-Degradable Plastics
• Synthetic Rubber
• Latex

Applications within the Chemical Processing Industry (CPI) are extensive. Thousands of products are produced, synthesized, reacted, and treated to help produce a variety of products.

There are several ways to classify applications in the CPI and, due to the high number of products, it is oftentimes easy to classify the application in general terms such as blending and motion, solids suspension, gas dispersion, heat/mass transfer, or a combination of these. Further, more specific, classifications include blend tanks, storage tanks, crystallizers, reactors, etc.

Chemineer and Prochem rotating agitators, Kenics static mixers, and Greerco high shear mixers are used throughout all phases and applications in the CPI.

Applications

• Reactors
• Hydrogenators
• Storage Tanks
• Heat Transfer
• Make-up
• Crystallizer
• Multi-Stage
• Draft Tubes

Industrial processes based on fermentation are a major, mixer intensive segment of the chemical process industries, and many products are produced via fermentation. Fermentation uses micro-organisms to convert carbon or nitrogen based raw materials into new products. The two main types of fermentation are:

• Aerobic fermentations, which require the presence of oxygen, such as antibiotics, proteins, amino acids, enzymes, lysine, and yeasts
• Anaerobic fermentations, which are carried out in the absence of oxygen, such as ethanol, beer, and biofuels

Applications

• Seed Tanks
• Inoculum Tanks
• Aerobic Fermenters
• Anaerobic Fermenters
• Bio-Based Fermentation
• Enzyme Production

The everchanging Biotechnology market is on the leading edge of technology changes. New products are continuously under development and agitation and mixing is used throughout the process. A process may require blending, solids handling, mass transfer, and solids and heat transfer. The scale for biotechnology reactors and support units ranges from a few liters to several cubic meters and from small laboratory units to large scale fermenters. Biotechnology applications also require vendors with strong R&D departments and laboratory facilities, polished and aseptic designs, easy drainability and cleanability designs, material validation, quality control programs specific to the project, and are able to meet governing specifications and directives such as FDA, USP, ASME-BPE, and cGMP requirements.

Chemineer, Kenics, and Greerco products are used throughout biotechnology applications. Chemineer has experience in designs including large fermenters with BT-6 impellers, small bottom entering bioreactors, Kenics static mixer heat exchangers and in-line tubular reactors, and Greerco high shear mixers. New mixing concepts such as CleanSweep, a concept that allows sealing of the tank contents without the use of mechanical seals, has been utilized in pharmaceutical manufacturing.

In addition to the process and mechanical requirements, quality control reports and material traceability is vital for the proper validation of the process. Chemineer can provide a quality control dossier specific to the project to enable the end-user to meet validation requirements and meet start-up and production requirements.

General Applications

Chemineer and Prochem rotating agitators, Greerco High Shear Mixers, and Kenics Static Mixers and Heat Exchangers are used for many applications and industries. The ChemScale is used for design purposes based on the problem classification of blending and motion, solids suspension, or gas Dispersion.

Additional applications for mixers and agitators include:

• Food
• Hazardous Waste
• Paints and Coatings
• Adhesives
• Soybean Oil
• Hydrogenators
• Soaps and Detergents
• Cosmetics

Mineral Processing includes recovery operations at a mine site and the associated processing plant. The processing operations involve the extraction of metal ores and minerals from the mined rock. Mines use mixers in Backfill or Water Treatment operation. Major applications involving mixers and agitators are found in the processing plant.

Concentrating or separating the metal from the ore is the goal for the processing plant. A variety of processing steps are used to concentrate the metal from the sulfide, concentrate the ions, and extract the metal from the solvent.

Chemineer and Prochem agitators and Kenics static mixers are used throughout the process. Chemineer provides high pressure seals, corrosion resistant wetted parts, and a wide range of impellers to perform specific functions in these applications.

Applications by end product

• Base Metals: Aluminum, Copper, Lead, Iron, Tin, Zinc, Misc.
• Precious Metals: Gold, Silver, Molybdenum, Platinum, Rare Earths
• Non-Metallic: Phosphoric Acid, Potash, Clay, Magnesium Hydroxide/Mg(OH)2, Coal/Oil and Coil/Water Slurries
• Gold Extraction (Carbon-in-Leach, Cyanide Leach, Autoclaves)
• Silver (CIP, Cyanide Destruct)
• Copper (Pumper Mixers, Solvent Extraction, Autoclaves)
• Nickel (Autoclaves)
• Lithium
• Molybdenum
• Potash
• Phosphoric Acid
• Attack Tanks (1st, Digester, Primary, Secondary, Final)
• Recycle
• Filter Feed
• Pre-Mix
• Phosphate and Flotation Agents
• Phosphoric Acid Storage
• Clay
• Magnesium Hydroxide/Mg(OH)2

Applications by process

• Pressure Oxidation Autoclaves
• Ore leaching, Ore Leaching, Slurry Storage
• Ore Conditioning (Flotation)
• Solvent Extraction
• Atmospheric Digestion (Attack Tanks, Circulators)
• Pressure Digestion (Autoclaves)
• Reagent and Waste Treatment operations
• Non-metallic domestic operations

Chemineer and Prochem rotating agitators, Greerco High Shear Mixers, and Kenics Static Mixers and Heat Exchangers are used in a wide variety of applications and industries. The ChemScale is used for design purposes based on the problem classification of Blending and Motion, Solids Suspension, or Gas Dispersion.

Additional applications for mixers and agitators include:

• Food
• Hazardous Waste
• Paints and Coatings
• Adhesives
• Soy Bean Oil
• Hydrogenators
• Soaps and Detergents
• Cosmetics