Agitator models |
Application |
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
Paddle:
- Flat paddles
- Finger paddles
- Gate paddles
|
- Solid mixing
- Slurry mixing
|
- Heavy duty mixing
- Adjustable to 2 or 4 blades
- Excellent for low-speed
|
- High power consumption
- Inefficient liquid circulation
|
Counter-rotating paddles |
Paste mixing |
- Efficient in the laminar condition
- Blending
|
- Vibrates at high speed
- Not suitable for liquid mixing
|
Tumbling |
Blending |
Paste and viscous material mixing |
Not suitable for fluid solutions |
Disk and cone |
Polymers and dispersion preparation |
Viscous solution mixing with 60 revolutions per second |
Paste mass cannot be handled |
Free shaft suspension |
Sugar processing |
Suspension, Thickening operation |
High power requirement |
Impeller type |
Emulsion preparations |
- Good temperature control
- Creates axial flow
- Good phase mixing
|
Not for viscous materials |
|
Liquid and gas reactions |
- Excellent for dispersion operations
- Creates good radial flow
|
Only for less viscous liquid below 15 to 20 Ns/m2
|
|
Powders and cosmetics |
Unique particle size and homogeny product formation |
- Minimum axial flow
- Operates better only for 0.1 to 0.01mm particle size solids
|
|
Food and snack processing |
Homogenization of high viscous materials |
Not suitable for miscibility operations |
Helical
- Ribbon type
- Helical screw
|
Polymer and paints processing |
Handles viscoelastic liquids that are more than 20 Ns/m2
|
Less radial flow patterns |
Gate |
Blending operations |
- Good speed control
- Handles pseudoplastic liquids
|
Not suitable for gas to liquid operations |
Anchor
- Round anchor
- Combine anchor and gate
|
Milk and fat processing |
Efficient heat exchange between the reactor walls and reaction mass (fluids) |
- High power consumption
- Requires heavy duty gearbox
|
Propeller |
- Dairy and food processing
- Chemicals processing
|
- Less Meter –Ott shear rate constant
- Homogenization
- Good miscibility
|
- Motion of liquid starts on one spot
- Dead spots formation at high rotation speeds
- The occurrence of solids settling at low speeds
|