BATCH OR CONTINUOUS ROTARY DRUM MIXERS
CAN BE USED TO ADD HIGH OR
VERY LOW LEVELS OF LIQUID AND POWDER ADDITIVES TO
DELICATE FLAKES OR GRANULES
Process and Mixing equipment specialist John R Boone, have supplied both batch and continuous mixers to the food industry for several decades. Working closely with industry, they have developed turn-key Mixing and Blending systems to add powdered and liquid ingredient’s with minimum clean down when changing recipes.
Such a system was recently supplied to a renowned producer of speciality teas. The company required a machine which would quickly Blend very small amounts of powdered and liquid flavours, yet not damage the very delicate leaf tea. It also needed to be capable of rapid clean down, and change over to deal with short production runs.
Stainless Steel Drum Picture
Following tests a 3.4 M3 Rotary Drum Blender was selected together with a
gravimetric feed system for the tea and powder ingredient’s. A volumetric
air atomised system is used to meter and spray the liquids. Blend times vary
between one and five minutes depending on the smallest percentage added and
the complexity of the recipe. The system is controlled by a PLC which receives
recipes from a master PC based inventory control system and checks each ingredient
into the Blender with bar code identification linked to the weigh system.
The finished product is also check weighed into tote bins and the data fed
back to the master inventory control system.
Blending Plant Picture
The total cycle time and time taken to clean down is greatly reduced by the
detailed design for this application. Rapid and total discharge occurs as
the product is lifted by the fixed buckets and poured into the discharge valve.
The fixed blades are curved on both sides where they attach to the blender
shell removing any sharp angles for the product to ledge on.
Final cleaning is performed by two systems dependant on the last flavour used,
a simple air clean down removes any dust which adheres to the mixer shell,
whilst a combination of air and liquid sprays are used to remove sticky deposits
which are then discharged via a removable drain.
Blender operating diagram
The high efficiency of the spray coating and blending is due to the unique
fixed internal baffle arrangement of the Boone Rotary Drum Blenders. Each
rotation of the drum lifts and fluidises the product to produce a large surface
area to spray onto. This fluidised state is also ideal for blending products
with widely different particle size and density for example Musli or dried
fruit mixes.
The absence of any internal moving parts combined with the low rotational speed and minimum number of mixing blades, results in a very gentle mixing action. This is particularly useful when handling very friable products such as rice flake baby food or shear sensitive products like high fat milk powders.
Background information:
J R Boone Ltd have been designing and building a range of mixing, proportioning, crushing, conveying and storage systems for many years.
The company’s products have a world-wide reputation for
quality and innovation.
Free demonstrations on every type of Mixer are offered at its Congleton test
plant.
Its mixers are in use 24 hours a day producing powders, pastes, grounds, flakes
and liquids.
The company also designs and builds complete mixing systems including storage
systems and conveying equipment designed to maximise space and utility together
with and volumetric feeders and weigh systems to meter into and out of their
Mixers.
As well as tea blending, Boone’s mixers have been used for products like powdered drinks, Musli and a range of cake mixes.
The company’s client portfolio includes Cadbury, Nabisco, BP, ICI, Shell, Reckett Colman and Ciba Geigy.
For further information or photographs please contact:
Helen Eite
Financial Director
John R Boone Ltd
18 Silk Street
Congleton
Cheshire, CW12 4DH
Telephone (01260) 272894
Email: sales@jrboone.com
Web: www.jrboone.com
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