When blending easily miscible liquids of similar viscosities, an agitator will produce satisfactory results. But where there is a significant difference in viscosity between the two liquids, an agitator tends to move the two liquids around without actually blending them together, and it can take a long time to achieve a uniform blend.
With a FEDA high shear mixer, the positive mixing action of the rotor/stator assembly draws the liquids into the workhead where they are rapidly combined before being forced out through the stator and projected back into the vessel; the liquids are blended almost instantaneously.
With some applications, such as continuous dilutions or when the materials react on contact, a FEDA In-Line mixer is most suitable. Typically the secondary liquid would be introduced into the pipeline just upstream of the In-Line mixer so that the liquid streams are subjected to intense high shear on contact, resulting in a homogeneous blend in a single pass.

The key to creating a stable emulsion is obtaining the finest possible droplet size. The more shear energy introduced into the mix, the smaller the suspended droplets will become, creating a fine stable emulsion.
The high shear rotor/stator design of the FEDA mixer is ideally suited to this application and can easily achieve emulsions with a droplet size of 2 to 5 microns. Finer emulsions down to 0.5 microns can be obtained, depending on the formulation. In many cases, this can eliminate the need for high pressure homogenizers.
FEDA offers a range of in-tank and In-Line mixers widely used for preparation of emulsions, from laboratory scale up to bulk production units.

Homogenization requires the ingredients to be processed until a uniform globule or particle size. For most products, including creams, ointments, sauces, flavoring emulsions and pharmaceutical suspensions, this requires a globule or droplet size in the range of 2 – 5 microns.
This can be achieved using a FEDA Mixer Homogenizer. The precision-machined FEDA workhead generates exceptionally high shear rates in a three stage mixing/homogenizing process; The high speed rotor draws materials into the workhead where they are intensely mixed. Centrifugal force then drives the materials to the periphery of the workhead and subjects them to mechanical shear in the precision gap between the rotor and stator.
This is followed by intense hydraulic shear, as the product is forced through the stator screen at high velocity and circulated back into the mix. Fresh material is continually drawn into the workhead, progressively reducing globule or particle size and quickly resulting in a homogeneous, uniform product.

Gums and thickeners are difficult to disperse without forming lumps or “fish eyes” – agglomerations of partially hydrated material with a core of dry powder.
Once these have formed, an agitator will only wash the surface of the agglomerates, slowly hydrating the outside layer, resulting in long mixing times, poor quality and inconsistency between batches. In addition, some ingredients require a degree of shear to activate them and obtain functionality, which cannot be achieved using an agitator.
The high shear action of a FEDA Mixer rapidly disperses the powders, disintegrating any agglomerate and exposing an increasing surface area of the powder to the surrounding liquid. The result is an agglomerate-free solution within minutes.
FEDA offers a range of Batch mixers and In-Line mixers as well as the Flashblend powder/liquid mixing system for this application.

FEDA High Shear Mixers provide a highly efficient method of solubilizing a wide variety of materials from sugars and salts in the food industry to resins, rubbers and polymers in the chemical and petrochemical industries.
This is achieved as the high speed rotation of the rotor draws liquid and solid materials upwards into the workhead, where they are subjected to intense but targeted shear in the precision gap between the rotor and stator before being forced out through the stator and projected back into the main body of the mix. With each pass through the workhead, the solids are reduced in size, exposing an increasing surface area to the surrounding liquid and accelerating the solubilization process.
FEDA offers a range of equipment for this application, including Batch and In-Line mixers and Disintegrator/ Dissolver systems for large-scale manufacture.