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Refining Edible Oils

The refining process is essential for purifying edible oils obtained from sources such as coconut, corn, cottonseed, olive, palm, peanut, soybean, and sunflower, ensuring their purity and quality for consumption. Silverson high shear mixers are used throughout the world for edible oil refining.

Critical Role of Reagent Additions

Degumming and neutralisation is typically a high volume, continuous operation. Reagent additions are a critical stage in the process, requiring the acid to be finely distributed throughout the oil and intensively mixed to accelerate the reaction and maximise yield.

Traditional methods of reagent addition using low-shear static mixers or inline agitators pose several challenges including inadequate dispersion of reagents, increased chemical consumption, and longer processing times.

In-Line_mixer

The High Shear Mixing Solution

Silverson In-Line mixers excel in this crucial part of the refining process. The acid is added to the oil just prior to the inlet of the Silverson In-Line mixer. The materials are drawn into the rotor/stator workhead and intensely mixed in the high shear zone. The fine droplet size obtained ensures the surface area of acid exposed to the oil is maximised, optimising the reaction and obtaining full yield.

Key Advantages:

Rising Preference for Enzymatic Degumming in Oil Refinement

Enzymatic degumming is increasingly carried out as an alternative to conventional acid degumming due to its ability to yield higher oil quantities, substantially diminish wastewater output, and enhance phosphorous levels.

Silverson High Shear Mixers are particularly advantageous in this method, making them the preferred option for companies adopting enzymatic degumming. With their precise control and efficient dispersion capabilities, Silverson mixers ensure thorough mixing, leading to enhanced reaction kinetics and ensuring high-quality end products for consumers.

Explore our Comprehensive Mixing Guide on Edible Oil Refining

Edible Oils
In-Line High Shear Rotor/Stator Mixer

Agitation

Agitators or stirrers come in a vast array of shapes and sizes, including marine propellers, foils, axial and radial flow turbines, gate and anchor stirrer/scrapers, etc. These different types of impeller blades characterise the flow produced and allow agitators to be used for the broadest range of viscosities and batch sizes.

Agitator Capacity and Viscosity Range

Limitations of Agitators

Despite the wide range of capacities and viscosities they can handle, the low shear nature of agitators limits their effectiveness to performing simple tasks such as blending liquids of like viscosities, maintaining in-tank uniformity, and producing flow in a vessel to promote heat transfer from jacketed vessel walls. 

Where the product has to be processed in some way – liquids of differing viscosities are being blended, powders dispersed and hydrated, an emulsion or suspension formed, solids dissolved or disintegrated and so on, an agitator can take a long time to achieve the required results or, more often than not, is simply not capable.

 

The High Shear Mixing Advantage

Silverson High Shear Rotor/Stator mixers are ideal for these types of applications and can cut mixing times by up to 90%, offering improved yield and product quality and greater batch-to-batch consistency.

These advantages are further increased by the use of easily interchangeable workheads and screens which allow any one Silverson mixer to perform the duties that in the past may have required several different pieces of process equipment.

Experience the efficiency and versatility of Silverson High Shear Rotor/Stator mixers for your processing needs.

Process Improvement
Aeration-Free Mixing

Particle Size Reduction


Particle size reduction is a crucial step in various applications. The degree of particle size reduction will depend on the hardness of the product, but for many applications including the Manufacture of Plant-Based Milk Alternatives, the use of a Silverson mixer will dispense with the need for conventional size-reduction equipment.

The high shear action of the Silverson rotor/stator workhead can achieve rapid and uniform milling of both solid and semisolid materials to a low micron size in a single operation.

Achieving Optimal Particle Size Reduction

Silverson’s Rapid Milling in Action

For optimal particle size reduction, it’s advantageous to introduce the material into the smallest volume of liquid possible. This approach concentrates the mixer’s energy on dispersing and milling the material, rather than moving the entire batch volume. The higher concentration promotes attrition, expediting the reduction of particle size. Once the desired particle size is achieved, the remaining liquid can be swiftly incorporated into the mix using the Silverson mixer.

High Shear Mixing Enhances Milling Processes

Where conventional milling equipment is required, pre-milling the product with a Silverson mixer will create a uniform premix that will pass through the conventional mill at a much faster rate, because media mills work best when fed with a product of a consistent and low particle size. Silverson offers a range of mixers including single and multistage In-Lines designed for processing even the hardest materials such as pigments, dyestuffs, filter cake, titanium dioxide, etc.

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Reclamation

With today’s environmental and economic pressures, more and more manufacturers want to quickly and efficiently reprocess out-of-spec or waste product. At Silverson, we understand these challenges and offer innovative solutions to address them effectively.

Efficient Disintegration and Dissolution

In industries such as confectionery, misshapen sweets can be broken down to reclaim and reuse valuable ingredients like sugar.

Our mixers efficiently disintegrate and dissolve individual sweets or clumps of sweets that have adhered together, ensuring optimal product recovery.

Versatile Applications: Reprocessing Food and Industrial Recycling

Silverson mixers deliver exceptional performance in reprocessing diverse materials. Within confectionery, reclamation can be used with anything from chocolate and gelatin-based confectionery to biscuit-filling waste. Additional applications include rubbers, polymers, and paper reclaim. 


Case Study: Reclamation Saves Manufacturer Millions of Dollars

Reclamation
How to Reclaim Confectionery

Deagglomerating

The Challenge of Agglomerates

One of the most common problems when dispersing powders into liquids is the formation of agglomerates. These clusters of particles, if left unaddressed, can significantly impact the appearance, texture, and performance of the final product.

“Fish Eyes” and Other Agglomerates

Agglomerates come in various forms, each presenting unique challenges. Gel-type agglomerates, for instance, arise when hydrocolloids like gums and thickeners are inadequately dispersed into liquids. Instead of breaking down and fully wetting out, agglomerates can form when dry powder particles become encapsulated within an outer gel coating. These are often referred to as “fish eyes” due to their gelatinous appearance. 

In suspensions, another form of agglomerate emerges, where solid particles adhere to each other despite undergoing milling or pre-micronisation. Although these agglomerates may be minuscule and imperceptible to the naked eye, they have a noticeable impact on the final product. With pigments for instance, agglomerates can result in undesirable colour flecks within the product.

Effective Deagglomerating with High Shear Mixing

One of the best ways to get rid of agglomerates – and avoid them from forming in the first place – is to disperse the powder into liquid using a high shear mixer. Through high speed rotation, the mixer’s rotor generates a robust suction force, drawing both powder and liquid into the workhead. Centrifugal force then propels the materials outward, subjecting them to intense mechanical and hydraulic shear within the stator’s perforations. The result is an agglomerate-free solution within minutes.

Pulverise Agglomerates with Silverson Rotor/Stator Mixers

Benefits of Silverson Mixing Technology

Unlocking Efficiency with Silverson

For manufacturers seeking to streamline their production processes and achieve superior product quality, Silverson mixers offer a proven and reliable solution. By leveraging advanced mixing technology, businesses can overcome the challenges posed by agglomerates and optimise their manufacturing operations for greater success.

Case Study: Pectin Use Slashed by 20% with High Shear Mixing

Deagglomeration
How to Get Rid of Agglomerates

Powder/Liquid Dispersion


Dispersing powders into liquids and creating a consistent, homogeneous product, time after time, is one of the most difficult of all mixing tasks. At Silverson, we understand the complexities involved in achieving optimal powder incorporation. That’s why we offer a range of specialised products designed to provide efficient and reliable solutions for this critical process. The selection of the right equipment depends on factors such as batch size, ingredient types, and end product viscosity.

Silverson Ultramix: Rapid and Hygienic Powder Incorporation

Powder/Liquid Mixing Solutions

The Silverson Ultramix is a hygienic closed-rotor mixer engineered to rapidly and effectively incorporate high percentages of powders into liquids. With its advanced design, this mixer is particularly well-suited for incorporating challenging powders that tend to float or form a “raft” on the liquid surface. These can include:

Flashmix: High-Speed Bulk Powder Dispersion

For bulk powder dispersion, Silverson offers the Flashmix, a high-performance powder/liquid mixing system. This cutting-edge solution is capable of incorporating powders at impressive rates, providing efficient and precise dispersion. The Flashmix is designed to handle large volumes of powders and deliver consistent results batch after batch.

With Silverson’s range of powder incorporation equipment and expertise, we can help you overcome the challenges associated with dispersing powders into liquids. Our innovative solutions deliver efficient, reliable, and hygienic performance, enabling you to achieve the consistent homogeneity you require for your products.

Contact Silverson today to explore how our advanced mixing solutions can optimise your powder incorporation process and enhance your production efficiency.


Case Study: Flashmix Disperses Powders 40x Faster

2% Aerosil into Water
2% Xanthan Gum Solution

Dissolving

Solubilising Various Materials

Silverson High Shear Mixers excel at dissolving a diverse range of materials, from sugars and salts in the food industry to resins, rubbers, and polymers in the chemical and petrochemical sectors.

How it Works

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 solubilisation process.

Solubilise Materials in Minutes

Silverson Equipment for Solubilisation:

Enhance your solubilisation process with Silverson’s high-quality mixing solutions.

Dissolving
66 Brix Sugar Solution

Hydrating

Gums and thickeners present a unique challenge in the mixing process, often leading to the formation of undesirable lumps or “fish eyes.” These agglomerations consist of partially hydrated material with a dry powder core, resulting in poor quality and inconsistency between batches.

Traditional agitators struggle to effectively disperse these agglomerates, as they merely wash the surface, prolonging the hydration process and requiring extensive mixing times. Furthermore, certain ingredients require shear to activate and obtain functionality, which cannot be accomplished with agitators alone.

 
Conventional agitators struggle to disperse powders


The Silverson Difference: Rapid, Agglomerate-Free Dispersion

Silverson Mixers leverage high shear action to swiftly disperse powders, disintegrating agglomerates and exposing a larger surface area to the surrounding liquid. Within minutes, the result is a smooth, agglomerate-free solution.

Powerful Mixing Solutions

Silverson offers a range of Batch mixers and In-Line mixers designed to address the challenges of dispersing gums and thickeners effectively. Additionally, our Flashmix powder/liquid mixer provides an advanced solution tailored specifically for this application.


Case Study: Powder Dispersed 40x Faster with High Shear Mixing

Hydrating
2% Xanthan Gum Solution

Homogenising

Homogenisation plays a vital role in the production of various products, including creams, ointments, sauces, flavouring emulsions, and pharmaceutical suspensions. For these applications, the ideal globule or droplet size falls within the range of 2 – 5 microns to ensure uniformity.

Silverson Mixer Homogenisers are designed to deliver outstanding results precisely within this range. Our precision‑machined Silverson workhead employs a three-stage mixing/homogenising process to ensure excellent homogenisation outcomes.

Step 1: Intense Mixing

The high-speed rotor of the Silverson workhead efficiently draws materials into the mixing chamber, where they undergo thorough mixing.

What is Homogenisation?

Step 2: Mechanical Shear

As materials move towards the periphery of the workhead due to centrifugal force, they encounter mechanical shear within the precise gap between the rotor and stator. This mechanical shearing action further reduces the globule or particle size, promoting uniformity.

Step 3: Hydraulic Shear

Intense hydraulic shear propels the product through the stator screen at high velocity. Fresh material is continually drawn into the workhead, progressively reducing globule or particle size and quickly resulting in a homogeneous and uniform blend.

Choose from Silverson’s range of in-tank and In-Line Mixer Homogenisers, carefully designed to cater to various homogenisation requirements. Whether you need a compact solution for small batches or a high-capacity unit for large-scale production, Silverson has the right option for you. You can even test one at your own facility – contact Silverson today.

Silverson Mixer/Homogenisers

Emulsifying

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.

Effortless Stable Emulsions with High Shear Mixing

The high shear rotor/stator design of the Silverson mixer is ideally suited to this application and can easily achieve emulsions with a droplet size of 2 to 5 microns. In certain formulations, even finer emulsions down to 0.5 microns can be obtained.

How to Make an Emulsion

Eliminating the Need for High-Pressure Homogenisers

One remarkable advantage of the Silverson mixer is its ability to achieve exceptionally small droplet sizes without the need for additional equipment like high-pressure homogenisers. By utilising the Silverson mixer’s shear forces effectively, manufacturers can simplify the homogenisation process, reduce production costs, and enhance overall efficiency.

Comprehensive Range of Silverson Mixers for Emulsion Preparation

Silverson offers a wide range of in-tank and In-Line mixers suitable for emulsion preparation across various applications. From laboratory-scale mixers for small-scale testing and development to bulk production units for large-scale manufacturing, Silverson provides versatile and reliable mixers to meet diverse emulsion preparation needs.

By leveraging the advanced capabilities of Silverson mixers, manufacturers can consistently produce stable emulsions with exceptional droplet sizes. This ensures superior product quality, enhances customer satisfaction, and streamlines the emulsion manufacturing process.


Case Study: Luxury Face Cream Emulsion Improved by High Shear Mixing

Emulsifying
Emulsifying In-Line

Blending

When it comes to blending liquids with similar viscosities, a conventional agitator can yield satisfactory results. However, when faced with significant viscosity differences between liquids, the limitations of agitators become apparent. Rather than effectively blending the liquids together, agitators tend to merely move them around, resulting in a time-consuming process to achieve a uniform blend. This challenge is particularly evident in the production of honey-based products, notorious for their high viscosity and sticky nature.

How to Mix Liquids of Varying Viscosities

 

With a Silverson high shear mixer, the unique design of our rotor/stator assembly facilitates a positive mixing action that swiftly draws the liquids into the workhead, where they are rapidly combined. The blend is then forcefully expelled through the stator and projected back into the vessel, resulting in almost instantaneous and thorough blending of the liquids.

Unmatched Efficiency with Silverson High Viscosity In-Line Mixers

In certain applications, such as continuous dilutions or instances where materials react upon contact, our Silverson High Viscosity In-Line Mixer offers the most optimal solution. By introducing the secondary liquid into the pipeline just upstream of the In-Line mixer, both liquid streams are subjected to intense high shear upon contact. This highly efficient process ensures a homogeneous blend is achieved in a single pass.


Case Study: Quickly Diluting High Viscosity SLES in Water

How to Blend Liquids of Varying Viscosities
High Viscosity In-Line
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