1. The energy imparted by the mixers motor to the batch must be accounted for as a factor of heat added to the system.

2. Heat transfer is highly dependent upon the heat transfer area and the driving force temperature differential, understanding that the heat transfer area is the primary controlling factor.  

3. In order to double the heat transfer coefficient, the mixers horsepower would have to increase by a factor of 11 times or more, understanding that it is impractical to design a mixer to achieve a specific heat transfer coefficient.

4. Flow must be directed across the heat transfer surface area.

Solid Suspension:
Free settling solids that are either insoluble or partially soluble are generally classified under Solid Suspension.  Most of these applications are generally classified as flow controlled. Parameters such as the density of the solvent, solid size distribution, percent by weight solids, and the specific gravity of the solids (not bulk density), and the degree of suspension (on-bottom, off-bottom, mid-depth, or uniform suspension) are required design parameter in the design of a mixer.  High percent by weight solid applications are classified as hindered settling and act closer to blending and slurry applications.  

Chemical Reaction:
Chemical Reactors can be quite complex, especially as viewed from the micro-molecular scale.  Generally speaking most are considered flow controlled applications as they most often include general chemicals blending.  A polymerizer, for example, could be considered as a chemical reactor but it is typically considered under a subcategory of high viscosity applications.  An very definite exothermic chemical reaction results from the manufacture of Magnesium Hydroxide from Magnesium Oxide, but again this application could be considered under the sub-categories of slurries or minerals processing rather than chemical reactions.

Blending of Immiscible Liquids:
A good example of two immiscible liquids would be oil & water such as seen in a common salad dressing.  Many of these types of immiscible liquid applications are flow controlled as the general objective is to contact two or more fluids to extract or strip a beneficial component from one of fluids, followed by a simple phase separation.  Where the process becomes complex, for example, is in consideration of a design bubble size distribution for diffusion in counter-current mixing columns.

Gas-Liquid Dispersion:
The study and requirements of a particular Gas-Liquid applications can be quite complex, involving a control vessel (temperature and pressure).  At relatively low gas-liquid concentrations, the process is considered flow controlled.  Most gas-liquid dispersions are consider flow controlled dispersions.  Pharmaceutical applications such as Fermentation, for example, require relatively high (gas-liquid concentrations) superficial gas velocities, where the mixer design combine both flow and fluid shear.  The fluid shear is necessary to create the required bubble size distribution for diffusion where the flow ensure that the bubble entrains throughout the vessel.  The smaller the bubble size, the greater the overall surface area to enhance diffusion.  If the sheared bubbles coalesce (to grow together) uncontrolled and do not entrain in an overall beneficial flow pattern, the efficiencies of the system will suffer.  If an adequate amount of torque (horsepower divided by speed) is not adequate, the result will be either not enough fluid shear or not enough flow to entrain the bubble flow distribution, which in either case efficiencies will suffer.  

Slurry Mixing:
A slurry is created when solids partially dissolves in a particular solvent.  The most common solvent is water.  The extent to which a solid dissolves in a particular solvent is generally expressed in terms of its solubility.  Some solids, such as lime in water for example, is  only slightly or partially soluble, where the bulk of the solid does not dissolve in water.  What makes slurry mixing interesting, is that as the solid dissolves in a particular solvent, or combinations of solvents, the characteristics such as the viscosity of the slurry can change either slightly or significantly.  For some slurries, significant  changes to the viscosity may occur even at very low percent by weight solids concentrations.  For other applications, it is possible to have a relatively low viscosity at weight percent by solids approaching 80% or more.  Others slurries are time dependent, such as thixotropic slurries, where you could stand on a slurry left unmixed for weeks, where that same slurry, once sheared could be a thin as water.  The good news is that many liquid-solid applications generally are known, where it's not necessary to reinvent the wheel from a mixer viewpoint.  On the other hand, pilot plant studies may be required for unknown combinations of solids and solvents.     

Crystallization:
Crystallization involves two key steps, the formation of solid particles from liquid solution (normally referred to as nucleation), and growth due to the deposition of additional substances on existing particles.  The driving force behind both steps is the difference in chemical potential between the solution (liquid phase) and the crystal (solid phase).  Although the target impurity content is directly attributable to both the phase equilibrium and crystallization kinetics, crystallization is considered more of an art than a science.  The prime interrelated phenomena at play is mixing fluid shear.

Dispersion & Homogenation:
The intent of dispersion or homogenization is to obtain a particle size reduction generally into a range of 5-25 microns.  The process result of a dispersing or homogenation type mixer design is directly dependent upon how the energy or the horsepower is split and transformed between both fluid shear and flow.  If the bulk of the energy is transformed into shear and some flow.  This device is generally a very poor flow design, where the shear intensity is focused into a zonal region, which could result in a hot spot within the tank (horsepower transformed into heat energy).  Both dispersion and homogenization are tip speed dependent, where tip speed = (p*RPM*Impeller Diameter), usually expressed in feet per second.  There are two primary methods of imparting shear.  The first is to use a disperser or homogenizer type mixer that splits the available horsepower into shear and flow.  The second, is to use a lower cost flow controlled mixer design in combination with a separate high shear device such as a shearing mill.  The intent would then be to circulate the fluid/slurry into the high intensity shear zone of the shearing mill.    

Extraction or Leeching:
The most common Leeching operation that we are all familiar with is in the making of coffee.  The solid (coffee) is contacted with a solvent water, to remove a desirable component from the coffee solid.  The same process is applied to other raw materials like mining ore (gold, copper, platinum, etc.), where the solvent removes the precious metal from the ore, and is later processed to precipitate and recover the precious metal from the solvent.  Extraction is somewhat similar in that two immiscible phases are contacted or mixed with each other, where a desirable material that is in one phase diffuses to another phase upon contact.  Bulb size distribution for efficient mass transfer is a key requirement.  

High Viscosity Blending:
Generally speaking fluids with a resulting viscosity above 10,000 centipoise would be considered beyond just a general blending application.  Since viscosity is a function of temperature, shear and time, applying a mixer design to a high viscosity application can be quite involved.  There are numerous designs used for high viscosity applications that include props, high solidity hydrofoils, pitch blade turbines, anchors, helical, double helical impeller and other designs.  The most common problem identified with high viscosity applications is due to the formation of an ellipsoid around an impeller, where the generated flow or mixing within the ellipsoid is vigorous.  Heat generation within this region can also be problematic, as there is no motion to transfer the heat to the tank wall or coils.  Outside the ellipsoid, the blend time becomes infinite, or in other words, no mixing occurs in that region.  In short, homogenity can never be reached due to a misapplied mixer to the application.  Obviously, there are various other issues to contend with dependent upon the applications requirements. 

Industrial Portable Mixers 
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