Thyssen Henschel: Continuous Turbo Mixer for 10 tons/hour
The largest Continuous Turbo Mixer - the CTM 500 - has been supplied by the Mixing Technology Division of Thyssen Henschel Industrietechnik GmbH, Kassel/Germany, to the chemical firm of Kaucuk a.s., Kralupy nad Vitavou/Czech Republic, where it is being used for the continuous, high-speed coating of expandable polystyrene (EPS) with wetting and other agents prior to the expansion process. The mixer is capable of a throughput rate of up to 10 tons of EPS per hour. The principal factors influencing the decision to purchase the Turbo Mixer were not only the particularly low capital investment and operating costs but also the fact that a continuous mixer was the only machine capable of achieving such a high throughput rate.
The first six months of service have shown: The CTM 500 features the most advanced and economic technology for this mixing application. Besides the relatively low operating costs, two of the most important advantages for the processor are the very low specific drive load of 0.004 kWh/kg and the minimal space requirement (L´W´H: 4000 mm ´ 1600 mm ´ 3000 mm). The self-cleaning mixing elements permit rapid formulation change-over.
As with all the machines of this series, the basic functional components of the Turbo Mixer are:
· a mixing cylinder with swing-open design and highly polished interior; the CTM 500 cylinder measures 500 mm in diameter and 1,700 mm in length;
· an inner, fixed-speed, rotating screw segment for conveying the material from the inlet to the outlet;
· an outer, counter-rotating, ring-shaped mixing element with variable speed drive for mixing, dispersing and, if required, heating the material.
The mixer is fed by means of a stuffing screw, equipped with a gravimetric metering system for the mix components. The stuffing screw ensures optimum filling of the mixer, even when processing materials with poor free-flowing properties. Liquid additives can be injected directly into the mixing cylinder.