5 Advantages of Using High Shear Mixers for Processing Gums & Thickeners
Key Highlights
- Discover the advantages of using High Shear Mixing Equipment in the processing of gums and thickening agents.
- Maximize yield, reduce wastage and improve consistency and product quality.
- Learn how you can trial at high shear mixer to see the benefits for yourself.
Hydrocolloids such as Xanthan gum, Guar gum, and Carrageenan are widely used for their rheology modifying properties in food products (and other industries). Use of these ingredients helps food and beverage manufacturers to control viscosity, stabilize emulsions, and enhance texture across a broad range of applications. However, their functional performance is highly dependent on effective dispersion and hydration during processing, and mixing is a key factor here.
Inadequate mixing can result in agglomeration, poor yield, and inconsistences in final product. High shear mixers are specifically designed to overcome these challenges. This article outlines five key advantages of using high shear mixers over conventional mixing equipment when processing gums and thickeners:
1. Rapid, Agglomerate-free Dispersion
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.
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 as they pass through the perforations in the stator. The result is an agglomerate-free solution within minutes.
2. Maximized Yield and Reduced Wastage
Traditional agitators struggle to effectively disperse 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. This can often times lead to a filtration stage being necessary, increasing wastage of expensive raw materials.
With a High Shear mixer the efficient dispersion process ensures that all powder particles are fully hydrated, maximizing the utilization of raw materials and minimizing formulation discrepancies. By dispersing agglomerates rather than filtering them out, High Shear mixers are able to maximize product yield as well as reducing waste, resulting in cost savings and improved efficiency.
3. Improved Consistency and Product Quality
Often manufacturers will compensate for agglomerates and poor mixing methods by adding excessive amounts of raw ingredients into the mix. For example, one customer of Silverson Machines was producing a low-quality 5% pectin solution using an agitator, but they were adding 20% more gum than was required to offset for the product wasted.
In this case, achieving the full yield of the pectin was only possible once high shear was introduced into the process. Compared to the agitator, the Silverson mixer produced a higher quality product with greater consistency between batches using 20% less raw material. With the Silverson High Shear mixer, when 5% pectin was added to the mix the result was a 5% pectin solution, and this full yield of thickening effect eliminated the need for a filtration stage and removed the guesswork from the mixing process.
4. Reduced Processing Costs
No filtration stage, reduced mixing times and minimized wastage of expensive raw materials results in a significant reduction in the processing time and therefore costs.
In addition to this, high shear mixers have the added benefit of usage across a wide range of gums and thickeners as well as starches and other food and beverage applications. A Silverson High Shear mixer, for example, can emulsify, homogenize, solubilize, suspend, disperse, and disintegrate solids with unparalleled precision. This single machine can do the job of many, further reducing costs of maintaining several pieces of mixing equipment.
5. Effortless Scale-up
Traditional mixing equipment such as high-speed Dispersers for example, can be difficult to scale-up as the high tip speeds cannot be replicated in production. Silverson High Shear laboratory mixers are designed and built to the same tolerances as the production units; comparable rotor tip speed and shear rates across the entire product line means scalable results, every time. This often enables scale-up with minimal formulation or processing amendments. So the results you achieve in the lab with a high shear mixer, will be transferrable into production.
The best way to evaluate these benefits is on your own application. If you’re currently experiencing challenges with dispersion, hydration, or batch consistency, it may be time to take a closer look at your mixing approach. At Silverson Machines, we offer mixer trials, either at our test center or at your own facility. If you’d like to see how a High Shear mixer could revolutionize your mixing process, get in touch to discuss your requirements or book a trial to see the results firsthand.
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