Digital Re-print - May | June 2010

Feature title: Horizontal twin-shaft paddle mixers

- The ultimate in mixing technology

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 Mixing Feature Feature Mixing

Liquids can be product is handled after mixing, so it is

Figure 3 added easily recommended to minimize the distance
to the powder between the mixer and the packaging point
mixture. to avoid segregation.
This is can be The benefits of the mechanical fluidizing
done by means zone are gentle mixing, no segregation and
of quick connec- very short mixing time. This gives savings
tion nozzles (single in terms of minimal wear and tear and low
component flat energy consumption. Maintenance costs are
spray nozzles are also very low. The mixer's low energy con-
most commonly sumption is an important consideration in
used) for adding reducing production costs.
oil, fat, water, fla-
vours, etc. Various mixer designs
Spraying of The twin-shaft paddle batch mixer has
liquids requires been developed over several years.
approximately one Today, continuous twin-shaft paddle mix-
minute ensuring ers are available, notably Forberg's latest
the best possible development, the rotating twin-shaft paddle
distribution of the batch mixer.
liquids in the pow- Continuous twin-shaft paddle mixer -
crushed, worn down or can start forming dered material. In this case, total cycle time, The continuous twin-shaft paddle mixer has
Figure 1
lumps. including spraying of liquids, will be as low as many of the same advantages as the twin-

m ixin g t e c h n o logy
Because the product is fluidized, the 2.5–3.5 minutes. shaft batch mixer. It is very gentle with the

The ultim a t e in
Horizontal twin-shaft paddle mixers
twin-shaft paddle mixer is very gentle with
the product. Extra force must be added,
for example with choppers, in case any
lumps in the mixture must be crushed.
High speed rotating knives will create the
force needed to crush soft lumps in the
mixture.
by Kees Rodenburg, Market Support Manager, Forberg International, Norway Features of the twin-shaft paddle
mixer
Mixing takes place in a very short time.
An average mixing cycle for dry mixing can
Liquid should be sprayed at a specific
angle and at a specific distance to obtain
the best possible distribution. The particles
rotate around their own axes in the fluidized
zone, exposing the total particle surface to
the liquid during rotation. The liquid will
hit the particles and be distributed in the
mixture.
High melting point liquids, such as fats,
can be sprayed in free flowing liquid state
with special nozzle arrangements.
Homogeneous mixing is achieved in the
products, has low energy consumption, high
capacity, little space requirement and flexible
filling. Throughput is very significant as the
average retention time is approximately one
minute (see Figure 4).
For obtaining good mixing quality in a
continuous mixer, an accurate feeding of the
ingredients is demanded. Continuous mixers
are suitable for mixing a limited number of
components, which have similar properties.
One or two different liquids can be sprayed
onto the product mixtures.

B
efore Forberg introduced its
twin-shaft paddle mixing technol-
ogy, a coefficient of variation
(CV) of 10 was acceptable. Today, a
CV of five or less is the standard.
What led to this dramatic
improvement in mixing accuracy?
The answer is that the Forberg horizontal
twin-shaft paddle mixer brought about a
revolution in mixing.
Imagine a chessboard as the image of a
perfect mixture. How can practical mixing
results get as close as possible to this ideal?
In the twin-shaft paddle mixer, the
specific speed of the rotor shafts com-
bined with the specific positioning and
angles of the paddle blades provide
excellent transport of particles (see
Figure 1 and 2).
All particles in the mixture need air sur-
rounding them to be able to move freely.
The filling level in the twin-shaft mixer is not type products with all shapes and densities be as follows: filling 20-30 seconds, mixing space of a few seconds thanks to the fluidiz- Rotating twin-shaft paddle mixer - The
more that 40 percent above the shafts. can be mixed in the Forberg® twin-shaft 40-60 seconds and discharging 10-20 sec- ing of the material. All particles can be mixed rotating twin-shaft paddle mixer has com-
Thus, there is surplus space in the mixer paddle mixer. onds. This gives a total cycle time of 1.5–2 (small, large, light, heavy, round, etc.) without bined the mixing technology of the standard
to provide air around the particles so they In some conventional mixers, the trans- minutes. A relatively small twin-shaft paddle segregation, since the forces of mixing are Forberg® batch mixer with a new solution
can move freely. The twin-shaft paddles lift port of particles is simplified and unidirec- mixer will provide a large output – thus stronger than the forces of segregation dur- for the filling and discharge (see Figure 5).
the particles up in the middle of the mixer in tional, which results in poor-quality mix and giving savings both in investment costs and ing the mixing action in these mixers. Within seconds, the whole machine is tilted
the fluidized zone, where mixing takes place long mixing time. For some materials this space requirements. Segregation only takes place when the from its filling position to its discharging posi-
in a weightless state. can even be negative as the particles can be
In this way,
the particles are
Figure 2
moved back
and forth, up
and down and
• The smartest solution where
across in all
directions – this
mixing is essential
is the freedom
of movement
• The sanitary design meets all
that is essential
if particles are to
your expectations to feed safety www.forberg.no
be mixed as ran-
domly as possible
(see Figure 3). Forberg International AS Hegdalveien 77 NO-3261 Larvik Norway Tel +47 33 13 34 34 Fax +47 3313 34 35 sales@forberg.no
All powder-

20 | may - June 2010 Grain &feed millinG technoloGy Grain&feed millinG technoloGy PREVIOUS PAGE NEXT PAGE may - June 2010 | 21

Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
tion. This results in a whole list of practical,
operational benefits.
The rotating mixer (called the F-RM) has
one inlet valve in the top where the product
is introduced into the mixer. The valve closes
and the mixing cycle is started.
After the mixing cycle has finished, the
entire machine is rotated upside down
and the product is discharged through the
same opening as for filling. The machine is
then rotated back 180° and is ready for a
new charge. A feature for the F-RM is the
automatic washing and drying of the mixer
(see Figure 6).
The F-RM is designed for the feed,
food, chemical and pharmaceutical
industries where airtight processes are
a must and cleaning is critical. It is also
possible to mix under vacuum, or under
an inert atmosphere to avoid oxidation
of highly sensitive products. Application
of steam or liquid nitrogen for sterilisa-
tion or coating is another interesting
option.
22 | may - June 2010
Advantages of the rotating twin-shaft mixer:
• Completely closed mixing chamber
• Only one valve for charg-
ing and discharging
• Reduced cleaning surfaces
with integrated hopper
• CIP (cleaning in place) is easy to
realise. Washing water can eas-
ily be discharged through the
washing-docking station
• High production capac-
ity due to short cycle times
• Mixing under vacuum (as an
option) enables the design of new
production processes. Oxygen
sensitive products can be mixed
under an inert atmosphere
• Less product damage due to miss-
ing edges of discharge doors
• Smaller tolerance (minimised
gap) between mixing paddles and
mixer housing can be achieved
• In comparison with stationary
batch mixers, the new and innova-
tive F-RM machines combine high
mixing quality and short mixing
time with the discharge behaviour
and convenience of a cone bin
The well-known rotating vacuum coater,
F-RVC, has the same design as the F-RM
but is reinforced and equipped with vacuum
equipment. This machine gives the optimum
result for deep core vacuum coating as used
widely in high fat applications and medication
lines (see Figure 7).
Research and Development
Mixing and processing - Mixing processes
will always be one of the core processes
in feed and food manufacturing. The twin-
Mixing Feature
shaft paddle mixer is a versatile machine, in
which many processes beyond mixing can
be performed. Forberg focuses on further
development of industrial processes, in close
cooperation with customers and research
institutions. In the field of poultry feed for
layers conditioning of mash feed has been a
new development.
Steam heat treatment of mash feed - For
many reasons, today’s most common poultry
feed is pelletized, crumbled feed. There are
several possible reasons for using this kind of
feed. For instance, broilers do need as high as
possible energy input in short possible time.
Pelletized feed is cooked and sanitized. This
gives efficient and secure nourishment for
the birds. Finally, food regulations and the
industry are based on established technol-
ogy.
Mash feed is now getting more widely
used, mainly for layers.
For layers, mash feed has several advan-
tages. They are gained by using more time
to eat. Structure feed is more natural feed
and gives better development of the gut.
Though the use of mash feed is mainly
restricted to layers, mash feed is more
natural feed than pelleted feed. The system
technology offers the possibility to heat
treat big amounts of mash feed without
taking the detour through a pellets press
and milling the pellets down later on. The
process is more economical.
Cooling of pellets is less efficient due to
poor heat transfer rate (surface).
The steam heat treatment system is
designed as a batch system. It makes it
possible do dose exactly and to achieve
the correct recipe, hence controlling the
nutritional value of the mash feed. In addi-
Figure 7
Grain &feed millinG technoloGy
Feature Mixing
tion, it gives full control of the process
and guarantee that the product will be
uniformly treated.
The main achievements of the process are:
• Destruction of salmonellae.
The product is a pathogen free
feed by reduction of other bac-
teria spores in the mash
• Production of feed with course
structure. The use of a roller mill
gives good results with mash feed
• Feed with nutritional value that ide-
ally meets requirements of the layers
• Preservation of thermo-sensitive com-
ponents during production process
• In production of feed with coarse
structure, the use of a roller mill
gives good results with mash feed.
Generation of fines is also minimal.
• Steam heat treatment of mash
feed leaves the natural struc-
ture of the feed unchanged.
No fibers are destroyed during the treatment
due to the gentle mixing in the twin shaft
mixer. The end product has improved flow
properties compared to traditional mash
Grain &feed millinG technoloGy
Figure 8
feed because of gelatinization and micro
agglomeration. The danger of de-mixing is
hereby reduced, and can be reduced further
by spraying of oil.
For feed with optimum nutritional value
mixing is a basic process. The steam heat
treatment system also serves as a complete
mixing plant. The feed is always perfectly
mixed.
Additional pre- and post-steam heat
treatment mixing installations are not
necessary. A modern mixer with mix-
ing quality CV <5 makes over-dosing of
‘minor ingredients’ unnecessary. There
is no danger for quality degradation of
ingredients.
The steam heat treatment system is a
very flexible production method where addi-
tion of vitamins and other thermo-sensitive
products can take place. More oil or fat
can be added to the mash feed compared
to pelleted feed. Spraying of acid in order
to prevent further bacterial growth is also
possible.
The ‘gentle’ steam heat treatment of the
feed ensures preservation of thermo-sensi-
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Figure 9
tive components. There is no high-pressure
treatment like in a pellets press.
Vitamins and other thermo-sensitive
materials like enzymes can be added after
heat treatment. There is no need for encap-
sulated vitamins. There is no need for over-
dosing. The thermo-sensitive components
can be dosed in the exactly needed amount
after heat treatment of the product.
Related Companies:
Andritz Feed & Biofuel BV
Spaarpot 112, 5667 KZ, Geldrop
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 40 2627777
Fax: +31 40 2627753
Email: andritz-fb@andritz.com
Website: www.andritz.com
Wynveen International BV
PO Box 38, HETEREN, 6666 ZG
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 26 4790699
Fax: +31 26 4790698
Email: info@wynveen.com
Website: www.wynveen.com
may - June 2010 | 23
Your mill is our priority. No one knows our systems as well as we do. We built
them, and we will do everything we can to ensure that they continue to improve
your company’s productivity. With fully customized service plans we are able to
provide everything from reliable troubleshooting and original replacement parts
to technology upgrades, preventative maintenance, and consulting services.
Are you satisfied? Then we are too.

Bühler AG, Customer Service, CH-9240 Uzwil, Switzerland, T +41 71 955 30 40,
F +41 71 955 33 03, service.gp@buhlergroup.com, www.buhlergroup.com

The solution behind the solution.

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