For homogenizing viscous fluid, the new SMX plus Static Mixer from Sulzer Chemtech has about half the pressure drop of the company’s standard SMX of the same diameter. As a result, significant cost savings can be achieved by using smaller pumps or through reduced diameters, says Katharina Hänsli, manager chemical industry, mixing and reaction technology, Sulzer Chemtech. Energy costs, for example, can be reduced by 20–30% due to reduced pumping demands, she says.
Other advantages of the SMX plus include the following:
Short residence time, thus reduced exposure of products that are sensitive to degradation
Robust construction compatible with highest pressure drops
Good price-to-performance ratio due to a novel fabrication technology
The SMX plus is suitable for mixing viscous fluids (1,000 to 100,000 Pa s), such as polymer melts. Whereas dynamic mixers are typically used in batch applications, now processors can consider continuous processes. One example that a customer has been testing with the SMX plus is for mixing two components, one with a high viscosity and another with a low viscosity, explains Hänsli.
The new mixer is one example of Sulzer Chemtech’s desire to focus and strengthen its innovation and products, explains Hänsli. But also, the mixer was developed in response to market demand, especially in the fibers industry, which can greatly benefit from the lower pressure drop delivered by the SMX plus, she says.
The new mixer was designed to fit into the same pipe sizes as the SMX, so it is easy to install as a retrofit, says Hänsli. Standard housings are made of DIN or ANSI tubing. It can also be designed and fabricated to different codes, such as ASME or AD2000.
Small mixing elements are cast and the larger sizes are fabricated from metal bars and sheet by brazing or welding. The standard material of construction is stainless steel 1.4404; special materials and designs are available on request.
The mixer was developed over 1.5 years, first using computational fluid dynamics simulations, and then followed by laboratory trials using models generated by rapid prototyping. Scaleup is no problem as the new mixer is based on the well-known SMX, she adds.
Sulzer Chemtech AG,
Halle 4.0 Stand H15–J18