CSIRO has developed a new generation heat exchanger (RAMeX) which offers lower energy costs, a smaller industrial footprint and more efficient heat transfer and mixing.
The machine is based on RAM Mixer technology developed by CSIRO Manufacturing & Materials Technology based in Melbourne.
The RAMeX offers a new method of mixing and heat exchange for highly viscous fluids without the need for the current methods of using stirrers, impellers and plates.
There are a range of applications where a low shear and high performance homogenising mixer and heat exchanger, such as RAMex, offer advantages. These include the dairy industry, cosmetics manufacturing, sugar making and the more efficient mixing of explosives compounds where poor mixing can often impede performance.
A RAMeX bio-reactor can also be used for mixing viscous cell cultures with nutrients and oxygen. Candidate bio-products include astaxathin (an aquaculture food additive) and xanthan gum (a common thickening and emulsion additive in food products, and for oil drilling muds) which have intrinsically large processing viscosities.
The chaotic mixing produced in the RAMeX creates very fine-scale structures within a polymer melt ideal for difficult new applications such as electrically conducting polymers.
The developers of the RAMeX, Dr Guy Metcalfe and Dr Murray Rudman said before building the original RAM Mixer, the concept was developed mathematically. They said the prototype proved its potential to revolutionise traditional mixing technology.
“Enthusiastic responses from potential users provided us feedback which has led to the development of the CSIRO RAMeX,” Dr Metcalfe said.
“Trials have shown the RAMeX now provides a single solution to the task of mixing and temperature control in highly viscous fluids, used for example in food processing, polymer processing and in the mixing of explosives,” Dr Metcalfe said.
Laboratory trials of the CSIRO RAMeX have shown it produces homogenous heating or cooling through a smaller heat exchange unit at a faster rate than can be matched by typical mixers using shell-in- tube (jackets) or annular (tube-in-tube) heat exchangers.
RAMeX has a relatively small footprint and is expected to be less expensive to manufacture than most current mixers. It can be used as a batch mixer or for in-line continuous mixing.
The RAMeX design is similar to the earlier generation tube shaped RAM mixers, allowing for the easy application of selected heating mediums such as water or steam.
The simple design removes the need for internal baffles and plates used in static mixers that generate large pressure drops and energy use.
The RAMeX is CSIRO patented technology now ready for commercial development.
Article courtesy of CSIRO
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