The manufacturer has reduced the use of pectin by 20% in their formulation by using a Silverson high shear mixer.

A food manufacturer turned to Silverson blenders for help updating their blending process after it became too expensive to produce due to their high pectin content in their production.

Before contacting Silverson, the food company used a conventional agitator to mix the pectin into the base liquid. The agitator was so inefficient at dispersing the powder that operators added 20% more pectin than needed to compensate for the loss. The agitator failed to break up the resulting agglomerates and did not create enough movement in the tank to prevent the partially hydrated pectin from sticking to the agitator shaft, blades and walls of the mixing vessel.

The resulting product was a low quality 5% pectin solution, with the result that 20% of the expensive raw material added was wasted. Combined with the long mixing times, these losses cost the company a significant amount of money. It was obvious that the mixer was not up to the task and something needed to be changed.

A test was set up at the company's test center to see what results can be obtained using the Flashmix FMX50 powder/liquid mixer for pectin addition. Flashmix is ideal for incorporating large volumes of powders, especially resins and thickeners. In this system, the powder and liquid are injected directly into the high shear zone of the mixer and subjected to intense mechanical and hydraulic shear in the rotor/stator working head. This fully disperses and quickly hydrates the powder, achieving a full thickening effect. Powders are added to the hopper at floor level, eliminating the need to transport powder to the top of large tanks.

In the tests carried out, 5% pectin was quickly added to the liquid stream, and after a short recirculation period, hydration was completed and the customer obtained the desired results without the need to add an excess amount of powder.