In the food, cosmetic, chemical, pharmaceutical and other industries, homogenization technology has become the key to improving product quality. At present, most of the traditional homogeneous equipment used in the food industry are high pressure homogenizer, colloid mill, sand mill and roller mill, etc. In recent years, a new type of high shear homogenizer equipment has appeared. So, when you have a product that requires a powerful mixing, how do you decide whether a high pressure homogenizer or a high shear mixer is the best choice? Continue reading to understand more about the comparison of high pressure homogenizers and high shear emulsifiers.
Comparison of homogenization mechanism between high shear homogenizer and high pressure homogenizer
| Comparison | High Shear Mixer | High Pressure Homogenizer | |
| Macroscopic homogenization mechanism | Shearing | It is mainly realized by the synthesis effect of droplet sheared in the gap of high speed rotating rotor and stator, and the rotor - stator small hole jet. | When the liquid flows through the gap at high pressure, the droplet is extended first, and then the extended part is sheared and broken by the vortex action through the valve. |
| Impact | High speed rotating droplets are driven by inertial centrifugal force, which has great impact force and thus resulting in impact. | In the gap of the homogeneous valve, the high speed fluid outlet is disposed with a retainer ring, thus resulting in high-speed impact. | |
| Cavitation | The centrifugal force causes the liquid without entering the annular gap to have a certain pressure, and enters the annular gap to become a high speed rotating liquid flow. After the liquid leaves the stator hole, the pressure rises again, so there is also a cavitation. | The static pressure of liquid flow at the inlet is very high, when through the slit, static pressure can be converted into kinetic energy, the pressure quickly dropped significantly, in the gap resulting in transient cavitation, leaving the gap the pressure rise and the hole disappeared, so that the droplet broken. | |
| Microscopic homogenization mechanism | The droplet flow situation of the high shear homogenizer rotating at a high speed is quite complicated, mainly controlled by the constant velocity of flow on the surface of the droplet and the resulting pulsating pressure, which caused a split droplet tension, droplet rupture. | The energy supplied by the high pressure homogenizer to the droplet rupture is derived from the extremely high static pressure carried by the droplets at the inlet. | |
By studying the working principle of the two, we can see that the high shear homogenizer is mainly due to the high shear effect of the relative high speed motion between the stator and rotor, accompanied by strong cavitation the material particles were dispersed, refined and homogenized; and high-pressure homogenizer is mainly due to high-pressure fluid to produce a strong, full hole effect and turbulence in the fluid dispersed phase particles to achieve homogeneous purpose. It is easy to understand that the high pressure homogenizer is suitable for the treatment of soft and semi-soft granular materials due to the strong cavitation. It is found that the most effective force field for the pulverization of the fiber is shear force and grinding force, the impact force at room temperature is incapable for the fiber, and the high shear mixer can produces a strong shear and grinding effect on the material, so the high shear homogenizer is more suitable for the treatment of more fiber or high viscosity, hard particles material.
The difference between high shear homogenizer and high pressure homogenizer
| Item | High Shear Mixer | High Pressure Homogenizer |
| Raw material requirements | Powder, lumps or fruit can be directly input | The material must first be melted and mixed into a fluid to be homogenized |
| Wearing parts | No replacement parts within two years, no wearing parts | Homogeneous valves and seals need to be replaced frequently for two or three months, with greater maintenance effort, especially under high pressure |
| Production operation | Flexible, simple, no need special operation | Need special operation and adjustment |
| Energy consumption | Power consumption is 1/3 for the high pressure homogenizer | High power consumption, waste of energy |
| Application rage | Wide range of applications | Not suitable for high viscosity materials |
| Acidity | Strong adaptability | Weak adaptability |
| Homogeneous effect | Homogeneous fineness up to 1μm below, good stability | Homogeneous fineness small, good stability. In some industries, however, the results are poor |
| Comprehensive effect | Mixing, sterilizing, homogenizing complete at the same time | Can only be used separately |
| Cleaning method | Automatic cleaning | Cleaning complex |
More advantages of high shear homogenizer
High shear homogenizer is versatile and can be used in a variety of applications of many industries. Examples include submicron emulsions, dermatology or antibiotic preparations for ophthalmic products; pharmaceutical suspensions; topical formulations of cosmetic, personal care and pharmaceutical industries (e.g., lotions, sunscreens, medicinal cosmetics, pigment dispersion, tablet coating); various chemical industrial applications; and many food and beverage applications, including functional beverages, flavor dispersions, soft gel supplements and condiments lotion and so on.
Higher efficiency, less processing time and larger output, lower operating costs.
Compact footprint, easy to install and put into use.
Quick-connect sanitary clamps for easy removal and cleaning.
Less maintenance, lower energy consumption, significant cost reductions.
Full drainable design.
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