09.2024 | Technical article
Mixing and dispersing technologies for fragrance production
The fragrance products of a fragrance manufacturer have special requirements in the manufacturing process: in addition to the high homogeneity of the solutions, complete residual emptying is essential. Easy and resource-saving cleaning of the systems and efficient and complete drying are equally important.
Fragrance manufacturer Luzi has two production facilities with a total annual capacity of 8,000 tons. At its headquarters, the manufacturer uses a 3-ton and a 5-ton process plant from Ystral for aspirating, wetting and dispersing or dissolving powder components such as vanillin and liquid components in the main liquid component dipropylene glycol to produce flavor solutions. In both systems, a Conti-TDS powder wetting and dispersing machine installed outside the tank is connected via pipelines to a process tank in which a Ystral jet mixer is installed. A total of 12 multipurpose systems with their own mobile container are also used for the production of pre-solutions and for mixing small containers of up to around 1,000 kg.
One of Luzi's key requirements is a very high degree of homogeneity in the solutions produced. Ystral was able to meet this requirement: Using the vacuum expansion method, the Conti-TDS disperser achieves complete deagglomeration and wetting of the powder particles within microseconds. The air contained in the powder is expanded many times over by a suction vacuum, which increases the distances between the particles enormously. In the dispersion zone, the powder particles are as far apart as possible and can therefore be completely wetted and dispersed individually. The air contained in the powder is separated by the centrifugal effect of the high-speed rotor and coagulates into large air bubbles. These are then conveyed together with the liquid flow to the process container, where they can easily escape. After powder application is complete, the powder inlet is closed. The intensive shearing by the rotor and stator in this phase supports deagglomeration. At the same time, permanent homogeneous mixing takes place in the container by the jet mixer. They combine a turbulent micro-mixing zone in their mixing head with vertical macro-mixing of the entire container contents. Unlike when using a conventional agitator, the product is completely homogeneously mixed at the end of the mixing process, with no unmixed zones or sediment, and consistent results are achieved regardless of the batch size and fill level in the container. To ensure that the solutions produced on the systems can be fully utilized, there is a residue discharge nozzle below the disperser. This enables the residual product remaining in the system to be collected via a manual valve.
An operating bottle is used to ensure that the products can be dispensed as accurately and user-friendly as possible. The operator can use this to control the speed and therefore the throughput of the Conti-TDS, whose pump capacity is used to discharge the product. Shortly before the target volume is reached, the operator reduces the speed of the machine and adds more product until the floor scales display the target value for the respective container. Another key requirement for the processing systems used was good and fast cleanability. Ystral systems follow the rules of hygienic design and the Conti-TDS disperser is used as a CIP pump for circulating the cleaning medium. Another important aspect for the fragrance manufacturer: cleaning processes must be energy-efficient and require little cleaning water. For this reason, a 600 l rinse water tank was integrated between the two process systems, which is used by both systems. The hot water at around 60 °C is used for a pre-rinse step via spray heads positioned in the tank, pumped out and the system is then fine-cleaned in a second rinse cycle with water at 80 °C, which is then used for pre-cleaning in the next cleaning process. This significantly reduces the amount of water and energy required for cleaning
It was also important for the fragrance manufacturer that the system dries completely within a short time after hot water cleaning. To achieve this, the system is blown out with a stream of compressed air for several minutes. By controlling various spray heads, any remaining residue of the cleaning medium is blown out with compressed air. Thanks to the hygienic design, the systems can be dried automatically after only around ten minutes with three cleaning cycles; only the last remaining drops of water on the manhole cover need to be dried manually.
Magazine: Verfahrenstechnik
Author: Simon Scharnweber, Regional Sales Director Germany & Switzerland
Publication date: 09/2024
About the author
Simon Scharnweber is Regional Sales Director D+CH at ystral. The industrial engineer with a Bachelor of Engineering joined the company in 2023 and in his current position is responsible for the
sales region Germany and Switzerland. His focus is on battery manufacturing applications and the scouting of new process technologies. With his expertise in battery and pharmaceutical industry applications, he brings valuable industry experience to his role ito develop innovative solutions for our customers.
About ystral
With our vast knowledge and many years of experience in Process- and Application Engineering we offer targeted, customer-oriented solutions across industries - from lab equipment to production machines or plants. Together with you, we develop concepts and implementations for your individual applications, which mean mmediately realisable and quantifiable added value for you.
