ABSTRACT
The Most commonly reported mixing problem in the food industry is that of maintaining particulates in suspension. The Nimix mixer is inherently suited to maintaining homogeneity of suspensions and is able to continue agitating down to very low levels during draining. The conversion of the Nimix design into a hygienic version was performed in two stages during a collaborative project between BHR Group and Colman’s of Norwich. The heart of Nimix mixer is an oscillating diaphragm driving fluid back and forth through specially shaped holes in a “diode” plate. The chapter describes the conversion of a nonhygienic design into a 100-L, near-hygienic development prototype. The main issues in achieving a hygienic design were achieving complete drainage and avoiding crevices. Having designed and built the vessel, the validity of its hygienic design was tested during microbiology challenge trials. The mixing effectiveness of the new design was tested and compared to its predecessor in a prototype coatings vessel, prior to its inclusion.
