Bepex Angle Disintegrator Processes, Delumps Dry Powders for Food Ingredient Supplier

A large food ingredient supplier was looking for a way to process dry ingredients for use as a food ingredient and flavoring. In addition to delumping agglomerates, the company also wanted to include additional ingredients to assure a homogeneous mix.
    The company looked to Bepex International and its line of sanitary angle disintegrators to do the job. The RP-12-K122 was installed to both fine grind and mix the ingredients at a rate of approximately 12.5 metric tn/hr. The machine was equipped with a 20-HP, 1800-rpm motor, and a ¼-in. round perforated screen.  
    “Due to the high rotor speed and the small ¼-in. screen openings, the RP makes an excellent grinder, mixer, and delumper combination,” said Mark Johnson, application specialist Bepex International. “It also has a very compact design, which allows customers to fit the machines into very space restricted areas.”
    The screens that are installed in the machine have 360 degrees of screen area, which assures uniformity of the final product size, minimizes horsepower consumption and machine vibration, and offers minimal product temperature rise.  
    The ingredients needed to be mixed and delumped at a high rate, and the result was a homogeneous mixture that has a uniform particle size. This was necessary in order to provide a uniform flavor and property texture and “mouth feel” for the final product.
     Since the disintegrator acted as a combination grinder/delumper/mixer, it eliminated the need for a separate mixer in the process. This resulted in a more efficient process, less overall installed HP, and one less machine to clean, maintain, and support. The overall size of the disintegrator is very compact, so the footprint of the process line was also reduced.
    RP series disintegrators are widely used for grinding and delumping powders and agglomerates, in addition to pulping, fine dispersing, homogenizing, high-speed shredding, cell rupture, and wet grinding of fibrous products. In combination with a variable frequency controller, one machine can accomplish all of these processes with a simple change in rotor speed and sizing screen. The RP disintegrators feature sanitary construction, are easy to clean and maintain, and are accepted for use in USDA/FDA-inspected plants. A single band clamp design allows quick access to all of the internals for cleaning, screen changes, and inspection. A multitude of screen and hammer configurations are available to meet customer application requirements. The overhung rotor design keeps bearings out of the product contact area. Various model sizes are available, from 3 to 125 HP, with operating tip speeds up to 130 m/sec. Customized to fit the needs of the application, different inlet nozzles allow introduction of steam, water, flavorings, re-agents, and other additives directly into the grinding chamber. A secondary discharge can also be added to allow separation of hard-to-grind fractions or tramp material.
    CIP spray ball inserts, dimpled steam or hot water jackets, and pressure-rated designs are also available. On larger machines, the inlet covers are hinged to eliminate heavy lifting requirements for plant operators. The hammers are keyed to the motor shaft and are secured at the top of the hammer stack with either an auxiliary rotor or a rotor nut. The auxiliary rotor is used in applications where the feed material requires a pre-chopping or initial size reduction to allow the material to more readily flow down into the hammer stack. This is important to improve process efficiencies, evenly distribute the feed over the entire screen area, and eliminate the need for a separate pre-chopping device ahead of the disintegrator. There are many different hammer designs available, including, but not limited to, knife hammers, hardfaced tips, close clearance designs, unitized rotors, and beveled hammers.  
    Bepex International LLC is a single source supplier for powder and particle processing systems for size reduction, mixing/blending, thermal reaction/drying, agglomeration, and compaction. Bepex International’s equipment trade names include Rietz, Strong Scott, and Komerek Greeves. For more information, call 612-331-4370 or visit www.bepex.com.