All types of mixers
achieve mixing by rapidly changing the direction of the fluid,
accelerating the fluid, or subjecting the fluid to cavitation. The Sonolator is an
in-line, continuous, high pressure homogenizer that subjects fluids to high
pressure, extreme acceleration and ultrasonic cavitation by forcing the
material through our engineered Orifice. The material is forced by
a PD pump through the Orifice and is accelerated to greater than 300
ft/sec. The fluid cavitates as vortices of material are violently
spun off in the opposite direction of the flow.
We harness this cavitational
energy by then forcing the material to strike a knife-like blade set in
its path. Vortices of material are spun off simultaneously
forming a pulsating cavitational field around the blade. This
extreme fluid acceleration and cavitation allow for very effective mixing, homogenizing, emulsifying
and dispersing.
By itself, the
Sonolator is actually quite small with no moving parts, but coupled to a
PD Pump it's a powerhouse homogenizing device. All model
Sonolators, like the one pictured here, house the Orifice and Blade
discussed previously and can handle pressures up to 5000 psi. The
key to engineering Sonolator systems is choosing the right pump!
This
is where our experience and technology shine because we can choose from a host of
commercially available pumps including hi-pressure plunger pumps, gear
pumps, progressing cavity pumps, and many more. Sonic supplies
systems for the Benchtop, Pilot Plant and Manufacturing Plant. Our
Single-Feed Sonolator Systems provide many immediate benefits to the end
user:
Various PD pumps
(Gear, Progressing Cavity, Reciprocating, etc.) can be used; this
allows Sonic to design a system rated only to the pressure you need
and that can handle your fluid characteristics i.e. viscosity, pH,
density, texture, etc.
Process time
reductions are realized as the Sonolator system is installed at the
base of a premix tank where a rough premix is passed through the
system and homogenized in transit to finish or hold tank. This
reduces excessive in-tank mix times and eliminates material transfer
time.
There is a
reduction in spare parts costs and maintenance time as Sonic uses
commercially available pumps and components whose spares are readily
available and affordable; the Sonolator itself has no moving parts so
wear is minimal and your cost for proprietary parts is inexpensive.
The Sonolator
can do what other high pressure homogenizers can do in about half
the pressure, reducing motor horsepower requirements and saving on
energy consumption.
Because we make
customized systems that meet your pressure and flow design needs,
you save on initial capital investment as you're not forced to buy
the closest off-the-shelf unit that might have higher capacity and
pressure rating than you require.
Sonolator systems are directly scalable from 0.25 gpm Benchtop
Systems on up. Because homogenization is achieved via
cavitation and fluid acceleration generated with no moving parts or
rotorized mechanical shear, there are no scale up issues.
Perhaps the single most valuable benefit to the Sonolator is its
ability to be used in a Multiple-Feed Sonolator process where independent phases are
metered via PD pumps into the Sonolator and emulsified/homogenized
instantly; this provides higher finished product yields for same
tank space when water can be removed from tank and metered on its
own, massive cycle time reductions as some ingredients are metered
from bulk, reductions in heating and cooling as phases are metered
at varying temps.