In the conventional high speed mixing the process liquid in the big vessel is mixing by the small mixing blade. In this method pulverization of liquid drops takes place only around the mixing blade rotating at high speed, and majority liquid moves around without touching the blade. As such pulverization down to sub-micron level or very narrow particle size-distribution cannot be realized.
The invented Thin-Film Spin System High Speed Mixer is equipped with the turbine with the diameter slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the vessel. When the blade rotates at high speed the processing liquid is elevated along the vessel sidewall in the thin-film shape and tends to gyrate at high speed while being pushed against the inner wall by the centrifugal force bigger than the gravity force. By installing the barrier plate the spinning film thickness can be controlled. Within the film the acute speed inclination is generated between the wall(0 m/sec) and the mixing blade(4-50 m/sec) thus the processing material is subjected to the enormous shear force. With this scheme pulverization in the sub-micron realm and good particle size control was attained.
There are two alternative modes in the actual operation. In the batch process the liquid is recovered after operation by detaching the vessel whereas in the continuous process the liquid of 1 or more kinds is fed from the bottom inlet constantly, is processed in the film with the thickness controlled by the barrier plate and is discharged from the overflow vessel. In the conventional mixing method it usually takes several tens minutes or several hours for mixing. But by this invention the mixing can be finished in less than several minutes, that means, quite a compact machine with the small size vessel can attain the big capacity of the commercial production level.
Other new phenomena have also been found. In one case agglomerations of metal powder were pulverized and the secondary agglomerations did not occur later. In another case of paint the particle size did not change much but the better shining results were found. Also, formation of powder lump can be prevented and the homogenous dispersion is realized by this invention because the air is whirled in the central space surrounded by the spinning film and the powder fed into the space is well dispersed before it touches the processing liquid.
This invention could effect a revolutionary change to the industrial infrastructure.

*PRIMIX Corporation has been change name at November 21,2005, from Tokushu Kika Kogyo.