Background / Problem Statement
In the manufacture of most cleaning agents, a polymer or a rheology modifier (e.g., Carbopol® or Polygel) is added to the liquid.
These polymers are proven, excellent thickening, suspending, and stabilizing agents and offer cleaning agents the following advantages:
Thickening: After neutralization, the polymer immediately thickens into a highly viscous, clear gel.
Shear-thinning: Ensures that the final product is easy to pump and also allows even thick gel products to be dispensed easily via a pump or spray nozzle.
Yield strength: Supports the suspension of insoluble components and enables good adhesion to vertical surfaces (“vertical cling”)—an important performance advantage for products applied via a spray head or nozzle.
Emulsion stabilization: Stabilizes oil-in-water emulsions in applications containing ingredients such as silicone oil or mineral spirits.
Manufacturers often express concerns about long mixing times and the difficulty of dispersing hydrophilic polymers in water without the formation of “fish eyes” or agglomerates.
The YTRON Solution
The YTRON-ZC inline powder disperser was specifically designed to disperse extremely difficult-to-wet powders—such as polymers and carbomers—into a liquid stream in a single pass.
The powder is drawn in by a strong vacuum inside the reactor housing, which is created by the liquid seal between the rotor and stator. This vacuum ensures that the powder is drawn from the hopper above into the reactor head. There, the particles are subjected to intense mechanical shearing *before* they enter the liquid stream and hydrate. The result is a perfectly dispersed, homogeneous mixture of hydrophilic powders—*without* so-called “fish eyes” (undissolved powder agglomerates).
Advantages of the YTRON Powder Disperser:
- The perfect dispersion of the dry materials results in a lump-free end product and maximum raw material yield.
- A single pass prevents excessive shearing of the raw materials.
- Pre-mixing of powdered ingredients is not required.
- High dispersion performance with low energy consumption.
- Minimal mixing times.
