machinery feature | laboratory compounders
extruder with reciprocating kneader technology that scales up to the new TriVolution 60 and 80 mm produc- tion extruders. “The new technology blurs the line between twin-
screw and reciprocating kneader capabilities, offering improved efficiency, performance, and versatility,” says michael lazorchak, global product manager for mixing systems at B&p. The 30-mm TriVolution can be used for small production runs as well as lab trials. lazorchak says the company is also working on a smaller, bench- top TriVolution model.
Having the same geometry and type of machine in the lab and in production makes it easier to scale up with confidence that you will obtain similar results, explains lazorchak. He adds that when scaling up, processors should look at potential limiting factors beyond just the larger volume, such as heat transfer or degassing of low bulk density powders. Equipment suppliers can help with the necessary calculations to estimate how these factors will affect scale up. lazorchak adds that versatility is key for lab extrud-
ers, saying, “we port our lab extruders nearly every- where so that we can plug-and-play different auxiliaries, feed materials at various locations, and make either minor or major changes during process experiments. most of our customers like to use a central control panel to record data from various devices, but each of the units is designed to be modular so that they can be added or removed from the set-up without hassle.” Self- contained feeding systems are also useful in the lab so that they can be moved around easily.
B&p designed the TriVolution-30 as a more neatly
packaged unit with shrouding and guards for lab use, and with parts designed to keep the cost down. However, for customers who intend to use the 30-mm extruder to augment production, B&p can add production-level reliability into the design so that it can run continuously. B&p also offers a 19-mm twin-screw extruder (TSE) for the lab that scales to its Bp range of TSEs with a 1.76 outer diameter to inner diameter (od/id) geometry. B&p recently launched a 50-ml micro-mixer with dual planetary blades designed for laboratory batch mixing. This mixer is useful for applications using very expensive materials, such as pharmaceutical ingredi- ents, and for volatile materials with hazard ratings that limit the quantity a lab can use. Technical Process and Engineering (TpEi) recently
introduced the 1FrE lab compounding line that scales up to continuous mixing compounding systems of up to 15,000 lbs/h (6,800 kg/h). The line was created for customers developing new compounds that wanted to run 1-2 lb (c. 0.5-1 kg) samples in lab trials or up to 50 lbs/hr (23 kg/h) production rates. The 1FrE can be configured for strand or underwater pelletizing, and uses 240 volt single-phase power so that it can be plugged into a standard 240 volt outlet. The line features TpEi’s extended body E-mixer and J-Block feed throat extruder, which allows feeding of fluffy or hard- to-feed materials. Randcastle Extruders offers micro-batch mixers that use its spiral-fluted extensional mixer (SFEm) technology and have capacities from 1 to 200 ml.
lab on a chip
The complex Fluids group at the uS national institute of Standards and Technology (niST), led by dr. Kalman migler, has developed equipment that he dubs “a polymer processing laboratory on a chip”. The niST micro-rheometer can
The ‘lab on a chip’ can measure the viscosity and rheology of just one or two pellets of a polymer
28 compounding world | december 2011
measure viscosity, rheology, and mixing characteristics of just one or two pellets of a polymer. it was developed to meet the needs of early-stage r&d working with expensive or limited-quantity materials.
“The equipment can perform simple compounding mixing opera-
tions, so that a researcher can examine what types of microscopic structures result,” explains dr. migler. For example, a researcher could compare the fluid behaviour of two polymers individually, the polymers together, and the polymers together with a compati- bilizer. The device utilizes pressure driven flow through laser- machined shim-slits and is much smaller than a traditional rheom- eter with a sample size of about 20 micro-litres. ❙
www.nist.gov/mml/polymers/ complex_fluids/
www.compoundingworld.com
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