In industrial processes where each product has unique characteristics, empirical validation can be essential. Agitation and mixing solutions present specific challenges depending on the application, and while in most cases process calculations and process simulations are sufficient to determine the result, on some occasions empirical testing is indispensable.
An incorrect selection of the agitator or mixer forces production stoppages and costly redesigns.
A ๐ฃ๐ถ๐น๐ผ๐ ๐ฃ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ fully equipped with various agitation and inline mixing configurations to cover a wide spectrum of industrial processes, as is our case, allows reproducing real process conditions to validate solutions before industrial implementation, minimizing uncertainties and guaranteeing the technical viability of proposals.
This functional testing environment includes:
- Tanks of different volumes to adapt to different production scenarios
- Agitators with all types of impeller designs for all mixing processes
- Inline mixers with dispersion, emulsion and micro-emulsion capacity
- Viscometer, as a key tool to obtain fundamental parameters, and other data acquisition systems that allow studying the rheology of products and the conditions of the different process phases
- Measurement of key parameters such as mechanical stress, agitator energy consumption, pressure, temperature, …
Testing at Vak Kimsa’s Pilot Plant ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ถ๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ, ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ผ ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ๐, optimizing it and collecting valuable technical data that is integrated into engineering development.
๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ฑ๐
A company in the cosmetics sector needed to develop a new high-viscosity body cream with ingredients sensitive to temperature and shear. The formula combined aqueous and oily phases, stabilizers, emulsifiers and natural extracts, with the aim of achieving a stable, smooth and easy-to-apply texture.
The challenge: Initial industrial production presented unstable emulsions, inconsistencies in texture and viscosity between batches, and overheating of certain ingredients during mixing. This forced production to stop and the agitation system to be redesigned, with considerable added costs.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ถ๐น๐ผ๐ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น: The manufacturing process was reproduced in a 100L tank, equipped with a central agitator and variable shear disperser, combined with an inline mixing system for controlled addition of actives.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐, being used before, during and after to monitor the evolution of viscosity as a function of time and temperature, the effect of shear on product stability, and the ideal operating limits to maintain the desired texture.
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐๐น๐๐ ๐ผ๐ฏ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ: Rheological data indicated that excessive agitation during the final emulsification phase reduced viscosity and affected stability. A critical temperature point was also detected, beyond which one of the actives lost effectiveness.
The tests allowed redesigning the agitation profile with defined and proven requirements, determining a necessary change in the ingredient incorporation sequence, and defining the key parameters to guarantee homogeneity and quality between batches.
๐ช๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฝ๐ถ๐น๐ผ๐ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น, ๐ต๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต๐ป๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ธ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ ๐ผ๐ฏ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ด๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฒ, ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ-๐๐ฝ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐พ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐.
Why test in a pilot plant?
Because mistakes in production are expensive
A pilot plant bridges the gap between lab theory and industrial reality. It lets you replicate actual production conditions, run hands-on trials, and observe product behavior in real timeโbefore any major investment.
The tests not only verify the viability of the mixture, but also ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ผ๐ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฑ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ๐, optimizing it and collecting valuable technical data that is integrated into engineering development.
Additionally at Vak Kimsa, analyses performed with ANSYS at fluid-dynamic level, together with mechanical and energy tests, constitute ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐-๐ต๐ผ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ.
This methodology marks the difference between a conventional solution and a truly efficient one.
In short, the pilot plant is a validation and innovation space where theory is put to the test and where ideas are transformed into applicable solutions. It allows adjusting each proposal to the specific needs of each process and, above all, minimizing risks and ๐ด๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
- Do you want to see how it would work with your product? Contact us and let’s talk about it.
