National Oilwell Varco (NOV) applications
Municipal water treatment facilities utilize continuous mixing to process drinking water for municipalities. There are a variety of drinking water sources and therefore different processing steps for the water. Processes utilize rotating and static mixing to treat the water for human consumption.
FGD (Flue Gas Desulfurization) involves the treatment of flue gas from coal fired power plants. The main goal is to remove sulfur, particulates, and other chemicals such as mercury from the flue gas prior to environmental release. Governmental regulations by the EPA put limits on the amount of impurities which can be released into the air. The use of mixers to clean and scrub the flue gas is utilized to help power companies meet permitted limits on the release of controlled substances.
The two main areas in the oil and gas market are upstream operations such as exploration, recovery, storage, and transfer and downstream refining operations. Exploration for oil and gas includes offshore drilling rigs and land rigs. Downstream production includes the cracking of oil into transportation and fuel products and a variety of petrochemicals.
The pulp and paper market includes the manufacture of paper from a variety of woods and cellulosic material. The pulp mill also includes recovery, coating, and effluent treatment applications.
The key to understanding the production process of synthetic plastic, rubber, or fiber lies in the four principle methods commercially used in polymer production. All polymers and copolymers are made by either the use of one or a combination of methods. These methods are bulk, solution, suspension, and emulsion.
The Biotechnology market is ever changing and on the leading edge of technology changes. New products are continuously under development and agitation and mixing is used throughout the process. A process may require any or a combination of the following: blending, solids handling including incorporation/dissolving/suspension, mass transfer, and solids and heat transfer. The scale for Biotechnology reactors and support units range from a few liters to several cubic meters and from small laboratory units to large scale fermenters. Biotechnology applications also require vendors who have strong R&D departments and laboratory facilities, polished and aseptic designs, easy drainability and cleanability designs, material validation, quality control programs specific to the project, and are able to meet governing specifications and directives such as FDA, USP, ASME-BPE, and cGMP requirements.
Mineral Processing includes recovery operations at a mine site and the associated processing plant. The processing operations involve the extraction of metal ores and minerals from the mined rock. Mines use mixers in Backfill or Water Treatment operation. Major applications involving mixers and agitators are found in the processing plant.
Chemineer and Prochem rotating agitators, Greerco High Shear Mixers, and Kenics Static Mixers and Heat Exchangers are used in a wide variety of applications and industries. The ChemScale is used for design purposes based on the problem classification of Blending and Motion, Solids Suspension, or Gas Dispersion.