Lessons in Mixing

Mixing, especially of solids, is a common and important unit operation in food processing but is often poorly understood. The following discussion draws from various practical cases and is based in part on the Food Engineering Div. Lecture that I was privileged to deliver at the IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo^SM last month. I reviewed some of the key issues in solids mixing: material handling, proper mix time, mixer volume, scheduling and surge, segregation, and feeding, especially in the cas…