Volumetric Concrete Mixer
The volumetric concrete mixer is a special design that helps to pour concrete effectively and with efficiency. There are several different benefits to using this type of mixer if you are working on a project that requires concrete or cement. The process that is used through a volumetric mixer adds to proficiency for the process of laying concrete.
Usually, these mixers contain four different bins in them. Each of these will hold a different material that is needed for mixing concrete. This includes cement dust, sand, stone and water. These different elements will then fall into a conveyor that is running through the bins. These are controlled by gates that open and close, allowing whoever is operating the gates to control how much material and mixture goes through the gates.
After the different materials move to create the mix, they are dumped into an auger. At this point, water or any other elements needed are be added to the mixture. This is where all of the mixing of the material occurs. If the mixture is a little off, it can be adjusted at this point. This allows complete control over the levels of mixture that are used before being poured onto the landscape.
The concrete then moves out of the auger and onto the ground. This is where it can be laid out properly and professionally. The benefits of this type of mixing of concrete are many. First, it allows the concrete to be fresh when it is laid. This helps in putting the finishing touches on the concrete. Second, when concrete is mixed through other types of mixing devices, it often comes out hot, making it harder to work properly. Often times, when the concrete is laid while it is hot, it will take a longer time to set in the right place and dry.
Usually, these types of mixers are available in several different sizes. They are best used when attached to a truck. The mixers are available at a smaller size of two yards, or four feet, or a larger size of twelve yards, or twenty-four feet. Depending on the projects that will be done with these mixers, you can control how large or small you will need to have the mixer.
By using volumetric concrete mixers to pour landscapes and roads, it allows for more efficiency. These mixers have been used as a special design to allow companies and individuals to mix and maintain concrete. By using the special process through these types of mixers, it allows for more proficient lying of concrete.
Some Suspect Chemical Mix in Pet Food
XUZHOU, China, April 10 — Behind an unmarked gate in this booming city well north of Shanghai lies a large building at the heart of an investigation over tainted pet food that has killed at least 16 cats and dogs in the United States, sickened 12,000 and prompted a nationwide recall.
This is the property of the Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Company, a small agricultural products business that investigators have identified as the source of contaminated wheat gluten that was shipped to a major pet food supplier in the United States.
Some American regulators suspect there was deliberate mixing of substances. They are looking into the possibility that melamine, the chemical linked to the pets’ deaths, was mixed into the wheat gluten in China as a way to bolster the protein content, according to a person who was briefed on the investigation.
Though American and Chinese regulators are searching for answers, local residents and workers are unwittingly providing clues about how the pet food supply may have become contaminated.
The case is also exposing some of the enormous challenges confronting the global marketplace as China becomes a worldwide supplier of agricultural products.
There are strong indications that Xuzhou Anying, a company with a main office that seems to consist of just two rooms and an adjoining warehouse here, possessed substantial supplies of melamine and even sought to buy quantities of it over the Internet.
If melamine was intentionally blended into the wheat gluten, the findings could become a vast setback for agricultural trade between the United States and China, a country known for lax food-safety regulations.
Stephen Sundlof, director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine at the Food and Drug Administration, said at a news conference last week that the agency had found unusually high concentrations of melamine in some batches of wheat gluten, as much as 6.6 percent.
Xuzhou Anying, though, has tried to distance itself from the pet food recall in the United States, saying it does not manufacture or export wheat gluten and acts only as a middleman trading in agricultural goods and chemicals.
In a telephone interview last week, the company’s manager, Mao Lijun, said he had no idea how wheat gluten with his company’s label ended up in the United States or how melamine, a chemical commonly used to make plastics, fertilizer and fire retardant, was mixed into a product that was eventually shipped there.
Mixing melamine and wheat gluten is an unlikely practice here, according to local industry participants. Nonetheless, the company’s wheat gluten, tainted with melamine, ended up in millions of packages sent to the United States and Canada, leading to one of the biggest pet food recalls ever.
ChemNutra, the Las Vegas-based company that acknowledges it imported the wheat gluten from Xuzhou for sale to pet food producers in North America, says Xuzhou Anying provided chemical analyses that showed no impurities or contamination in the packages of wheat gluten.
Though some American scientists still question whether melamine is toxic enough to kill pets, the chemical is not approved for use in human or pet food in the United States. The F.D.A. says it may have led to kidney failure in some animals.
The question that regulators, agriculture experts, and food producers and distributors may now be asking is whether other substances added to food imports can broadly contaminate the American food supply. The F.D.A. has said none of the contaminated wheat gluten leaked into human food.
Here in Xuzhou, a metropolitan region of about 1.6 million, Mr. Mao turned away visitors to his office, declaring that he had nothing more to say on the matter.
But there are indications that Xu- zhou Anying has manufacturing facilities in this area and also had access to melamine, which is sometimes used as a fertilizer in Asia. For instance, in recent months Xuzhou Anying has posted several requests on Web trading sites seeking to purchase large quantities of melamine.
In a March 29 posting on a site operated by Sohu.net, a big Chinese company, officials of Xuzhou Anying wrote, “Our company buys large quantities of melamine scrap all year around.†There were also postings on several other trading sites like ChemAbc.net.
A truck driver parked across the street from the company’s main office here said that Xuzhou Anying did operate manufacturing facilities and that he carried goods for the company.
“Yes, they have a factory that makes wheat gluten,†said the man, who did not give his name and then telephoned the manager of Xuzhou Anying to check whether he could take visitors to the factory.
On Tuesday, a reporter visited one of the facilities the truck driver identified in the village of Wangdian, about 10 miles south of company headquarters, but the gate to the building was padlocked.
Storage sacks that appeared to hold grain or agricultural supplies were stacked outside the site in a vast wheat- and garlic-growing region here in Jiangsu Province.
Chemical mix turns frightful for boy, 15
SWAMPSCOTT — Jared Richard and his friends thought it would be a fun experiment: Mix some chemicals in a plastic 2-liter bottle, shake it up, and watch the container explode. But the results backfired and almost left Richard blind.
On Tuesday afternoon, the teenagers, who borrowed the formula from a YouTube video, went to work in the backyard.
They placed the bottle on a picnic table and took several steps away.
A minute later, the bottle remained intact.
Richard, 15, grew impatient, walked to the table, and began to pick up the bottle.
Suddenly, the mixture inside turned yellow. Then all Richard saw was white.
“I thought I was dead when it blew up,” he said yesterday, as he sat in his dining room.
He wore sunglasses to protect his eyes, which were burned by the explosion.
His face was red with first-degree burns, which he compared to a severe sunburn.
Yesterday, after two days of sleeping and wearing a black eye mask, he was able to read, look at a computer, and watch television.
For his mother, who was unsure Tuesday if her child would see again, it seemed like remarkable improvement.
“He’s very lucky,” said Dianne Richard, 46. Police “said the blast was the equivalent of a shotgun blast.”
Dianne Richard, who works in sales and marketing for a Danvers cleaning company, was called at work by her sister Tuesday, telling her that her son had been involved in an explosion and was at North Shore Medical Center in Salem.
“I couldn’t comprehend it,” she said.
When she arrived at the hospital, her son was full of remorse.
“I walked in and he said: ‘I’m sorry, Mom. I’m sorry, Mom,’ ” she said.
“My first reaction was, please, just let this kid be able to see again.”
Eventually, he was moved to Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston, where doctors told the family that he had burned his corneas, but that he would regain full use of his eyes.
He may face charges for possession of an explosive device, Dianne Richard said.
It is unclear when he will return to school or when he will fully recover his eyesight. But the family is grateful.
“I’m just so happy right now,” Dianne Richard said.
YouTube, on its terms of use page, offers this disclaimer: “YouTube does not endorse any User Submission or any opinion, recommendation, or advice expressed therein, and YouTube expressly disclaims any and all liability in connection with User Submissions.”
Jared Richard said he has simple advice for any curious person thinking of building an explosive device.
Diagnostic gadget mixes and matches all in one
Researchers at Motorola Labs in Tempe, Ariz., have created a miniature diagnostic lab that can detect specific disease-linked genes in a small sample of whole blood.
Numerous groups are developing chips that can detect tiny amounts of disease-related molecules, most notably DNA. However, the DNA typically has to be removed from the cells and purified using other laboratory instruments before the chip can detect it, says Robin Liu, who helped develop the device.
In the new scheme, when the researchers add a milliliter sample of blood to the system, the device itself processes the blood by shuttling it through microscale channels into various reaction chambers. The first chamber isolates the cells from the rest of the sample. A second chamber breaks open the cells, and then a chemical mixture pumped into the chamber makes multiple copies of the now-accessible DNA. The genetic material then passes into the final chamber.
There, a series of DNA probes fish out disease-related genes and produce electric signals that indicate whether the blood test is positive or negative for those genes. The entire assembly fits onto a thin platform the size of an index card.
Chemical reaction: two flame retardants to phase out in 2004 - Brief Article
The chemicals–mixes of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)–have become ubiquitous pollutants in both the environment and people. Recent animal tests have shown that these chemicals are harmful at doses similar to those that would result in the milk, blood, and fat concentrations that had been measured in some people in North America (SN: 10/25/03, p. 266).
EPA “commends Great Lakes Chemical Corporation for taking this action voluntarily,” says Stephen L. Johnson, the agency’s acting deputy administrator. The move will accelerate a shift from these PBDEs to safer alternatives, he says.
The products to be phased out are known as the penta mix and octa mix because they contain predominantly PBDEs with five and eight bromine atoms per molecule, respectively. Manufacturers add the penta mix primarily to foam in furniture and the octa mix to the plastic parts in personal computers and small appliances.
Intelligent control system for powder milling
A keynote presentation will review the application of Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery to improve the performance of Industrial Particle and Powder Processing.
Knowledge Process Solutions Director Akeel Attar is to deliver a keynote speech at the Control of Particulate Processes Conference taking place in Harrison Hot Springs (BC, Canada) from October 29th to November 2nd 2006. The theme of the conference this year is ‘Intelligent Sensing and Control - the Path to Manufacturing Excellence’. Akeel’s presentation will review the application of Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery to improve the performance of Industrial Particle and Powder Processing.
The manufacturing processes of particulate solid products are widely recognized as presenting much greater processing challenges than either gases or liquids.
Measurement, modelling and control are considered as the key enabling techniques for improving the particulate product manufacturing performance and have continuously attracted significant amount of investment.
Akeel will share with the attendees the innovative work carried out by KPS in collaboration with Hosokawa Micron in the UK to develop an intelligent control system for powder mills.
The technical approach is based on KPS patented equipment control and optimisation technology and typical benefits of the system include reduced out of specification material, increased production rates, tighter control of product quality as well as reduced operator intervention.
Knowledge Process Solutions delivers advanced performance analysis and real-time monitoring solutions for the process industries that enable users to optimise process performance and minimise abnormal operations.
Machines help food processors improve efficiency
UFM has launched a new family of high capacity Laska bowl choppers, which are ideal for chopping meat, poultry and fish as well as producing pastes, bases and stocks for sauces, soups and gravies.
Wellingborough based UFM (Union Food Machinery and Equipment) has launched a new family of high capacity Laska bowl choppers, including 200, 330, 500 and 750 litre models. The new machines are set to help the company meet customer demand for versatile chopping equipment. They are ideal for chopping meat, poultry and fish as well as producing pastes, bases and stocks for sauces, soups and gravies.
The new bowl choppers are offered with five different motor ratings to facilitate processing different materials and to provide different speeds.
The highest motor ratings offer what Laska believes to be the fastest machine of its type on the market.
The bowl choppers can offer from two cutting speeds and one or two mixing speeds up to infinitely variable cutting speeds up to the maximum as well as forward and reverse mixing, according to the rating.
Amongst the most significant advantages of the new range is the ease of use of the machines.
The simple PLC based control system is perfect for companies who are committed to improving their level of process automation.
‘Control is essential if you want to maximise the efficiency of this kind of equipment,’ explained Malcolm Burgess, managing director of UFM: ‘Furthermore, PLC based control allows you access to additional information that can lead to further process improvements’.
UFM is also able to offer maintenance contracts to support the range as well as an on site specification service prior to sale.
‘Effective maintenance is essential in the food industry where down time can be extremely costly,’ explained Burgess: ‘Maintenance is made all the easier when the machines are specified and installed correctly.
As a result, we strive to offer our best advice at the earliest possible stage’.
Options include vacuum execution, water addition and cooling via CO2 or liquid nitrogen.
A further option is a full recipe management system and modem link for rapid updating of required data via the Internet.
Sterility and cleanability with new food mixer
Designed for food processing applications requiring exemplary standards in sterility and cleanability, Chemineer has launched an ASME-BPE-compliant Static Mixer.
Designed for food processing applications requiring exemplary standards in sterility and cleanability, Chemineer has launched an ASME-BPE-compliant Static Mixer, which benefits from electropolished as well as a fully passivated housing and elements. The new Kenics ASME-BPE Static Mixer utilises standard design helical mixing elements with food-grade stainless steel housing and a complete documentation package that includes material certificates. This latest in-line addition to the Chemineer range uses both radial mixing and flow division to achieve the desired mixture quality.
The result is near plug-flow characteristics, which eliminate radial gradients in temperature, velocity and material composition.
The Kenics ASME-BPE Static Mixer can handle both high and low viscosity fluids, with low pressure drop in just a short length of pipe.
For industrial duties, Kenics mixers are also available in a wide range of materials, including PTFE, PVC, FRP, and Hastelloy.
In addition, Chemineer also design and manufactures a wide range of proven, hygienic agitators.
Schugi Flexomix gives dust free bread improvers
The Schugi Flexomix Agglomerator, from Hosokawa Micron, is used to add a binder liquid to the fine powder and intensively mix the materials, so a homogeneous, dust free, granular material is produced.
Increasing concern in the baking industry for health issues associated with the handling of dusty powders, such as flour, dough improvers and other additives, has resulted in legislation governing dust concentrations in working environments and restrictions in acceptable operator exposure levels. This has fuelled the demand for dust free products, that is products with powder particles greater than 50micron. Traditionally many bread improvers and additives are produced using spray drying techniques, which by their nature produce fine, dusty powders.
By utilising a continuous agglomeration production process, German based, leading specialist ingredient manufacturer Satro have created a range of bakery and food ingredients, including a dust free, calcium propionate bread improver that eradicate the problems of dust particles in the working environment.
The continuous system incorporates a Schugi Flexomix Agglomerator, from Hosokawa Micron, which is used to produce the dust free product.
By adding a binder liquid to the fine powder and intensively mixing the materials a homogeneous, dust free, granular material is produced.
The Flexomix is a vertical in-line mixer which mixes the materials speedily.
The self cleaning design incorporates a flexible walled chamber which is kneaded by external rollers to prevent the build up of material on the walls, thus maintaining thorough and speedy mixing.
Water or a base material solution is injected to bind the material.
The original material particles of less than 50micron are agglomerated to a particle size distribution between 125 and 2000 micron.
The particle size distribution can be altered by varying the percentage of binder added or by varying the rotor speed of the Flexomix.
The wet particles are dried in a Fluidised Bed Dryer to create a dust free granulate with free flowing characteristics.
This production method, rather than the traditional spray drying method, produces a granular bread improver with improved dispersibility and better behaviour when mixed with other fine textured ingredients.
Landia mixers go behind bars to hold-off the lions
At Wuppertal Zoo a man-made river that somewhat importantly acts as a barrier between hungry lions and unsuspecting humans, is having agitation provided by submersible mixers from Landia.
At Wuppertal Zoo in the west of Germany, a man-made river that somewhat importantly acts as a barrier between hungry lions and unsuspecting humans, is having its current provided by submersible mixers from Landia. On ground designed to recreate the grassland landscapes of the African Savannah, the encircling river is also prevented from becoming frozen over by the circulation created from the Landia mixers. Whilst the lions (and tigers) are not actually behind bars, the Landia mixers are.
In the event of any of the more curious big cats venturing into the water, each mixer propellor has been mounted with an iron mesh to protect the animals’ paws.
This latest contract for Landia follows a highly successful installation at Leipzig Zoo, which is internationally renowned for its carnivores, having bred more than 2,000 lions and over 250 rare Siberian tigers.