Ribbon Mixers

A ribbon mixer uses a counter-transport mechanism that consists of an outside right-hand ribbon and an inside left-hand ribbon, each connected to the same horizontal shaft. This ribbon setup, combined with the mixer's inability to transport an entire mass of solids, creates an extremely diverse velocity field. Such a mixer may transport a portion of the solids a short distance in both directions along the shaft's axis, while also lifting a portion of the solids from top to bottom, thus allowing the mixture to slide down a repose angle. The result is a mixer that does a thorough and fast blending / mixing job in the vertical plane, but is slow when mixing end to end.