Mixing & Blending Systems

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GEA Liquid Processing supplies numerous different batch and continuous mixing and blending systems to the food and beverage industries. The scope of supply includes the standard systems from GEA Diessel and from Tuchenhagen as well as in-house custom designed systems for unique applications.

For the mixing of products it is possible to use either a conventional batch mixer or a continuous blending control system. Particularly for companies with very frequent product changes or with many products that have to be prepared using dry substances and ingredients out of small containers (bags, bottles etc.) it may well be sensible to use a batch mixing plant for the preparation of all types of syrup. But in many cases a combination of batch mixing and continuous blending is advantageous.

Batch mixing

With a batch mixing plant dry substances and ingredients out of small containers can be dissolved or mixed semi-automatically in starter vessels. All ingredients are added at a single point, from a platform at a convenient working height. If required the mixture from the starter vessel can be filtered on its way to the syrup blending tank. The mixing plant is connected up to all the commonly required flavor concentrates, the starter vessels and the sugar solution and water lines. The plant control system provides for the individual quantities that are required from each line to be conveyed to the mixing tank in succession in accordance with the stored recipe information.

Parallel flows of water and sugar lead to pre-mixing taking place in the line, and thus reduce the mixing times required in the mixing tanks. The last component to pass through the line is always water, so that the line to the mixing tank is rinsed clean again. The measurement tolerance of the concentrate meter is regularly checked by a monitoring device, in order to prevent incorrect dosing and thus waste of concentrate.

Mixing tanks

Several mixing tanks incorporating agitators or circulating pumps with mixing nozzles in the tank are filled in turn and then released for emptying after the prescribed mixing time. The level gauges in the tanks allow operators to establish rapidly how much syrup is still available. Distribution to the various filling units is effected via a valve matrix.

GEA Diessel DICON continuous blending plant

We distinguish between two different types of blending station:

  1. Continuous blending of prepared beverage syrup and water into a finished beverage corresponding to the recipe takes place directly in-line. High-precision flow meters constantly measure the streams of the two components and compare them with the recipe specifications. The digital controller influences the individual flows by means of control valves, so that finished beverage corresponding to the recipe is being produced continuously all the time. This combination replaces the mixers that were used in the past.
  2. Continuous blending of the various flavor concentrates with water and liquid sugar into a finished beverage corresponding to the recipe takes place directly in-line, without an intermediate syrup stage. This type of plant can be designed for as many different concentrates as desired and serves primarily for the blending of finished beverages, but can also be used for the continuous mixing of syrup base. Water and liquid sugar are supplied from the central system. The base ingredients are conveyed to the blending plant from bulk containers in the refrigerated store by means of speed-controlled pumps.
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