Gentle blender scoops the honours

Orthos, based in Market Harborough in the UK, has developed the Lindor blender, a mixing machine that prevents cross-contamination between batches.

The Lindor is based on a special horizontal drum design with integral tapered scoops rather than separately moving parts such as blades or impellers that can cause product degradation.

The scoops induce a gentle but thorough three-dimensional figure of eight motion in the mix that is non-degrading; fast mixing times of typically just one to three minutes also assist in avoiding product damage. The machines are self-emptying with virtually total product discharge.

All machines supplied to the pharmaceutical industry are manufactured to FDA standards, and are offered in production sizes from 70 to 14,000l capacities, with the recent addition of a 10l pilot plant/laboratory model. The blenders have a high throughput – up to 80 tons/h – because of low resistance.

Standard options include systems for injection of atomised fluids, simple or fully automated control systems, clean-in-place systems, hot air circulation drying and cryogenic blending facility for the handling of temperature sensitive products and the prevention of undesirable bacterial growth.