Mix it Up a Little Bit…or Not?
(Originally published on I Truss the Process on 13 March 2025)
We’ve all heard of how oil and water don’t mix. Having a membrane containing hydrophobic heads doesn’t help this process. We also know how two hydrophilic liquid solutions, such as milk and juice, mix well together to create a mixture, even if the end result isn’t all that appetizing to us. But, what if there was a way in which two hydrophilic liquids could move through the same valve without ever mixing? During a tour at a food production lab, a group was introduced to a modern marvel of engineering that has the answer to this question. You might find this hard to believe, but a company by the name Alfa Laval has created a valve that solves this very problem!
Alfa Laval’s Unique Mixproof CP-3 valve is used in industries in which more than one type of liquid moves through limited available space, such as the food processing industry. In an industry where product quality, production time, and overall costs can be conflicting with one another at any given time, this valve helps to increase space utilization in an effort to decrease production time and overall costs while maintaining high product quality. This is achieved through a valve setup that allows two different liquids to travel through the valve at the same time. Below is a link to a video from Central States Industrial that helps explain this process:
The fluid that was being used in the demonstration was water, which is a Newtonian Fluid that maintains its viscosity regardless of how much force or pressure is being exerted onto it. As for fluids that are shear thickening, which is a fluid whose viscosity increases with increased force, or shear thinning, which is a fluid whose viscosity decreases with increased force, it is unclear how these fluids would behave in such an environment and whether or not it would be beneficial in any way to utilize the Alfa Laval Unique Mixproof CP-3 for these types of fluids.
What do you think? Were we right in assuming that the Alfa Laval Unique Mixproof CP-3 valve is only good for Newtonian Fluids? Let us know in the comments!
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