In-line color mixer
View Patent ↗The method of producing a colored powder of a polymeric material includes the steps of selecting a feedstock of said polymeric material, pulverizing said polymeric material in a pulverizer to produce a powder, moving the powder directly from the pulverizer to a mixer; spraying a liquid formulation including a colorant into the powder within the mixer, and mixing the liquid formulation and powder.
1. An apparatus for producing a colored powder of a polymeric material, the apparatus comprising:
a pulverizer which produces a powder from polymeric material, wherein the temperature of the powder increases during pulverization; and
a mixer which mixes the powder with a colorant while the powder retains at least some of the temperature increase produced by the pulverization;
wherein the colorant is a liquid formulation which further comprises a water component to facilitate coating of the powder at the increased temperature in which a portion of the water component is driven off upon contact in the mixer with the increased temperature powder.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the mixer is a paddle mixer.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the mixer includes cleaning ports that facilitate the cleaning of the mixer.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the pulverizer is one of a crusher, a grinder, a chopper, a masher, a hammer, a mill and a pounder and the temperature of the powder delivered into the mixer is at least 10° C. above ambient temperature.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the pulverizer is one of a crusher, a grinder, a chopper, a masher, a hammer, a mill and a pounder and the temperature of the powder delivered into the mixer is at least 20° C. above ambient temperature.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the pulverizer is one of a crusher, a grinder, a chopper, a masher, a hammer, a mill and a pounder and the temperature of the powder delivered into the mixer is at least 30° C. above ambient temperature.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the mixer is a continuous mixer.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the colorant is not introduced into the pulverizer.
9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein an inlet of the mixer is directly coupled to an outlet of the pulverizer.
10. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:
a spray device operatively coupled to the mixer to produce a spray of the colorant directed at the powder in the mixer.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the spray of the colorant is a liquid.
12. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:
a sieve device for selecting a predetermined particle size of the powder.
13. An apparatus for producing a colored powder of a polymeric material, the apparatus comprising:
a pulverizer which produces a powder from polymeric material, wherein the temperature of the powder increases during pulverization;
a mixer which mixes the powder with a colorant while the powder retains at least some of the temperature increase produced by the pulverization; and
an outlet of the pulverizer is positioned less than 50 cm from an inlet of the mixer so as to minimize a loss of the temperature increase of the powder.
14. An apparatus for producing a colored polymeric material, the apparatus comprising:
a pulverizer which produces a powder from polymeric material, wherein the temperature of the powder increases during pulverization;
a continuous mixer which mixes the powder with a colorant while the powder retains at least some of the temperature increase produced by the pulverization;
an inlet of the mixer being directly coupled to an outlet of the pulverizer so as to minimize a loss of the temperature increase of the powder;
wherein the colorant further comprises a liquid formulation having a water component to facilitate coating of the powder at the increased temperature in which a portion of the water component is driven off upon contact in the mixer with the increased temperature powder; and
a spray device operatively coupled to the mixer to produce a spray of the colorant directed at the powder in the mixer;
wherein the mixer produces a fluidized bed of the powder and the colorant.
15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the mixer is a paddle mixer and the pulverizer is one of a crusher, a grinder, a chopper, a masher, a hammer, a mill and a pounder and the temperature of the powder delivered into the mixer is at least 10° C. above ambient temperature.
16. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the mixer further comprises:
cleaning ports that facilitate the cleaning of the mixer.
17. The apparatus of claim 14 further comprising:
a sieve device for selecting a predetermined particle size of the powder.