IKA Master Plant MP

The plant is GMP-compliant and guarantees a high degree of precision, safety and reproducibility of the results. The Master Plant system enables the direct feed of solids and liquids, mixing and dispersing of the vessel contents, heating or cooling of the product and processing under vacuum or under pressure.

The required degree of homogenization and particle crushing is achieved by circulation of the mixture via a DBI dispersing unit integrated into the base of the vessel. The proven technology of this patented IKA DBI homogenizer involves a two-stage operation:

• A specially designed pump rotor with high circulation performance provides turbulence in the vessel, gentle circulation (with no shear) and sufficient pressure and throughput for CIP cleaning of the system.
• An efficient generator (rotor-stator system) produces very high shear forces and thus dispersions with long-term stability and ultra-fine droplets. The design of the DBI creates a strong negative pressure in the product stream, which results in reliable feed of the components to the working chamber.

Depending on the process requirements, an integrated valve allows the product either to be pumped gently through the first stage only, or to be processed and dispersed in the two stages.

A special mixing element which switches the direction of rotation ensures thorough, uniform, vertical and horizontal mixing. For the processing of products of relatively high viscosity – up to 100,000 mPas – a counter-rotating stirrer system is recommended, comprising an outer stirrer and inner stirrer. They rotate in opposite directions and can be heated and cooled. The alternative spiral stirrer can be fully heated or cooled and is suitable for viscosities up to approx. 30.000 mPas. Additional flexible PTFE scraper attachments prevent deposits adhering to the vessel wall.

After processing, the product can be discharged completely without further pumping. The process is controlled via a modern touch-screen monitor. The electric control can be extended as required.

The complete system is also available in an explosion-protected version.

The Master Plant MP series comes in 9 sizes ranging from 10 to 4,000 liters.