Improving Dispersion Process for Comfort Cushioning Manufacturer

Written by George Nikolopoulos, Product Manager

Customer Story: A leading manufacturer of comfort cushioning came to Admix for better equipment to disperse Melamine powder into Polyol. They were pre-blending in a large volume tank with a low shear agitator which wasn’t dispersing the powder thoroughly enough to prevent problems further down in the process. We recommended connecting our Dynashear® inline mixer to the discharge of the mix tank to make the product smoother and de-agglomerate the clumps of Melamine powder.

It was the manufacturer’s goal to achieve a uniform dispersion that was free of agglomerates as quickly as possible so the mixture could move on to the next phase, a chemical reaction in the presence of water, catalysts, and surfactants. The better the Melamine powder could be dispersed into the Polyol, the faster and more effectively the chemical reaction can take place. The chemical reaction here is key because it causes cross-linking and produces carbon dioxide, which then produces the foam polymer – a necessary factor of comfort cushioning!

One fast pass through our 2-stage high shear Dynashear emulsifier gave them the results they required. The Dynashear produced a completely dispersed, uniform mixture, thus, greatly improving the polyurethane foam manufacturing process in terms of product quality and time to market.

Could your process use some improvement? Ask our mixing experts for advice on your application and consider that before committing to a purchase, we offer convenient lab testing (even remotely!) and have onsite equipment trial programs!