Chemineer has designed and manufactured static mixers under the Kenics trade name for the water and wastewater industry for over 30 years. The first applications used the Kenics helical element KMS mixer, and this is still used widely today for pipes of 150mm diameter and less, for gas-liquid dispersion applications and where mixing is required at very low flow conditions.
In the early 1990's Chemineer researched, patented and introduced a novel and unique type of static mixer that generated multiple vortexes to create highly energy efficient (low head loss) radial mixing effects. This mixer, which we called the HEVTM (High Efficiency Vortex) set the standard for ultra low head loss mixing. Over the last 12 years over 1000 full scale HEV mixers with diameters ranging from 50 to 2200mm and for open channels up to 6m wide have been installed worldwide in water and waste water plants.
THE KENICS WVM MIXER
Our market research showed us that the Kenics HEV mixer was liked by industry for two main reasons - its low head loss and its open, non blocking structure. On the other hand, the HEV requires relatively long and expensive injectors, and is not well suited to very low flow rate conditions. A project to build on the key advantages of the HEV but to be able to offer more a more flexible range of options more suited to differing flow conditions and with improved additive injection designs and lower construction costs was completed in 2002 and its performance validated by the BHR Group (1). The new range of mixers is called the WVM (Water Vortex Mixer). Three different WVM designs are now available.