To understand how high shear mixers can do this and how they could benefit your mixing process, it is useful to understand how these mixers work.
What is a High Shear Mixer?
Shear means to cut. A high shear mixer utilises specialised rotor/stator technology to generate extremely high shear rates.
Rapid intake – The rotor creates a powerful suction effect that continuously draws materials into the high shear workhead.
Initial Shear – Centrifugal force then drives materials towards the periphery of the workhead where they are subjected to a milling action in the precision machined clearance between the ends of the rotor blades and inner wall of stator.
Hydraulic Shear – This is followed by intense high shear as the materials are forced, at high velocity, out through the perforations in the stator and circulated into the main body of the mix.
Complete processing - The materials expelled from the head are projected radially at high speed towards the sides of the mixing vessel. At the same time, fresh material is continually drawn into the workhead maintaining the mixing cycle. The effect of the horizontal (radial) expulsion and suction into the head is to set up a circulation pattern that minimizes aeration caused by the disturbance of the liquid’s surface.
Unlike low shear devices such as stirrers and agitators, high shear mixers actively process the ingredients in the mix, enabling faster and more consistent results.
How are High Shear Mixers used in the Food and Beverage industries?
Food manufacturers lose time and raw material to clumping thickeners, unstable emulsions, and inefficient powder hydration. Silverson mixers tackles each challenge fast, while meeting 3-A and EHEDG hygienic standards.
High Shear mixers can:
Cut processing time by up to 90% compared to conventional agitation meaning more batches per shift and no additional capital equipment.
Create stable emulsions with uniform droplet size and zero phase separation, batch-after-batch.
Maximise yield of ingredients. Pectin, xanthan gum, starch, and other gums and thickeners can be incorporated completely at ambient temperature, eliminating filtration steps, reducing ingredient waste, and improving product quality.
Handle high viscosity mixes and effortless blend liquids of varying viscosities
Eliminate costly heating cycles as dissolving and incorporation of other ingredients can be done at ambient temperature.
Incorporate powders with less dust and waste. Silverson’s high shear powder/liquid mixers draw ingredients directly into the liquid stream, minimising airborne dust and ingredient loss whilst preventing floating “rafts” and pockets of unmixed materials.
Disintegrate and suspend solids. Low micron milling and uniform suspensions in a single operation.
Achieve results in R&D that can easily be replicated at full production scale.
For more information on specific food and beverage applications, Silverson has a library of mixing application reports available for free on their website.
Choosing the right mixing solution
Why choose a Silverson high shear mixer over other high shear mixers available on the market?
Experience – In 2026 Silverson Machines turns 80. We’ve 80 years of experience, technical knowledge and application know how to help assist our customers when helping them solve their mixing problems.
Precision and Quality – Silverson High Shear mixers have the tightest shear gap in the industry. If you think of a pair of scissors, a pair with blades close to one another will cut the paper much more efficiently than a pair which has a larger gap. The same applies to high shear mixers. This tight tolerance between the rotor and the stator also allows for more accurate scale-up.
Trusted by Multinationals – Because of the tight shear gap, Silverson mixers can be relied upon for batch-to-batch consistency, in terms of quality and timings. Looser tolerances means that batch times can vary, even a five minute variation can have a knock on effect and could consequently end up with fewer batches being produced in a working day. With Silverson, results can be replicated time after time.
Versatility – Silverson Machines offers the widest capacity range from a single manufacturer, with mixers suitable for processing batches of 1ml up to 30,000 litres. Within our range there are many options suitable for food and beverage processing, including 3-A and EHEDG certified models with FDA and cGMP documentation available on request. A comprehensive range of workheads and screens is available for all Silverson high shear mixers, allowing them to be used for multiple mixing operations.
Worldwide support – with offices, representatives and agents in over 60 countries, there is always support nearby.
High Shear v Agitators – Real world examples
A major European confectionery manufacturer replaced a conventional agitator with a Silverson in-tank Batch mixer after successful trials to improve the reclamation of defective or out-of-spec fruit confectionery.
Previously, rejected sweets were dissolved in a heated vessel fitted with an agitator so they could be recycled into future batches. The process involved heating the vessel and water, waiting for the 2–3cm sweets to melt, then allowing the mixture to cool before reuse. This lengthy process could not keep pace with production, resulting in a growing stockpile of rejected sweets occupying valuable storage space.
Looking for a faster solution, the company contacted Silverson to arrange a trial.
Using an in-tank high shear Batch mixer, 130kg of 2–3cm fruit sweets were mixed with 60 litres of cold water at ambient temperature, with no heating required. The final, homogeneous mixture was 57 brix with a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius, all achieved in under an hour of mixing – much faster and more cost-effective than their previous process.
Another company benefitted from switching to a Silverson mixer from an agitator for dispersing pectin. Before switching to a Silverson, the company had been using conventional agitators to mix the pectin in a 400 litre vessel at temperatures in excess of 55°C. They were incorporating around 20% more pectin than they actually needed for their formulation to account for what they were losing due to agglomerates and partially hydrated pectin sticking to the agitator shaft, blades and the walls of the mixing vessel. After around 40 minutes they were left with a low quality 5% pectin solution, wasting 20% of the material they had added as the agitator was unable to break down the agglomerates. This wastage was costing a considerable amount of money and after the mixing process they had to put the mixture through a filtration stage to remove the agglomerates, further lengthening the process time.
Trials were arranged at Silverson using a Flashmix FMX50 production scale powder/liquid mixer to incorporate the pectin. It took around 10 minutes to incorporate and fully hydrate the 5% of pectin that had been added. With the FMX50 there were no agglomerates and no partially hydrated powder sticking to the vessel wall, so cleaning was minimised and the mixture no longer needed to be filtered after mixing.
Using the FMX50 the consistency and quality of the mix was much better and the process time was dramatically reduced. The company would be saving a huge amount of money on pectin by being able to use 20% less pectin for each. The trials were so successful they company purchased the FMX50 for their factory.
Try it for yourself
For nearly eighty years, Silverson Machines has worked closely with food and beverage manufacturers to solve their mixing problems. We are confident that high shear mixing can revolutionise your mixing process, so put us to the test! Get in touch today to arrange a trial and see the results for yourself.
You can view the entire range of Silverson High Shear Mixing equipment on the Silverson website.
