A carbonation machine may include a carbonation head, a holder that is configured to hold a gas canister, the holder comprising a connector with a socket configured to enable linear insertion of a valve of the canister into the socket, the socket including a seal with at least one lateral opening to enable fluidic flow between one or more laterally oriented ports of the valve and a conduit of the holder while preventing leakage of gas from the fluidic flow, and a holding mechanism configured to hold a lateral projection from the canister after insertion of the valve into the socket such that the valve remains in the socket, and an activation mechanism configured to operate the valve to release the gas from the canister when inserted into the socket so as to enable the gas to flow via the conduit to the carbonation head.

A multi-gap valve including: a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet; a cone having an inner channel developing along an axial direction and having through openings emerging in the inner channel, the inner channel being in fluid communication with the fluid inlet; a sleeve arranged coaxially and external to the cone; a plurality of gaps formed between the cone and the sleeve, the sleeve and said cone being axially adjustable relative to one another so as to vary the dimension of the gaps; an annular chamber obtained between the sleeve and an inner surface of the housing and being in fluid communication with the fluid outlet;
wherein the fluid inlet is axially aligned with the channel and the fluid outlet is misaligned with respect to the axial direction of said channel.

A homogenizing valve has a valve housing with inlet and outlet channels, a valve seat, and a receptacle through which a valve body extends movably in the direction of its longitudinal axis. A pressure chamber is connected to the inlet channel and formed integrally in the receptacle of the valve seat and/or the jacket surface of the valve body. An adjustment unit is operatively connected to the valve body and with which the axial position of the valve body in the receptacle is adjustable. The valve seat together with the valve body, on both sides of the pressure chamber in the direction of movement of the valve body, have a shear gap formed by a blade edge and by a wall region shaped conically with respect to the latter and, downstream of the shear gap in the direction of flow, an expansion chamber connected to the outlet channel.

A mixing valve for mixing two coating agent components (e.g. master batch and hardener) to form a multi-component mixture, with two coating agent inlets for supplying the two coating agent components and with two coating agent valves for controlling the coating agent flow through the two coating agent inlets, as well as with a coating agent outlet for discharging the multi-component mixture in a specific outflow direction. At least one of the coating agent valves is formed as a rotary slide valve having two plane-parallel valve discs which are rotatable relative to each other about an axis of rotation.

Processes for processing bio-sourced oil to produce bio-sourced oil dielectric fluids can be carried out using an apparatus mounted on a mobile transport platform system having a total footprint of no more than about 30 m.sup.2. The processes use a described array of pumps, heaters, filters, a degasser and vacuum system, and an additive metering/mixing valve system to achieve production under low energy and pressure conditions.