An apparatus configured to process foodstuff materials can include an exterior tube, an inner shaft, and multiple differently shaped protrusions. The exterior tube can have a foodstuff inlet, an outlet, and a longitudinal axis, and can be configured to facilitate the conveyance of foodstuff materials along a material passage from the foodstuff inlet to the outlet. The inner shaft can be located within the exterior tube, can extend along the longitudinal axis, and can combine with the exterior tube to define the material passage. The inner shaft can be configured to be rotationally driven. The multiple differently shaped protrusions can be coupled to and extend from the inner shaft, and these differently shaped protrusions can be configured to process the foodstuff materials when the inner shaft is rotationally driven. Processing can include conveying, agitating, and/or hydrating the foodstuff materials.

An apparatus configured to process foodstuff materials can include an exterior tube, an inner shaft, and multiple differently shaped protrusions. The exterior tube can have a foodstuff inlet, an outlet, and a longitudinal axis, and can be configured to facilitate the conveyance of foodstuff materials along a material passage from the foodstuff inlet to the outlet. The inner shaft can be located within the exterior tube, can extend along the longitudinal axis, and can combine with the exterior tube to define the material passage. The inner shaft can be configured to be rotationally driven. The multiple differently shaped protrusions can be coupled to and extend from the inner shaft, and these differently shaped protrusions can be configured to process the foodstuff materials when the inner shaft is rotationally driven. Processing can include conveying, agitating, and/or hydrating the foodstuff materials.

A reactor for coating particles includes a stationary vacuum chamber having a lower portion that forms a half-cylinder and an upper portion to hold a bed of particles to be coated, a vacuum port in the upper portion of the chamber, a paddle assembly, a motor to rotate a drive shaft of the paddle assembly, a chemical delivery system to deliver a first fluid, and a first gas injection assembly to receive the first fluid from the chemical delivery system and having apertures configured to inject a first reactant or precursor gas into the lower portion of the chamber and such that the first reactant or precursor gas flows substantially tangent to a curved inner surface of the half-cylinder.

A reactor for coating particles includes a stationary vacuum chamber having a lower portion that forms a half-cylinder and an upper portion to hold a bed of particles to be coated, a vacuum port in the upper portion of the chamber, a paddle assembly, a motor to rotate a drive shaft of the paddle assembly, a chemical delivery system to deliver a first fluid, and a first gas injection assembly to receive the first fluid from the chemical delivery system and having apertures configured to inject a first reactant or precursor gas into the lower portion of the chamber and such that the first reactant or precursor gas flows substantially tangent to a curved inner surface of the half-cylinder.

A continuous ready mix joint or texture compound manufacturing system and a method for continuously manufacturing a ready mix joint or texture compound includes a continuous mixer having an inlet and an outlet, a pump disposed at the outlet of the continuous mixer, and a disperger having an inlet and an outlet. The continuous mixer is adapted to receive at least one dry ingredient and at least one wet ingredient at the inlet and continuously mix the at least one dry ingredient and the at least one wet ingredient to form a mixed composition. The pump is adapted to pump the mixed composition from the outlet of the continuous mixer to the inlet of the disperger. The disperger is adapted to receive the mixed composition and apply a shear force to the mixed composition to form a homogenized, disperged composition.

A synthesis method and a synthesis device of cyclododecene according to the present invention have a high conversion rate of cyclododecatriene which is a reactant and a high selectivity of cyclododecene which is a required product, and even so, have an effect of significantly decreasing a reaction time. In addition, the method and the device have an excellent conversion rate of cyclododecatriene and an excellent selectivity of cyclododecene, while maintaining excellent reactivity without an organic solvent such as ethanol. Therefore, a volume of the reactor relative to an output of cyclododecene may be further decreased. Moreover, the method and the device may minimize costs for facilities and process, are practical, decrease a process time, and are industrially advantageous for mass production as compared with the conventional art.

The present patent application describes a stirrer comprising a combination of at least one axially-conveying element and at least one radially-conveying element relative to the rotary shaft of the stirrer wherein the largest diameter of the at least one axially-conveying element is equal to or less than the inner diameter d.sub.i of the radially-conveying element. In one embodiment the stirrer according to the invention is a combination of one anchor stirrer with at least one inclined-blade stirrer. Furthermore the use of the stirrer according to the invention for the culture of cells in a dialysis method is described.

A portable cooler includes a cooler body formed of an insulating shell defining an interior storage section, an insulated cooler lid coupled to the cooler body, and a storage structure formed within the insulated cooler lid for storing one or more plates. The plates can be stored in a recessed portion of the insulated lid, which may include a groove or removable lip to retain the plates. A utensil storage structure is provided to store one or more utensils. Sharp utensils may include safety mechanisms to inhibit unwanted removal.

An electric mixer can include a motor, an interchangeable paddle assembly, and a mounting plate. The mounting plate attaches to the top of a cooking vessel and includes a pair of clamping plates adapted to span a diameter of various size cooking vessels. The motor is attached to the mounting plate and is operably connected to the paddle assembly providing power to rotate the paddle and stir the contents of the cooking vessel.

A litter processing system is provided implementing one or more robotic vehicles to process livestock litter, detect conditions of the litter with a plurality of sensors, and treat the litter based upon data collected by the sensors. The vehicles may include processors and software that control vehicle tasks. The vehicle's onboard software may be controlled by a server having an instance of the software thereby controlling operation of the vehicles and collecting sensor data from the vehicles via a wireless network.