A vacuum deaerator degasses material to be processed by placing a rotating rotor with a screen in a vacuum vessel, introducing a liquid material to be processed into the rotor from the interior thereof and causing the liquid to pass through the screen to refine the same. The vacuum deaerator is characterized in that: the screen is a cylinder with a circular cross-section and is in the form of a porous plate in which a plurality of through holes are opened in the radial direction of the cylindrical screen; and the screen is provided such that the area of inflow openings is greater than the area of outflow openings, where the inflow openings are openings of a plurality of penetration portions provided on the inner wall face of the screen and the outflow openings are openings of the plurality of penetration portions provided on the outer wall dace of the screen. Thus, the processing capacity of the vacuum deaerator is improved without increasing the size of the device.

A mixer and method for mixing are provided. The mixer includes a housing including a fluid inlet, an additive inlet, and an outlet. The housing defines a mixing chamber in fluid communication with the fluid inlet, the additive inlet, and the outlet. The mixer also includes an impeller disposed in the mixing chamber. When rotated, the impeller pumps fluid through the fluid inlet. The mixer also includes a slinger disposed in the mixing chamber and configured to receive the fluid from the impeller and to receive an additive from the additive inlet. When rotated, the slinger slings the fluid and the additive radially outwards. The mixer further includes a flush line extending between the mixing chamber and the additive inlet. The flush line is receives, from the mixing chamber, a portion of the fluid pumped by the impeller and to deliver the portion of the fluid to the additive inlet.

With a method for digesting starch, an aqueous slurry of the starch is treated with steam in a cooking vessel and in this case exposed to shear forces, wherein the starch-containing slurry is heated to a temperature of between 85C and 110C in the cooking vessel by introducing steam, and the digestion step is implemented until the desired degree of digestion has been reached. Also described is a cooking vessel that can be used when the method for digesting starch is being carried out.

A blending apparatus for coating product in flavouring is provided. The blending apparatus comprises a product dispenser configured to dispense a falling stream of product, a flavouring dispenser configured to dispense a falling stream of flavouring, and a deflection surface. The deflection surface is configured to deflect at least one of the falling stream of product and falling stream of flavouring, thereby bringing the falling stream of product and the falling stream of flavouring together. A method for coating product in flavouring is also provided. The method comprises the steps of dispensing a falling stream of product from a product dispenser, dispensing a falling stream of flavouring from a flavouring dispenser, deflecting the falling stream of product and the falling stream of flavouring using a deflection surface so as to bring the falling stream of product and the falling stream of flavouring together, thereby coating the product in the flavouring.

A production method for a treatment solution for forming an insulating coating. The method includes mixing a solution A containing, on a PO.sub.4.sup.3 basis, 0.20 mol/L or more and 10 mol/L or less of at least one of (i) phosphoric acid and (ii) a phosphate salt, and containing, on a metal basis, less than 0.50 mol/L of one or more particulate metal compounds, and a solution B containing, on a metal basis, 0.50 mol/L or more and 20.0 mol/L or less of the one or more particulate metal compounds, and containing, on a PO.sub.4.sup.3 basis, less than 0.20 mol/L of at least one of (i) phosphoric acid and (ii) a phosphate salt, and stirring with a turbine stator-type high-speed stirrer such that a peripheral speed of a turbine reaches 10 m/s or more within 60 seconds after starting the mixing of the solution A and the solution B.

An impeller assembly for a solid-liquid mixing device, which includes an impeller body, multiple mixing blades which are evenly distributed on the inner side of the impeller body and extended outwards from the shaft of the impeller body, and at least two baffle plates being disposed on the outer side of the impeller body along a radial direction thereof outwards and disposed in the circumferential direction of the impeller body. At least one pair of adjacent two baffle plates satisfies following conditions: curves projected by two opposite surfaces of each of adjacent baffle plates on a cross section of the impeller at any height are smooth curves, and at least one of the curves is not fully included in a circle with the center of the shaft as its center.

With a method for digesting starch, an aqueous slurry of the starch is treated with steam in a cooking vessel and in this case exposed to shear forces, wherein the starch-containing slurry is heated to a temperature of between 85 C. and 110 C. in the cooking vessel by introducing steam, and the digestion step is implemented until the desired degree of digestion has been reached. Also described is a cooking vessel that can be used when the method for digesting starch is being carried out.

An impeller assembly for a solid-liquid mixing device, and a solid-liquid mixing device using the impeller assembly. The impeller assembly comprises an impeller. The impeller comprises a truncated conical body. Multiple mixing blades are formed from top to bottom on an inclined surface of the body. The impeller assembly further comprises at least one blocking plate provided on an outer side of a lower portion of the body. The mixing device further comprises: a housing; at least one solid supply apparatus; at least one liquid supply apparatus; a mixing chamber defined by corresponding portions of the body and the housing; and a dispersion chamber provided between a flow channel outlet at a lower portion of the mixing chamber and a discharging apparatus.