Pre-Processing of Seaweed

The Process

Seaweed can be cultivated in the sea or grown commercially in tanks. If it is harvested from the sea it must be thoroughly washed to remove sand and other contaminants before subsequent processing. Once harvested, seaweed is subjected to a range of different treatments and chemical processes according to the required end use. With some applications, for example where the end product is spray dried, the process may include passing through a high pressure homogenizer. Whatever the subsequent processing may be, in most cases, the process is optimized if the seaweed is rendered down to give a uniform, fine particle size. Silverson High Shear Mixers are ideal for this process.

The Solution

A Silverson Disintegrator/Dissolver can rapidly reduce seaweed to a slurry suitable for further processing according to end use. Depending on the type of seaweed being processed, a solids content of sixty percent or more can be achieved. Here’s how it works:

The Advantages

• Consistent, repeatable results.
• The unit can carry out the entire slurrying process, eliminating the need for separate chopping and blending equipment.
• Additional processing requirements such as high pressure homogenization can be eliminated; where homogenization is still required, the uniform premix created with a Silverson mixer will pass through the homogenizer at a much faster rate, improving productivity.
• Minimized aeration reduces degradation of the product.
• Pilot Scale plants are available for batches of up to 50 US gallons. Silverson also offers large scale Disintegrator Dissolver systems for bulk production. These can all be configured to suit individual process requirements; a range of optional features can be offered: 
  • - Special disintegrator rotor design on the Bottom Entry mixer
  • - Heating/cooling jacket on the vessel and In-Line to control temperature
  • - Interchangeable stators and screens on the In-Line mixer allow precise control of product consistency and particle size

In addition to the Disintegrator/Dissolver units, Silverson offers a range of standard mixers for this application, the batch size, type of seaweed being processed and nature of the end product determines which would be most suitable: