Sustainability has long been thought about at Silverson Machines, with our founder Mr Rothman publishing an article on the treatment of waste foods products for humans and animals, organic waste and even chemical waste products back in 1977. Today, Silverson customers are approaching us for mixing solutions for inventive and innovative applications to help build a more sustainable world. Not only that, but customers are demanding that companies they work with and purchase from are also doing their bit. In this article, Silverson Machines shares some of what we are doing to decrease our impact on the environment and some of the new and ground-breaking applications we are assisting our customers with.

ISO 14001 Certification

Here at Silverson, we are pleased to have recently achieved a significant milestone by obtaining the ISO 14001 certificate, a globally recognised standard for environmental management systems.

By achieving this certification, the company demonstrates its dedication to reducing waste, conserving resources, and continually improving its environmental performance throughout its operations. Silverson’s ISO 14001 certificate is a testament to its dedication to a greener and more sustainable future, aligning with its mission to provide innovative solutions to customers worldwide.

How do we help our customers become more sustainable?

As per our Environmental Policy, we are committed to minimising the effect on the environment arising from our business activities and ensuring that any environmental impacts are clearly understood and mitigated. We are continually monitoring and working to improve our practices.

When purchasing from Silverson, with our ISO 14001 certification, customers can be sure that we are doing everything that we can during our manufacturing processes to reduce our impact on the environment. We use the latest manufacturing techniques and equipment, and design our process to minimise waste; recycling of materials has been central to our manufacturing process for many years.

As quality manufacturers for over 75 years, we build every Silverson mixer to last. Each mixer is robustly designed and manufactured to the highest standards, and maintenance requirements are minimal; we help to ensure our customers’ mixers continue working as efficiently as possible, for as long as possible. We’ve had customers send us pictures of Silverson Laboratory mixers from the 1960s and earlier, still in regular use! As such, when Silverson manufactures a mixer, be assured that this won’t be part of the ‘throw away’ culture; with correct installation, use and regular maintenance these mixers are built to last for many, many years.

While high shear mixers are often more powerful than a conventional agitator for the same size tank, they will dramatically reduce mixing times –by up to 90% in some instances. This in itself helps our customers to reduce energy requirements. In addition, a Silverson mixer can perform a wide range of mixing tasks, often replacing several different pieces of process equipment, and where this includes colloid mills and high pressure homogenisers, the energy saving is significant.

New innovative applications in high shear

As companies seek to manufacture products with less environmental impact, or maximise the usage they get out of their raw materials, we have seen a number of new applications where high shear mixing has provided a versatile and efficient solution to challenging process requirements. Examples of some of these innovative, new applications include:

  • Battery slurries for electric cars – Using a high shear mixer, materials can be uniformly dispersed and reduced down to a fine droplet size. This pre-mix can then be fed easily through colloid mills or high pressure homogenisers to obtain the sub-micron particle size needed, reducing milling time and therefore reducing energy costs.
  • Replacing chemical fertilisers with seaweed-based fertilisers – high shear is necessary for this application as the seaweed must be disintegrated down to a slurry before being moved on for further processing, something conventional mixing equipment is just not capable of. With the combination of initial disintegration and refinement using a Silverson mixer, seaweed pieces can reduced down to sizes of 1mm.
  • Decontaminating soils – The soil decontamination process uses a specially selected fungus or bacteria which has to be encapsulated, and this is done by mixing a binding/suspending agent into water. A high shear mixer is capable of effectively incorporating the agent into water without the formation of agglomerates; this capability was essential for the development of this product.
  • Alternative proteins – Silverson has been working with plant-based meat producers helping them create the artificial blood and juices that go into their ‘meats’ to replicate the texture and taste of meat without the environmental impact. This involved incorporating and deagglomerating their proprietary powders and thickening agents into their mixture as well as reducing these powders to the desired particle size for the correct mouthfeel. High shear mixers can also offer advantages in the dispersion and hydration of proteins, starches and other functional ingredients used to obtain the desired texture and stability.

Other recent applications include creating sustainable packaging from paper pulp, the creation of a cellulose plastic replacement product as a substitute for plastic bags, reclamation of waste food products such as confectionery, pasta and bakery items and replacing chemical glues with vegetal alternatives.

To find out more about Silverson Machines, visit the Silverson website: www.silverson.co.uk