Diffusional mixing in an ideal system

Abstract A quantitative theory is presented which describes the mixing of two identical powders in a horizontal barrel mixer. It is proposed that when two components are loaded end-to-end in a simple barrel mixer, mixing can occur only by diffusion. By application of the equations of diffusion, theoretical expressions for the kinetics of the process have been derived. An experimental system has been devised for studying the mixing of essentially identical components. The progress of mixing is followed by a sampling and assaying technique which allows quite accurate determination of concentration with minimal disturbance of the charge. Excellent agreement is obtained when comparing the experimental data to the theoretical predictions.