Continuous dispersing apparatus

A dispersing apparatus comprising:

• a vessel for receiving a material to be processed, the vessel having an inlet at an upstream end thereof for admitting the material into the vessel and an outlet at a downstream end thereof for discharging processed material from the vessel;
• and a rotor mounted to undergo rotation within the vessel and being positioned relative to the vessel to define an annular flow path between an inner wall of the vessel and an outer surface of the rotor, the outer surface of the rotor being provided with undulations having alternate crests and troughs which define a repeating pattern of compressing, shearing and expanding sections disposed in succession along the rotor for successively compressing, shearing and expanding the material as the material flows through the flow path between the vessel inner wall and the rotor undulations, each pattern comprising a compressing section sloping gradually toward the vessel inner wall in the direction of material flow and cooperating with the inner wall to compress the material, a shearing section downstream of the compressing section and opposed to the vessel inner wall with a narrow space therebetween to apply shearing forces to the compressed material which flows through the narrow space, and an expanding section downstream of the shearing section and sloping gradually away from the vessel inner wall in the direction of material flow and cooperating with the inner wall to relieve the compression of the material.