Apparatus for the high intensity dispersion of agglomerated powders in crowded suspensions having an agitator disk

An apparatus for deagglomerating powder in a mixture of liquid and powder, wherein said apparatus is comprised of a mixing tank, an agitator disk disposed within said mixing tank, said disk rotating in a horizontal plane, a means for rotating said agitator disk, and a first baffle, wherein:

• (a) said agitator disk is circular, smooth, and flat and has a diameter of from about 6 to about 40 inches, said diameter of said agitator disk is from about 0.2 to about 0.4 times as great as the maximum internal width of said mixing tank;
• (b) said agitator disk is comprised of a multiplicity of compound teeth radially and removable attached to the perimeter of said disk, wherein the distance between adjacent compound teeth on said perimeter of said agitator disk is from about 3 to about 5 inches;
• (c) said agitator disk has a thickness of from about 0.15 to about 0.5 inches, and a frontal area of said compound teeth attached to said agitator disk is from about 0.25 inches by 0.25 inches to about 1.0 inch by 1.0 inch;
• (d) each of said compound teeth is comprised of a substrate to which is attached a front plate, a top plate, and a bottom plate, wherein each of said front plate, said top plate, and said bottom plate consists essentially of ceramic material;
• (e) said first baffle is mounted on the inner wall of said mixing tank at an angle of from about 20 to about 45 degrees to said horizontal plane of the disk and at a distance of at least about 2 inches from said inner wall.