Process for making slurries

A process for making a mixture comprising:

• providing a liquid component and a solids component, the solids component having a specific gravity of 2.0-3.5 having particles with a diameter of 5-50 microns, the liquid component having particles comprising from 5-65% by weight based on the weight of the liquid component and a viscosity of 10-10,000 cps;
• introducing the liquid component into a mixing vessel having a set of pitched blade turbines, having an upper and a lower pitched blade turbine the pitched blade turbines positioned inside the mixing vessel according to the ratios:
• D/T
• 0.45-0.55,
• C/T
• 0.07-0.35,
• S/T
• 0.18-0.47, and
• H/T
• 0.09-0.65;
• adding at least 25% of the solids component into the mixing vessel;
• initiating an in-line rotor stator positioned to receive the mixture from the mixing vessel;
• and
• re-circulating the mixture from the mixing vessel through the in-line rotor stator and back to the mixing vessel;
• wherein
• D is the pitched blade turbine diameter,
• T is the mixing vessel diameter,
• C is the clearance from the mixing vessel bottom to the lower pitched blade turbine,
• H is the submergence of the upper pitched blade turbine, and
• S is the distance between the upper and lower pitched blade turbines, all in the same units of length.