Basket media mill with extended impeller

Abstract

A media basket mill for dispersing a selected constituent into a liquid vehicle to produce a mixture of the constituent and the liquid vehicle within a mixing vessel includes a basket extending in an axial direction between a upper end and a lower end, a media bed in the basket, and an impeller, the basket having a wall for retaining the media bed within the basket and openings in the wall for permitting passage of the mixture through the wall in response to operation of the impeller when the basket is immersed in the mixture in the vessel, the wall including a bottom wall portion at the lower end and an axially extending side wall portion having an overall diametral dimension, the openings being located at least in the side wall portion, the impeller including a rotor mounted for rotation about the axial direction, and impeller blades on the rotor, the impeller blades having at least blade portions located radially outwardly beyond the diametral dimension of the side wall portion of the wall of the basket for assisting in the movement of the mixture through the openings in the side wall portion and in enhancing movement of the mixture within the mixing vessel, outside the basket, in response to rotation of the rotor.