Patent ID: 7178975

Claim:
A rotor for use in a mixing apparatus, wherein the rotor is configured for rotation about an axis of rotation, the rotor comprising: a base portion; and a peripheral portion extending from the base portion defining an inlet space therebetween for introduction of a fluid; the peripheral portion including a plurality of cavities and a plurality of tangential orifices, each orifice configured to interconnect the inlet space to each cavity and permit fluid to flow from the inlet space to each cavity thereby creating a vortex in each cavity and forming cavitation bubbles in the fluid, each cavity being configured to alternate between open and closed positions, wherein; in the closed position, pressure increases in each cavity and causes the cavitation bubbles in the fluid to collapse and thereby create high-shear mixing; and in the open position, the fluid exits each cavity, and pressure decreases forming additional cavitation bubbles in each cavity.