CFD simulation of impeller shape effect on quality of mixing in two-phase gas–liquid agitated vessel

Mixing efficiency in two-phase gas-liquid agitated vessel is one of the important challenges in the industrial processes. Computational fluid dynamics technique (CFD) was used to investigate the effect of four different pitched blade impellers, including 15°, 30°, 45° and 60°, on the mixing quality of gas-liquid agitated vessel. The multiphase flow behavior was modeled by Eulerian-Eulerian multiphase approach, and RNG k-ε was used to model the turbulence. The CFD results showed that a strong global vortex plays the main role on the mixing quality of the gas phase in the vessel. Based on the standard deviation criterion, it was observed that the axial distribution of the gas phase in the 30° impeller is about 55% better than the others. In addition, the results showed that the 30° impeller has a uniform radial distribution over the other impellers and the maximum gas phase holdup in the vessel. Investigation of the power consumption of the impellers showed that the 30° impeller has the highest power consumption among the other pitched blade impellers. Also, examine the effect of same power condition for pitched blade impellers showed that the 30° impeller has the best mixing quality in this condition.     

CFD simulation of impeller shape effect on quality of mixing in two-phase gas–liquid agitated vessel

Mixing efficiency in two-phase gas–liquid agitated vessel is one of the important challenges in the industrial processes. Computational fluid dynamics technique (CFD) was used to investigate the effect of four different pitched blade impellers, including 15°, 30°, 45° and 60°, on the mixing quality of gas–liquid agitated vessel. The multiphase flow behavior was modeled by Eulerian–Eulerian multiphase approach, and RNG k − ε was used to model the turbulence. The CFD results showed that a strong global vortex plays the main role on the mixing quality of the gas phase in the vessel. Based on the standard deviation criterion, it was observed that the axial distribution of the gas phase in the 30° impeller is about 55% better than the others. In addition, the results showed that the 30° impeller has a uniform radial distribution over the other impellers and the maximum gas phase holdup in the vessel. Investigation of the power consumption of the impellers showed that the 30° impeller has the highest power consumption among the other pitched blade impellers. Also, examine the effect of same power condition for pitched blade impellers showed that the 30° impeller has the best mixing quality in this condition.     

CFD Prediction of Flow and Homogenization in a Stirred Vessel: Part I Vessel with One and Two Impellers

A simulation of flow field and tracer homogenization was performed using the commercial CFD software FLUENT 6.1. The aim is to investigate the potential of CFD software to predict concentration distribution of added tracer in cylindrical vessels. The calculated results – dimensionless velocity profiles, power and pumping numbers, dimensionless concentration curves, and mixing times – were compared with experiments in stirred vessels. In Part I, the study was performed for vessels agitated by one or two impellers on a centric shaft. Two different impellers were used – a 6‐bladed 45° pitched blade turbine and a standard Rushton turbine. The standard k‐? turbulence model and multiple reference frames method were used for the simulations. The influence of the grid type was also investigated; three types of grid – a structured, unstructured and a special user‐defined grid – were studied.     

Identification of mixing parameters in agitated pulp chests: A continuous time domain approach

Parameter identification is quite challenging in mixing, which is extensively employed in chemical process industry. Agitated pulp chests are more difficult to characterize because they handle non-Newtonian pulp suspensions and non-ideal flows such as short circuiting, recirculation and channeling. In the present study, we characterize the agitated pulp chests in the continuous time domain, which obviates the restrictions imposed by the discrete time approach. For this purpose, a robust and efficient hybrid genetic algorithm is utilized along with a differential-algebraic model of mixing. Necessary derivatives including auxiliary differential equations are obtained for gradient search. Using realistic large sets of mixing data, both the algorithm and the model are successfully validated before characterizing laboratory-scale agitated pulp chests. Superior characterizations are obtained compared to those yielded by the discrete time domain approach. This outcome highlights the benefit of the continuous time domain approach developed in this work.     

The bubble-induced mixing in starch-to-ethanol fermenters

China launched an important production of fuel-ethanol by fermentation of non-grain feedstock, with cassava mostly used as starch source. The industrial fermenters have diameters and liquid levels between 6 and 16 m. The mixing of the fermentation broth is important for the efficient operation. Mixing is commonly achieved by the combined action of (i) an external recycle flow, and (ii) the gas-induced mixing by CO₂-bubbles formed during the bio-reaction. To avoid solids sedimentation, flat-bottom fermenters add mechanical impellers. Whereas the effects of impellers and external recycle flow can be predicted by CFD, the characteristics of the gas bubbles, and their mixing action have not yet been fully studied, despite being of paramount importance in the design of the fermenters. The research investigates the bubble-induced mixing in a two-dimensional scaled-down experimental rig. Experimental results are used to define the dominant parameters of a model approach to bubble-induced mixing. The liquid mixing data can moreover be used to validate complex CFD approaches to the overall mixing.     

搅拌槽内粘稠物系的混合过程

以发酵罐中通气搅拌下的混合为背景，考察了搅拌形式，物系流变性质及通气速率等因素，对搅拌槽内粘稠物质系中混合过程的影响，轴向流翼型混合效率高于涡轮桨，通气有助于改善粘稠物系中的混合粘度变化主要改变槽内流动状态和桨叶泵送能力，从而改变混合效率，当物系为中等粘度假塑性流体时，混合速率由桨叶泵送流动的流量和形态所决定，多层搅拌下分区现象限制了混合速率。     

A Langrangian Study of Solids Suspension in a Stirred Vessel by Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT)

A technique of Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT) was used to obtain information on the flow behavior of coarse particles suspended in pseudoplastic liquids agitated by axial‐hydrofoil Lightnin impellers A320 and A410. PEPT enables the position of a 600 μm radioactive particle tracer inserted inside one of the suspended particles to be detected many times per second and its full trajectory followed inside the vessel. Particle trajectory analysis yielded information on particle circulation, velocity distribution, and spatial occupancy. The minimum speed for complete particle suspension, N_js, was also determined. The well‐known Zwietering correlation failed to predict the measurements by a substantial margin, suggesting that it is inadequate for viscous non‐Newtonian liquids.     

Critical impeller speed for solid suspension in multi-impeller three phase agitated contactors

The critical impeller speed for solid suspension in gas-liquid-solid systems has been measured in multi-impeller agitated contractors of 0.15 and 0.30 m and ID and 1.0 m height. Three types of impellers, i.e. disk turbine (DT), pitched turbine downflow (PTD) and pitched turbine upflow (PTU) were used. Air, deionised water and sand particles were used as the gas, liquid and solid phases, respectively. The superficial gas velocity and solid loading were varied in the ranges 0–15 mm/s and 0.5 to 10% w/w, respectively. The effects of impeller type and its diameter, particle size and loading and gas flow rate were studied. Some measurements of gas hold-up and mixing time were also made in order to get some insight of the hydrodynamic behaviour of the reactor. The critical impeller speed for solid suspension in the presence of gas (n_isg) was found to be more than that in the absence of the gas and the increase of critical speed correlated well with the gas flow rate. The influence of particle—liquid parameters on solid suspension speed in the gassed system was similar to but relatively weaker than that in the ungassed condition.     

Gas‐Liquid Floating Particle Mixing in an Agitated Vessel

The influence of impellers and baffles on the mixing of gas‐liquid floating particles in agitated vessels was investigated. Fifty‐two kinds of impeller combinations and twelve types of baffle arrangements were used. The associated power, gas holdup and solids concentration at the vessel bottom were measured. It is concluded that the mixing characteristics of three‐stage impellers were superior to those of two‐stage impellers for aspect ratios larger than 1.6. The optimal combination of impellers and baffles was proposed. The correlations of the relative power and the gas holdup for the optimal combination of impellers under all types of baffles were obtained.     

Critical Rotational Speed for a Floating Particle Suspension in an Aerated Vessel

The critical suspension speeds of floating particles in a gas‐liquid‐floating particle three‐phase system were measured in a multiple‐impeller agitated vessel. Three types of impellers, i.e., simple axial‐flow impeller upflow (SPU) and downflow (SPD), disk turbine (DT) and wing turbine (WT), twelve types of baffles and three kinds of gas spargers were used. The influences of impeller types, baffle configurations, gas spargers, gas superfacial velocity and particle loading on the critical suspension speeds of floating particles were systematically investigated. The optimum regressions of critical suspension speeds were respectively obtained for some better combinations of impellers, bafffles and spargers, such as (a) the 45SPU+45SPD+DT triple impellers, two high‐level baffles and two low‐level baffles (symmetric allocation), gas spargers, (b) the 45SPU+45SPD+DT three‐impeller, standard baffle and small gas sparger. Their errors were smaller than 11 %.     

CFD Investigation of the Mixing of Yield‐Pseudoplastic Fluids with Anchor Impellers

The study was carried out to simulate the 3D flow domain in the mixing of pseudoplastic fluids possessing yield stress with anchor impellers, using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package. The multiple reference frames (MRF) technique was employed to model the rotation of the impellers. The rheology of the fluid was approximated using the Herschel–Bulkley model. To validate the model, the CFD results for the power consumption were compared to the experimental data. After the flow fields were calculated, the simulations for tracer homogenization were performed to simulate the mixing time. The effects of impeller speed, fluid rheology, and impeller geometry on power consumption, mixing time, and flow pattern were explored. The optimum values of c/D (impeller clearance to tank diameter) and w/D (impeller blade width to tank diameter) ratios were determined on the basis of minimum mixing time.     

Laminar Mixing in Eccentric Stirred Tank Systems

Laminar flow structure and mixing patterns in stirred tanks with eccentrically located impellers is examined using tracer visualization techniques and laser induced fluorescence (LIF). The displacement of the shaft from the centerline of the tank has a remarkable effect on the manifold structure of the flow: segregated regions of regular motion observed in concentric systems are destroyed, impeller mid‐plane separatrices are eliminated, and the axial circulation is greatly improved even in systems agitated even by radial impellers.     

Coaxial Mixer Hydrodynamics with Newtonian and non‐Newtonian Fluids

The performance of several combinations of a wall scraping impeller and dispersing impellers in a coaxial mixer operated in counter‐ and co‐rotating mode were assessed with Newtonian and non‐Newtonian fluids. Using the power consumption and the mixing time as the efficiency criteria, impellers in co‐rotating mode were found to be a better choice for Newtonian and non‐Newtonian fluids. The hybrid impeller‐anchor combination was found to be the most efficient for mixing in counter‐rotating or co‐rotating mode regardless of the fluid rheology. For both rotating modes, it was shown that the anchor speed does not have any effect on the power draw of the dispersing turbines. However, the impeller speed was shown to affect the anchor power consumption. The determination of the minimum agitation conditions to achieve the just suspended state of solid particles (N_js) was also determined. It was found that N_js had lower values with the impellers having the best axial pumping capabilities.     

The effect of flow reversal on solids suspension in agitated vessels

Flow patterns in agitated vessels are influenced by geometry, particularly impeller diameter and impeller off-bottom clearance. Large impellers and/or high off-bottom clearances lead to reversed flow in which the flow at the base of the vessel is radially-inward as opposed to radially-outward as expected with axial-flow impellers. Reversed flow is detrimental in solids suspension agitation because inordinately high torque and power are required to achieve suspension. This work experimentally characterizes the effect of flow reversal on solids suspension performance, including guidelines for avoiding flow reversal with straight-blade turbines, pitched-blade turbines, and high-efficiency impellers.     

Effect of Impeller Spacing on the Flow Field of Yield-Pseudoplastic Fluids Generated by a Coaxial Mixing System Composed of Two Central Impellers and an Anchor

The three-dimensional flow field generated by a coaxial mixer composed of double Scaba impellers and an anchor in the mixing of the xanthan gum solution, a non-Newtonian yield-pseudoplastic fluid was investigated using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique. The mixing time measurements were performed by a non-intrusive flow visualization technique called electrical resistance tomography (ERT). To evaluate the influence of the impeller spacing on the hydrodynamics of the double Scaba-anchor coaxial mixer, the upper impeller submergence was set to 0.140?m while the lower impeller clearance and the spacing between two central impellers were changed within a wide range. The experiments and simulations were conducted for both co-rotating and counter-rotating regimes at different impeller spacing. The analysis of the collected data with respect to the power number, flow number, mixing time, and pumping effectiveness proved that the co-rotating mode had superiority over the counter-rotating regime. Furthermore, the impact of the impeller spacing in the co-rotating mode was assessed with respect to the mixing time, power number, and mixing energy. The results demonstrated that a coaxial mixer with the impeller spacing of almost equal to the central impeller diameter (C₂?=?0.175?m) and the impeller clearance of C₃?=?0.185?m was the most efficient configuration compared to the other cases. Additionally, the influence of the impeller spacing on the flow pattern was assessed in terms of the radial velocity, tangential velocity, axial velocity, shear rate, and apparent viscosity profiles. When the impeller spacing (C₂) was varied, the merging flow and parallel flow patterns were observed.     

CFD Prediction of Flow and Homogenization in a Stirred Vessel: Part II Vessel with Three and Four Impellers

This article deals with CFD simulations of flow inside stirred vessels equipped with three and four radial or axial impellers mounted on the same shaft. A comparison was made between simulated data and experiments for one‐ and two‐impeller systems and was presented in Part I [1]. The effect of the lowest impeller off‐bottom clearance, number of impellers used, and impeller type on the tracer distribution was studied. The simulations were mainly focused on the grid size and type and the analysis of the concentration curves in each impeller section. The predicted velocity fields, power and pumping numbers, concentration curves, and mixing times were validated with experimental data. The simulation results show the significant influence of the grid density on the velocity profiles and power and pumping numbers in contrast to the low impact on the concentration curves. A better prediction of the concentration curves was reached when radial impellers were used; the mixing times were generally over‐predicted.     

搅拌槽内粘稠物系中气液相间氧传递

以发酵罐中气液相间氧传递为背景，考察了搅拌槽内搅拌器形式、物系流变性质、通气搅拌操作条件等对假塑性粘稠物系中氧传递过程的影响。结果表明，这些因素主要通过改变气体分散状态和相间传质面积来影响氧传递速率。根据气泡在搅拌槽内不均匀分布现象，多层搅拌下气液相间传质过程可以用气泡运动分区分布模型来描述。它说明了采用轴向流桨和涡轮桨组合的搅拌形式在氧传递方面的优越性，为强化发酵罐中供氧指明一条有效途径     

Determination of correlations to predict the minimum agitation speed for complete solid suspension in agitated vessels

Experiments were conducted to determine the effects of impeller clearance, impeller diameter, and other operating variables on the minimum agitation speed for off-bottom solid suspension in agitated vessels, N_js, for disc turbines (DTs) and flat-blade turbines (FBTs). Only data for which the impellers produced recirculation flows above and below the impeller (the so-called “double-eight” flow pattern) were considered. Regression equations for N_js were obtained, in which explicit terms for impeller clearance and vessel diameter-to-impeller diameter ratio (T/D) were included. Modified Zwietering equations (Zwietering, 1958) were also obtained, in which Zwietering's parameter S was mathematically expressed as a function of vessel diameter-to-impeller clearance ratio and T/D ratio. When used together with the correlations of Armenante and Uehara Nagamine (1998) for impellers close to the vessel bottom, the equations presented here can be used to calculate N_js for DTs and FBTs for any typical impeller clearance.     

IMPELLER CLEARANCE EFFECT ON OFF BOTTOM PARTICLE SUSPENSION IN AGITATED VESSELS

The effect of impeller off bottom clearance on the power input requirement for off bottom solid suspension was examined for 45° pitched blade impellers in flat and round bottom fully baffled agitated vessels. Results showed a similar dependence as obtained for radial flow impellers when similar flow patterns were observed. The dependence appears to be independent of the impeller diameter to tank diameter ratio and vessel shape.     

Impeller characterization and selection: Balancing efficient hydrodynamics with process mixing requirements

Current literature relies almost exclusively on the power number to compare and characterize impellers. Industrial mixing requirements may rely on conditions far away from the impeller. A protocol is proposed to compare impellers designed for turbulent mixing on the basis of impeller hydrodynamic performance and mixing process objectives. A hydrofoil impeller (KPC), and a mixed‐flow impeller (45^° down‐pumping PBT), each at two diameters, were used to test the protocol. Fourteen measures were considered. Five are recommended for full characterization: power number, momentum number, and peak rate of dissipation of turbulent kinetic energy to characterize conditions at the impeller; power at just‐suspended speed to compare the efficiency of solids suspension at the bottom of the tank; and point of air entrainment as a measure of turbulence penetration to the free surface. These five measures provide complete information about mixing performance and good differentiation between the impellers and geometries. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 58: 2573–2588, 2012