EFFECT OF SUSPENSION VISCOSITY ON POWER CONSUMPTION IN THE AGITATION OF SOLID-LIQUID SYSTEMS

The effect of suspension viscosity on power consumption in fully baffled stirred tanks is investigated phase solid-liquid two

It is shown that the adoption of a propeir definition for the apparent viscosity makes it possible to correlate the data of single- and two-phase systems with the same power curve regardless of the flow regime.     

STUDY OF THE PARAMETERS CONTROLLING THE ALTERNATING COPOLYMERIZATION OF METHYL METHACRYLATE AND STYRENE

The copolymerization of methyl methacrylate and styrene, in the presence of zinc chloride, was conducted in the aqueous phase. The zinc chloride acting as a complexing agent

Among the factors affecting the polymerization yield, we have; the level of complexing agents, the monomer ratio and the temperature

The polymers were characterized for their molecular weight (G.P.C.) and analyzed by N.MR, and D.T.A

A model taking into account the various parameters is proposed.     

VISCOSITY OF BIOMATERIALS

Viscosity data for honey, corn oil, mayonnaise, yogourt, blood and banana puree have been analyzed using two Theological models: the Herschel-Bulkley model and a proposed model. The proposed model contains three parameters: a yield stress, a parameter having the units of time and a parameter having the units of viscosity.

The model parameters were obtained by non-linear regression and the proposed model was shown to compare favorably with the Herschel-Bulkley equation.

An Arrhenius-type of correlation could be verified between the viscosity of banana puree and the inverse of the temperature. Also, the time parameter (t₁) of the proposed model could be correlated with the temperature and the parameter η₁.

It is asserted that the proposed model should replace advantageously the commonly used Casson expression.     

SURFACE TENSION EFFECTS IN THE SEDIMENTATION OF COAL PARTICLES IN VARIOUS LIQUID MIXTURES

The sedimentation volume, V_sed, of coal particles in mixtures of pairs of non-polar and more polar organic liquid combinations as well as in aqueous solutions was determined at 20°C.

The liquid combinations were chosen such that the surface tension, γ_SV, of the coal particles fell between the surface tensions, γ_LV, of the two liquids. A constant mass of a given coal sample was suspended in constant volumes of liquid mixtures of different concentrations.

It was found that the sedimentation volume changed with varying composition of the liquid mixtures, as did the surface tension. A maximum or a minimum occurred in V_sed when the surface tension of the suspending liquid was equal to that of the coal particles, i.e. when γ_LV = γ_SV. Maxima occurred in more polar and minima in the non-polar or less polar liquid mixtures. The position of the extrema, and hence the surface tension, γ_sv, of the particles, was found to change with particle size, in agreement with findings from other independent techniques.

It was found that the surface tension of coal, γ_sv, depends on the surrounding liquid, i.e. coal is hydrophobic in organic and hydrophilic in aqueous media, again in agreement with the results from other techniques.     

ON THE BEHAVIOR OF CONSECUTIVE ENZYMATIC REACTIONS IN CYCLICALLY OPERATED REACTORS

The dynamics of a process involving consecutive enzymatic reactions were investigated for a case in which the reactions are carried out in a cyclically operated reactor. Each cycle of the operation protocol involves three phases. During phase I the reactor operates in a semi-batch mode involving input of the reactants. During the second phase, the vessel operates in a batch mode. During phase III the reactor has an output only and a fraction of its contents are emptied before another identical cycle begins.

It was found that there are regimes in the operating parameter space where the system can reach more than one limit cycle (multistability). Using computer software based on the bifurcation theory for forced systems, as well as one- and two-parameter continuation algorithms, the impact of various parameters on the dynamics of the system was investigated. The results are presented in the form of diagrams. Conditions under which formation of the intermediate product in the reaction sequence is maximized were also investigated.

Production of the intermediate product in a limit cycle was compared to that obtained in batch and semi-batch operation. Implications of the proposed operation protocol for process optimization and pollution prevention are discussed.     

A KINETIC MODEL FOR THE PRODUCTION OF LIQUIDS FROM THE FLASH PYROLYSIS OF BIOMASS

A kinetically based prediction model for the production of organic liquids from the flash pyrolysis of biomass is proposed. Wood or other biomass is assumed to be decomposed according to two parallel reactions yielding liquid tar and ( gas + char) The tar is then assumed to further react by secondary homogeneous reactions to form mainly gas as a product

The model provides a very good agreement with the experimental results obtained using a pilot plant fluidized bed pyrolysis reactor

The proposed model is shown to be able to predict the organic liquid yield as a function of the operating parameters of the process, within the optimal conditions for maximizing the tar yields, and the reaction rate constants compare reasonably well with those reported in the literature     

UNSTEADY, TWO-DIMENSIONAL HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER IN A PACKED BED OF FINE PARTICLES WITH AN ENDOTHERMIC PROCESS

The basic differential equations controlling the temperature and concentration field in a single packed bed of fine particles were derived and solved for the general case in which unsteady, two-dimensional heat and mass transfer lakes place with an endothermic process.

The time-change of particle- and fluid-temperature and concentration of water vapor (humidity) were calculated by a numerical method which assumed that the rate of the endothermic process can be expressed by a first-order rate equation and that the fluid flowing through the bed is of the piston flow type.

The experiments were conducted for the drying of silica-gel and the two-stage dehydration reaction of natural gypsum to demonstrate the applicability of the present theoretical analysis.

It has been found that the calculated results show satisfactory agreement with the measured data within the range of the experimental conditions employed.     

ON THE RHEOLOGY OF THE DENSE PHASE OF A GAS FLUIDISED BED

Measurements of bubble rise velocities in two gas fluidised beds have been compared with numerical simulations of spherical bubble-wake regions rising through Newtonian liquids. The comparisons have been used to elucidate the rheological nature of the dense phase of gas fluidised beds. The investigation sheds new light upon results obtained in the past by other workers, who did not have the benefit of the powerful numerical simulation techniques of today

It was found that the assumption of a Newtonian viscosity coefficient of 0.8 Pa s (values around this have often been suggested in the literature) yields bubble rise velocities of the right order of magnitude. Nevertheless, the experimentally determined variation in bubble rise velocity with size cannot be explained fully on basis of a Newtonian rheological model, but indicates shear-thickening behaviour of the dense phase. A discussion, also of the effect of bubble Reynolds number and wall effects upon the dense phase flowpaltern around rising bubbles, and comparison with other work is provided.     

EFFECT OF DISSOLVED INORGANIC SALTS ON THE VAPOR-LIQUID EQUILIBRIA AND ENTHALPY OF MIXING OF THE METHANOL-ETHYL ACETATE SYSTEM

The effect of three inorganic chloride salts, namely, sodium chloride, calcium chloride and zinc chloride on the vapor-liquid equilibria (VLE) and heat of mixing (h.o.m) of the methanol-ethyl acetate system has been investigated under the atmospheric conditions of 760 ± 3 mm Hg pressure. In the experimentation for VLE a Smith and Bonner type equilibrium still was used while in h.o.m. determination a calorimeter connected to a microprocessor-based control unit (MIPROC) which displays digitally the heat of mixing values in calories was employed. All the three salts dissolved to various concentration levels in the solvent mixture brought about a decrease in the azeotropic composition (expressed in terms of mole fraction of methanol) from 0.75 to values like 0.50, 0.37 and 0.18 depending upon the salt added and its concentration level. The salts sodium chloride and calcium chloride which are more soluble in methanol have been found to salt-in that component but with a peculiarity in that, in methanol-rich region the salting-in effect was substantial while in the methanol-lean region it is only marginal. The addition of salt zinc chloride which is more soluble in ethyl acetate results in an anomalous behaviour.

As for the salt effect on h.o.m., the addition of calcium chloride brought about a significant enhancement in the h.o.m values while the salts sodium chloride and zinc chloride (which could be added only to about 5% by weight concentration due to the experimental difficulties) entailed a decrease and lateral shift respectively in the h.o.m. values.

The VLE and h.o.m data which were found to be thermodynamically consistent have been correlated respectively by NRTL, Wilson and by a model similar to the Scatchard series type equation.     

STUDIES OF MAGNETITE DEPOSITION FROM A FLOWING SUSPENSION

The deposition of magnetite from flowing water suspensions is a problem particularly important in boiler plant. Measurements have been made of the rate of deposition of magnetite particles from suspension in demincraliscd water pumped through vertical aluminium tubes of 19 mm bore over a range of temperatures I2-75°C and Reynolds number 7900 to 88500 under isothermal conditions. Bulk concentrations of magnetite particles (of the order of 2 μm diameter) were in the range 200-600 ppm.

It would appear that deposition is mass transfer controlled. The initial deposilion rate for a given temperature and concentration varies as the suspension velocity to the power 0.73. The measured asymptotic deposition quantity varies as the suspension velocity to the power -0.66.

The conclusions imply a sticking probability for the magnetite on to the aluminium lube walls as 1 for the experimental conditions.     

THE EXACT PENETRATION MODEL OF DIFFUSION IN MULTICOMPONENT IDEAL GAS MIXTURES. ANALYTICAL AND NUMERICAL SOLUTIONS

An exact analytical solution is derived for the penetration model of diffusion in multicomponent ideal gas mixtures at constant pressure and temperature. It takes the form of a matrizant solution to the continuity and Maxwell-Stefan equations transformed by introduction of a similarity variable, and includes as special cases the corresponding binary and linearized theory solutions

Direct numerical implementation of the analytical solution is computationally inefficient, but an alternative finite-difference algorithm is developed in which the transformed equations are solved by Euler's method with a simple shooting technique. Sample calculations are reported for two ternary diffusion problems

It is concluded on the basis of the theoretical and numerical results that the linearized theory predictions should provide an excellent approximation to the exact solution of the penetration model.     

MIXING IN CLOSED VESSELS - SUSPENSION OF SOLID PARTICLES AND POWER DEMAND

The suspension of solid material in a closed vessel has been studied. The vessel was designed as a pressure vessel having dished ends. Both the impeller speed at the off-bottom suspension point as well as the power demand related to this speed have been determined. In the study, emphasis was placed on studying the influence of both form and position of the baffles

It was found that a new dimensionless number, designed to describe the phenomena related to the suspension of particles, is a function of the impeller Reynolds number at the off-bottom suspension point. The impeller Reynolds number was varied between 10000 and 800000

Based on the results of this study, it can be stated that the design and position of the baffles are of great importance in minimizing the power demand in the suspension of particles. At the off-bottom suspension point, the power demand was lower for solid baffles when compared with baffles constructed of rods.     

AN EVALUATION OF ISOTHERMS IN THE DESCRIPTION OF COMPETITIVE ADSORPTION EQUILIBRIA

Since adsorption isotherm equations are widely used in the industry to model adsorption on substances like activated carbon, an investigation was done to determine the applicability of three of these equations, viz, the multi-component Freundlich, multi-component Langmuir and the isotherm equation proposed by Fritz and Schluender. Based on statistical thermodynamic principles a discrete adsorption model was recently proposed. This model was used to create sets of binary adsorption data with some non-ideal characteristics. These data sets were used to evaluate the isotherm equations

It was found that the Langmuir isotherm gave the best fits, except where the visible adsorption energy changes with the surface loading or where selective adsorption occurs. Under these conditions, the Freundlich equation or that proposed by Fritz and Schluender should be used. It is recommended that these equations should be used to model low coverage-low concentration regions, while the high coverage-high concentration regions should be modelled using the Langmuir isotherm if possible

Some recommendations are made in connection with the procedure to estimate parameters for these isotherm equations.     

KINETICS OF THE CLAY ROOFING TILE CONVECTION DRYING

Kinetics of the convection drying process of flat tile has been investigated experimentally in an industrial tunnel dryer. Several velocities of wet tile movement through the dryer were tested to obtain maximum allowable drying rate curve. As there are various models to describe the kinetics of convection drying, finding a model that would fairly well approximate the kinetics of the whole drying process was part of the research. Especially the polynomial and exponential models were tested.

It was found that exponential model of the type: B(t) = (a-B_e. EXP(-bt²) +B_et (-dB(t)/dt) = 2bt(B(t)-B_e significantly correlates the kinetics of the whole tile drying process.

Applying the maximum allowable drying rate curve obtained for flat tile in the first period of drying, a grapho-analytic model for the optimal conducting of the process has been developed.     

THE EFFECT OF A NON-UNIFORM SURFACE TEMPERATURE ON LAMINAR NATURAL CONVECTION IN A RECTANGULAR ENCLOSURE

Three dimensional solutions were developed for natural convection in a 2 × 1 × 1 rectangular enclosure by finite-difference calculations. Sawtooth temperature distributions with different amplitudes and orientations were imposed on the lower (2×1) surface to simulate the effect of cooling coils or jackets on the collector plate of a flat-plate solar heater. The shorter dimension of the enclosure was progressively inclined.

The circulation patterns were not changed significantly by the surface temperature distributions. The variation of the Nusselt number with inclination was not changed significantly but the magnitude increased with the amplitude of the surface temperature variations for inclinations of less than 90 degrees.

It is concluded that the collecting plate of a solar collector should be maintained as nearly isothermal as possible to minimize heat losses by natural convection through the air gap.     

OPTIMAL TUNING OF A PRACTICAL DIGITAL PID CONTROLLER

Optimal Tuning of a practical digital PID controller is studied by using the performance indices such as ITAE. IAE. ITSE, and ISE. A simplex searching method that uses the flexible polyhedron is used to find the optimal parameters in the controller. Tuning relations for each of the controller parameters are correlated into the forms that have been used by C.L. Smith and his co-workers. That is:

P = A(θ/γ)^B

or

P = A(θ/γ) + B.

It is noted that the present tuning relations are more practical in determinations of PID parameters when digital computers or micro-processors are used to implement the practical PID control. For control practice, the use of the existing tuning relations without precautions may result in poor performance in some cases.     

OPTIMIZATION OF THE OPERATION IN A REACTOR WITH CONTINUOUS CATALYST CIRCULATION IN THE GASEOUS BENZYL ALCOHOL POLYMERIZATION

Polymerization of gaseous benzyl alcohol was studied on a commercial zeolite (MZ-7P supplied by Akzo-Chemie) in a jet spouted bed reactor which is an original gas-solid contact technique whose use in this type of processes has not yet been described in relevant literature.

Properties of the catalyst-particles-bed and polymer production are calculated by a simulation routine as a function of the following operating variables: the partial pressure of the benzyl alcohol fed into the reactor and the average residence time of the catalyst particles in the reactor. The simulation method and the kinetic equations used have been checked by experimental data.

An analysis of the effect or the operating conditions is carried out, thus determining the values which enable maximum production.     

SIMULATION OF LIGNIN PYROLYSIS

Model compound pyrolysis reaction pathways and kinetics were used in simulation of both native (e.g.. milled wood) and Kraft lignin thermolyses where either only primary or also secondary reactions are important.

Predicted products fell into one of permanent gases, tight liquids, phenolics and carbonaceous residue fractions. Product yields were more dependent on lignin type than on reaction environment.

Comparison of simulation predictions with experimental pyrolyses of actual lignins, accomplished in terms of both product identities and yields, is encouraging. It is noteworthy that the simulations are strictly a priori and incorporate no actual lignin pyrolysis information.     

ELECTROHYDRODYNAMIC ENHANCEMENT OF NUCLEATE BOILING HEAT TRANSFER IN HEAT EXCHANGERS

The effect of a radial d.c. electric field on nucleate boiling heat transfer was investigated experimentally using a single-tube shell/tube heat exchanger. A dielectric liquid (Freon R. 114) was used in the shell and the tube was heated by circulating water through it.

It was found that the application of a sufficiently intense electric field to the boiling heat transfer surface resulted both in the elimination of boiling hysteresis and the enhancement of heat transfer for the range of superheat studied. An application of approximately 20 kV was more than sufficient to eliminate the hysteresis.

It was also observed that there appeared to be a transition between two situations. At lower superheat there is an appreciable improvement in the heat transfer coefficient due to both initial (0 to 10 kV) and incremental (10 to 20 kV) voltage increases. At higher superheat, however, the greater improvement (about four times) is obtained with the initial voltage application     

PERFORMANCES OF FILLED AND UNFILLED PTMSP MEMBRANES IN PERVAPORATION

The performances of filled and unfilled poly[l-(trimethylsily1(-I-propyne] (PTMSP) membranes have been investigated. The aims of this work are:

1) to describe through a mathematical model the performance decay which takes place during the pervaporation of organics from aqueous streams with PTMSP membranes;

2) to test and understand how the presence of adsorptive and non-adsorptive fillers acts to modify the performances of these membranes. So some criteria can be drawn to choose the right filler and its best concentration.

The interpretation of the experimental results with the filled membranes is accomplished by a model for the diffusion in a composite system that is constituted by the continuous polymeric phase with the dispersed filler particles.

It is concluded that the fillers hinder the decay of the flux and of the selectivity. Furthermore, in order to improve the performances, the filler must possess a high sorption selectivity accompanied by a favorable value for the ratio of the diffusivity of organics to that of the water.