PRINCIPLES OF MIXING

FOR
INDUSTRIAL
BIOPROCESSING

Hari Venkitachalam

Purposes of mixing (in industrial

bio-processes)
Homogenize
physical properties of a mixture of fluids

Create a dispersion in a liquid

of a solid, gas or another immiscible liquid

Improve mass transfer effectiveness

e.g. rate of dissolution of a solid or gas into a liquid

Methods of mixing
Air lift
Liquid circulation due to the drag effect of a rising
column of air bubbles

Static mixers
Used mainly for mixing one liquid with another
Consist of a pipe or tube with stationary dividers
(baffles) positioned in the interior

Mechanical agitation
Needed where a high mixing intensity is called for
e.g. when the components separate relatively easily (as
in gas/liquid or liquid/solid mixing)

Energy for mixing

Energy transfer
From mixing equipment to the fluid causes fluid
circulation

The transferred energy

Accelerates the liquid and increases its kinetic energy
level (called the velocity head, H)
Gets transferred through smaller and smaller scales of
turbulent eddies
Is eventually dissipated as heat due to fluid friction

Without continuous energy transfer

Fluid movements will eventually die down

Characterizing mixing equipment

Liquid flow patterns
Liquid pumping rate
Rate and intensity of liquid circulation
Higher pumping rate means more rapid homogenization

Distribution of shear rate in the vessel

Fluid velocity differentials and fluctuations (due to fluid friction)
Higher shear rates mean higher mass transfer effectiveness

Power absorption
(i.e. energy transferred to the fluid)
the greater the energy transferred, the greater the mixing
effectiveness

Flow patterns of different impellers

Axial flow and hydrofoil
produce large flows at low power
Produce a single circulating loop
e.g. marine propeller, PBT and Prochem-Maxflo

Radial flow
Flow radiates out from the impeller
Two circulating loops are generated
e.g. Rushton turbine

Close clearance
for highly viscous substances
e.g. anchor and helical ribbon impellers

Liquid flow induced by mixing

The primary liquid flow
Is liquid flow directly induced by the impeller rotation

Secondary (or entrained) flows

Is due to the flowing liquid dragging adjacent liquid and
entraining it
Secondary flows allow the entire contents of vessel to
circulate even when a small impeller is inducing the
primary flow
Secondary flow component is smaller relative to primary
flow for larger impellers

Liquid pumping rate

Depends on impeller type
Axial flow turbines produce high flow rates (but low
shear rates) at a given power consumption
Radial flow turbines produce higher shear rates (but
lower flow)

For a particular type of impeller,

Q = Nq.ND3
where

Nq = is an impeller-dependent constant
N = rotation speed (s-1)
D = impeller diameter (m)
Q = induced liquid flow (m3s-1)

Velocity head
The velocity head (H)
Is the energy transferred to the liquid in accelerating it
to its flow velocity
Is proportional to the square of the liquid velocity

Liquid velocity induced by the impeller

is proportional to impeller tip speed (ND)

Therefore
H N2D2

Energy transfer from impellers

Power (Energy per unit time)
transferred by a mixing impeller to the fluid is given by

P Q.H (ND3).(N2D2)
or

P = Np.. N3D5
where P = power absorbed (J/s)
Np = power number (an impeller-dependent
constant)
= liquid density (kg/m3)

Power no. (NP) vs Reynolds no. (Re)

Re = (.N.D2)/
where = liquid viscosity

Tank baffle and impeller spacing

Power absorption from the turbine to the
liquid is maximized
when the width of the vertical baffles at the tank wall is
one-tenth the tank diameter

The spacing of impellers

in multi-impeller vessels also impacts on the power
absorption. Normal spacing of multiple impellers is at
least one impeller diameter apart

Shear rate and shear stress

Shear rate
is the velocity gradient in the liquid at a given
location (variation in liquid velocity with distance)
is proportional to both the impeller speed and
diameter

Shear stress in the liquid

increases proportionately with shear rate

Shear stress is responsible for

causing fluid intermixing
shearing and dispersion of solids, liquid
droplets and gas bubbles
and therefore also for enhancing mass
transfer

Distribution of shear rates

Maximum shear rate
occurs near the tip of the impeller (proportional to tip
speed)

Shear rate within the impeller region

is typically an order of magnitude larger than the
average shear rate in the whole vessel

Minimum shear rate in the vessel

is around 25% of the average shear rate
occurs in regions well away from the impeller zone

Macro-mixing and micro-mixing

Macro-mixing
is largely the general circulation of liquid through
various zones in the vessel
controls effectiveness of homogenization
dependent on the pumping capacity of impeller

Micro-mixing
refers to the intensity of turbulence (rapid velocity
fluctuations)
characterized by the root mean square velocity at a point
The greater the velocity fluctuations, the greater the shear
stresses
very important for enhancing dispersion and mass transfer

Impeller size vs speed trade-off

For equal power consumption,
the relationship between the diameters (D1 and D2) and
speeds (N1 and N2) of two geometrically similar
impellers is:
Np..N13.D15 = Np..N23.D25
i.e.,
(D1/D2)5 = (N2/N1)3
e.g., when D2/D1 = 0.5, (N2/N1) = 3.2, at equal power;
i.e., an impeller half the size of another will need to
run at 3.2 times the speed
The larger impeller will give rise to higher flow but the
smaller impeller will result in greater shear

Impeller application
Large diameter impellers at low speed
are best suited for homogenization

Small diameter impellers at higher speed

achieve better phase dispersion and mass transfer
outcomes (e.g. oxygen mass transfer)

Mixing and oxygen transfer

In bio-processes mechanical agitators (turbines)
are often needed to effect high rates of oxygen transfer to the
liquid (i.e., high kLa)

Oxygen transfer rate is determined by

the mass transfer resistance at the gas/liquid interface
the gas-liquid interfacial area, a (e.g., surface area of gas
bubbles dispersed in the liquid medium)
average gas hold-up in the liquid, (the volume of gas
bubbles in a unit volume of the liquid medium)
the mean residence time of gas bubbles, R

Effect of shear rate

Increased shear rate in the liquid
Tears up large bubbles into smaller ones
decreases the mass transfer resistance at the gas/liquid
interface due to increased turbulence intensity and
reduced liquid boundary layer thickness around gas
bubbles

Bubble generation in impeller zone

Sparged air is drawn into vortex threads and
vortex sheets in the wake of the impeller blades
Small bubbles shear off the tips of the the vortex
threads/sheets
The sheared bubbles are dispersed radially out
from the impeller zone and rise up the liquid
column
Some of the bubbles are recycled back through the
impeller zone in a downdraught with the liquid
drawn down into it.

Effect of bubble size

With smaller bubbles,
Gas/liquid interfacial area of a given volume of
dispersed air bubbles will increase (e.g. halving the
Bubble size will double as/liquid interfacial area)
Rise rate of the bubbles will be slower, so
the gas bubbles will remain in the liquid longer,
bubbles will be recirculated more frequently by the
liquid circulation
gas hold up in the medium will increase
the time that individual bubbles are able to
transfer oxygen into the liquid is extended

So, O2 transfer is greatly enhanced

Impeller selection for O2 transfer

For a given power absorption:
A smaller impeller will have to run at a much higher
speeed (when D2/D1 = 0.5, (N2/N1) = 3.2)
The shear rate in the liquid (both maximum and average)
being proportional to ND, a smaller impeller will give
rise to greater shear rate in the liquid (halving the
impeller diameter, will increase shear rate by 0.5x3.2 =
1.6 times)

Smaller impellers
therefore better suited to providing high oxygen mass
transfer rates

Impeller selection for O2 transfer

Radial flow turbines
Transfer more power and generate greater shear in the
liquid than the axial flow designs of the same diameter
and speed.
They are therefore preferred for oxygen mass transfer
applications
The Rushton turbine design is among the most
popular for fermenter applications

Aeration rate and oxygen transfer

Increasing air flow rate
improves O2 transfer only to a limited extent

Excessive air flow rate

will cause flooding of the impeller
At low impeller speeds, flooding will occur at
relatively low air flow rates
Increasing mixer speed will allow higher aeration rate
without flooding

 Recommended Reading:
M. Howe Grant (Editor)
Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology (4th Edition)
Vol. 16
J. I. Kroschwitz (Executive Editor)
John Wiley & Sons, N.Y. (1995)
pp. 844-857; 866-869
R660.03 E56 2 V.16
(in the Librarys reserve collection)