1

Agitation and mixing

Agitation vs. Mixing
Agitation induced motion of a material in a
specified way
Usually a circulatory pattern inside a container
Mixing random distribution, into and through
one another, of two or more initially separate
phases
Various degrees of homogeneity
3
Introduction
Applications
(1) dispersion of solvable solid
(2) homogenization of miscible liquids
(3) mixing and dispersion of immiscible liquids
(4) mixing between gas and liquid
(5) suspension of solid particles in liquid
(6) acceleration of chemical reaction and physical transport
Agitation methods
mechanical agitators
gas agitation
jet mixing
static mixer
tubular mixing
Agitation Equipment
T-Junctions
Static Mixers
Tank or vessel
Cylindrical in form with a vertical axis
Rounded or flatten tank bottom
Depth ~ diameter
Impellers
Axial-flow generate currents parallel with the axis of the
impeller shaft
Radial-flow generate currents in a tangential or radial
direction
Propellers, paddles, and turbines
Motionless mixers
Injector mixer with a helical baffle
Flanged perforated plates
Hellical mixing elements with
alternating directions (Kenics)
T-junction (similar flow rates)
Perforated plates (orifices)
supported on a rod
Pitot tube (different flow rates)
Kenics

Static mixers
Komax

static mixer
Pump recirculated tank(homogenizer)
9
A set of mixing
equipment consists of:
a mixing tank
a driving motor with
speed reducer
an agitator
some attached parts.
Mechanically agitated mixing equipment
Agitator is the main
part, like an impeller in
a pump to give
mechanical energy to
liquid.
10
standard type
S/d=1Z=3
blade end speed:
5~15 m/s, maximum 25 m/s
Types of agitators axial type
propeller
Standard type
S/d=1, B/d=0.1
Z=1-2 (2 for twin ribbon type)
low speed, the outer edge is
very close to the tank wall
(close clearance impeller).
helical ribbon
11
standard type
d/B=4-10Z=2
blade end speed 1.5~3 m/s
Types of agitators radial type
blades
standard typeB/d=1/12
d/d=0.05-0.08, d=25-50 mm
d- distance between the tank
wall and the outer edge of the
anchor
blade end speed 0.5-1.5 m/s
anchor and frame
Propellers
Propellers axial-flow, high speed impeller for
liquids of low viscosity
Small 1150-1750 r/min
Large 400-800 r/min
Pitch ratio of movement of liquid over fixed
distance to propeller diameter
Standard 3-blade marine propeller with square
pitch (1.0)
Rarely exceed 18 in diameter
Paddles
Two or four blades turning on a vertical shaft
Simple mixing problems
20-150 r/min
Length usually 50-80% of inside diameter
Width is 1/6
th
to 1/10
th
of length
Use with baffles at high speed to achieve good
mixing
Turbines
Multi-bladed paddle agitators with short blades
Turn at high speed on centrally-mounted shaft
Smaller diameter; 30-50% of diameter of vessel
Effective over wide range of viscosities
15
straight blades
on disk (Rushton)
curve blades on
disk
open straight
blades (paddle)
open curve
blades
Types of agitators radial type
turbines
3-blade marine propeller
Simple straight-blade turbine
(paddle)
Disk turbine
Concave-blade
CD-6 impeller
Pitched-blade turbine
Agitator types
Agitator types
three-bladed
mixing propeller
turbine with flat
vertical blades
Turbine with inclined
blades (usually45)
Flat blades disk
turbine (more blades)
Curved blade turbine
Shrouded turbine (consisting of
a rotor and a stator)
Agitator types
Sawtooth edges flat plate turbine
Cage beater impeller (usually
mounted on the same shaft
with a standard propeller)
Anchor paddle
Gate paddle
Hollow shaft and hollow
impeller assembly
shrouded screw
impeller and heat
exchange coil
Special mixers for powders and
pastes
Ribbon blender for
powders
double cone blender
Twin shell (Vee type) Twin rotor
Special mixers for powders and
pastes
Batch muller
Twin mullers
Double-arm
mixer and kneader
Some types of
blades for the
double-arm kneader
Flow Patterns
Depends on type of impeller, characteristics of
fluid, size and proportions of tank, baffles, and
agitator
Swirling stratification at various levels with no
longitudinal flow between levels
22
Types of agitators
axial-flow
The main flow in tank is a circulation on
axial direction (& tangential) with little
turbulent.
Suitable for mixing of low viscose
liquids, particle suspension and heat
transfer enhance.
Propeller small diameter, high speed, large flow rate and
low head.
Helical ribbon large diameter and mixing range, low speed,
low head. Special design for high viscosity liquid.
It can be divided by flow pattern
23
Types of agitators
Radial-flow
Complicated radial and tangential flow.
For low & middle viscosity liquids in
dispersion of immiscible liquids,
chemical reaction and heat transfer.
turbines: high speedwide bladelow flow
rate and high head.
straight blades: long vane, low speed and
low head, for high viscosity liquids.
anchor and frame very large diameter and mixing range,
very low speed and head. Suitable for high viscosity liquids
and capable of preventing the deposit on tank wall.
24
Baffle and draft tube
tangential vortex- by centrifugal force. The
liquid level on tank center will fall to form a
forced vortex. The high the speed , the
deep the vortex.
result effective volume reduced and mixing
effect worsen. Sometimes gas is absorbed
from lower liquid level to disturb operation.
Solution 1 install baffles on tank
wall.
Maximum 8 baffles (usually 4),
called fully baffled
25
Baffles and draft tube
draft tube mixing through
controlling the flow velocity and
direction, reducing the short cut.
Especially for particle
suspension.
Solution 2 off-central installed
agitator will improve the
operation with increased power
consumption.
Side entering impellers
Large tanks
agitation: side
entering impellers
Vortex inhibition: off-centering & baffles
Axial or radial impellers
without baffles produce
vortexes
Off-center located
impellers reduces
the vortex
Lateral baffles
reduces the
vortex
Flow patterns:
radial vs axial impellers
Radial impeller Axial impeller
Multiple-impeller tank
Standard geometry
a
D
d
b
Standard dimensions
D= T/2;T/3
H= T
a= D/4
b= D/5
c= T/2;T/3
d= 0.75D
w T/10
w
T
c
H
4 baffles
Circulation, Velocities, and Power
Consumption
Volume of fluid circulated by impeller must be
sufficient to sweep out entire vessel in reasonable time
Velocity of stream leaving impeller must be sufficient to
carry current to remotest parts of tank
In mixing, also it needs turbulence
Results from properly directed currents and large velocity
gradients in liquid
Circulation and generation of turbulence both consume
energy
Large impeller + medium speed = flow
Small impeller + high speed = turbulence
32
Flow pattern in mixing tank
Stirring Re
Flow pattern is related with the geometries of tank, stirrer
and baffle, liquid properties and stirrer speed.
For agitation operation, the useful flows are axial and radial,
not the tangential.
For a fully baffled standard tank with an 6 straight blades
turbine, the following flow regimes hold:
1 Re10 near the turbine: laminar flow,
other zones: almost static
Re10 laminar axis flow, flow starts from blades tips
100Re<10
3
transition, around turbine: turbulent flow,
other zones: laminar axis flow
Re>10
3
turbulent in whole tank
2
Re / D N =
DN = u
rotating speed, rps
Tip speed
33
Mixing mechanism
(1) molecular diffusionoccurring in molecular scale
(2)turbulent diffusion caused by vortex dissipation,
existed in vortex size .
(3)convective diffusioncaused by convection, occurring in
large scale spaces.
Convective flow breaks the liquid into large drops (macro
mixing); the drops are then broken into smaller ones by
vortex deformation (inter-drop mixing) those vortex
breakage and deformation will increase or renew the
contacting area between drops with different concentration
and promote the molecular diffusion.
A fully homogeneous mixing depends on molecular diffusion.
In comparison, the turbulent diffusion is about 10
5
~10
7
times
of molecular diffusion and dominates the turbulent agitation.
Mixing sensitive processes
Considering that a mixer consumes (depending on its shape,
dimension and agitation speed) a determined amount of
mechanical power, it can be dissipated inside the vessel by
inducing large flow rates (bulk motion) or high levels of
turbulence due to liquid shear (shear stresses). Typically,
axial impellers promote bulk motion while radial ones promote
instead shear stresses.
Processes promoted by mixing may be classified on the basis
of their sensitivity to bulk motion or shear stress promotion:
Bulk motion controlled processes those which do not need
to create new interface (blending, heat transfer promotion)
or which must allow the availability of the actual interface
for exchange processes (solid suspension).
Shear rate controlled processes those which efficiency
rely on the generation of inter-phase exchange surface (gas-
liquid and liquid-liquid dispersions).
35
Mixing mechanism of homogeneous systems
Large vortex is broken into small ones by shearing effect.
The viscose resistance converts part of the mixing energy
into heat.
Strong mixing effect occurs at the zone near the agitator.
Total circulation flow rate is the most important for this
type of mixing.
In the laminar zone, mixing depends on the total flow. But
the agitator efficiency is low at turbulent zone.
Large diameter (often close-clearance) and low speed
agitators should be used. Impeller must sweep the whole
vessel volume to assure good mixing.
low viscosity liquids
high viscosity liquids
36
Mixing mechanism of heterogeneous system
Immiscible liquid-liquid systems
One phase is continuous and another is dispersed.
For zone near the agitator, the shearing effect is strong
under high turbulent and small liquid drops will be achieved.
In the zone far away from the agitator, the drops will
agglomerate into larger ones.
The breakage and agglomeration processes increase and
renew the interface of the liquids, so strengthen the
inter-phase mass transfer.
If a surface activation agent is added in this system,
the agglomeration will be weaken and the size of liquid
drops tends to be uniform.
37
Mixing mechanism of heterogeneous systems
gas-liquid systems
The mechanism is similar to the liquid-liquid systems.
Gas is dispersed as bubbles in the liquid .
Gas-liquid interface tension is stronger than that of liquid-
liquid and the dispersion of gas is more difficult. As a
result, the sizes of bubbles are larger than those of liquid
drops.
The large density difference between gas and liquid makes
the gas bubbles rise to the top of the liquid.
High shearing agitators are often used to generate relative
small gas bubbles (radial types are preferable).
38
Mixing mechanism of heterogeneous system
solid-liquid systems
The purpose of the agitation are
to suspend the particles homogeneously in the liquid
to reduce the thickness of liquid film on particle surface
in order to accelerate the reaction or transport
processes.
Critical speed for suspension (N
js
)
It is minimum rotating speed needed to suspend all
particles.
It depends on the agitator size and type as well as on the
physical properties of suspension.
Why Dimensionless Numbers?
Empirical correlations to estimate the power
required to rotate a given impeller at a given
speed, with respect to other variables in
system:
Measurements of tank and impeller
Distance of impeller from tank floor
Liquid depth
Dimensions of baffles
Viscosity, density, speed
Dimensional analysis for fluid agitation systems
Characteristic length: Impeller diameter D (m)
Characteristic time: Inverse impeller speed: 1/N (s)
Characteristic mass: Liquid density
Basic quan
and cube

tities

3
of impeller diameter: D (kg)
Characteristic velocity: Impeller diameter and speed: DN (m/s)
Characteristic pressure: De
Derived q
nsity and
u
velocity
antities

( )
2 2
3 3

square: D N (Pa)
Characteristic flow rate: Velocity and area ND m /s

Dimensionless numbers
2
brake
Re Po
3 5
2
i
Q Fr
3
2 3
We
W N D
Reynolds N = ; Power N =
N D
Q N D
Pumping (Flow) N = ; Froude N =
ND g
N D
Weber N =

o
42
Dimensionless Mixing Numbers
pumping flow rate Q
flow rate pumped through a reference surface of the agitator
Flow rates pumped by the impeller
For turbulent flow, N
Q
is a constant, not a
function of Re
Pumping Number N
Q
=Q/ND
3
3
Q ND
Where Q is the volumetric flow rate, measured over a fixed control
surface (depending on the agitator type), N is the rotational speed (rps), D
is the impeller diameter.
Typical N
Q
values:
Standard flat-blade turbine, N
Q
= 1.3
Marine propellers, N
Q
= 0.5-0.9 (dep. on pitch)
4-blade 45 turbine, N
Q
= 0.5
Pumping number
q
q
Radial impellers
Axial impellers
44
Dimensionless Mixing parameters
For turbulent flow (Re>10
3
)
& standard geometry:
Flow rates pumped by impeller

(
(

|
.
|

\
|
+ = 1 16 0 1
2
d
D
. N N
Q ' Q
Circulating flow rate number N
Q
= Q/ND
3
Total circulating flow rate Q :
all circulating flow rate in the tank by the entrainment from the
agitatorQ > Q.
45
Dimensionless Mixing parameters
The power P dissipated divided by N
3
D
5
corresponds to an
important dimensionless parameter of mixers, the Power Number N
P
:
Mechanical power required by impeller P
Power Number N
P
=P/N
3
D
5
N
P
is ratio of drag force to momentum flow, N
P
is analogous to
the friction factor f for C
D
.
Typical values:
Standard flat-blade turbine, baffled vessels N
P
= 5
Standard flat-blade turbine, unbaffled vessels N
P
= 1
Marine propellers, N
P
= 1
Where P is the mechanical power dissipated (watts), measured at
the tip of the blades, N is the rotational speed (rps), D is the
impeller diameter and is the fluid density.
Calculation of Power Consumption
At low Re (<10), density is no longer a factor:
3 5
P
P N N D =
2 3

L
P L
K
N P K N D
Re
= =
At Re >10 000 in baffled tanks, P is independent of Reynolds Number
and viscosity is not a factor:
3 5

P T T
N K P K N D = =
K
L
and K
T
are constants for various types of impellers and tanks
Please note the dependency of P on or depending on the flow regime
(laminar or turbulent).
Power constants at low (K
L
) and high (K
T
)
Reynolds number
Type of Impeller K
L
K
T
Propeller, 3 blades
Pitch 1.0
Pitch 1.5
41
55
0.32
0.87
Turbine
6-blade disk (S
3
=0.25 S
4
=0.2)
6 curved blades (S
4
=0.2)
6 pitched blades (45, S
4
=0.2)
4 pitched blades (45, S
4
=0.2)
65
70
-
44.5
5.75
4.80
1.63
1.27
Flat paddle, 2 blades (45,
S
4
=0.2)
36.5 1.70
Anchor 300 0.35
48
Correlations and power curves
For a complicated mixing process, dimensional analysis is
often used to correlate the experimental data and find
the empirical Eqs.
With a standard mixing unit, following results can be
found from the dimensional analysis
( )
, , , , Pw f N D g =
2 2
3 5
,
P
Pw ND N D
N f
N D g

| |
= =
|
\ .
( )
Re, Fr
P
N f =
N
P
power number
Re stirring Reynolds number for flow pattern
Fr Froude number for circulating flow with free surface
N
P
vs Re for different turbines
Power number N
P
vs. Re: baffled & unbaffled tanks
(marine propellers and helical ribbons)
Helical ribbon
unbaffled
unbaffled
baffled
propellers
helical ribbons
N
P
vs Re for propellers
N
P
vs Re for different impellers
Effects of D/T for two axial flow impellers
Decreasing D/T ratio
N
Q
vs Re
(Pitched-blade turbine)
Mixing processes: blending
Blending is the mixing operation aimed to homogenise
two or more miscible liquids by agitation.
The blending efficiency depends on the global flow rate
moved by the impeller (bulk motion controlled process).
The residence time required to achieve complete
homogenization of inlet flow rate is called mixing time
(t
T
). For non viscous liquids it is commonly assumed that
the mixing time correspond to the time required by the
impeller to recirculate 5 times the whole tank content.
N
Q
= circulating flow rate number
N = rotational speed, rps
T = tank diameter, m
H = liquid height, m
2
2
3
' '
5 5
' 4
T
Q Q
V T H const T
t
Q N ND N N D
t
| |
= = =
|
\ .
2
'
T
Q
const T
Nt
N D
| |
=
|
\ .
Blending time vs Re
Mixing time correlations
For standard Rushton turbine (fully turbulent regime) the total
flow rate circulated by the impeller is Q=0.92ND
2
T , it follows:
2
3
2
5 5 4.3
' 4 0.92
T
V T T
t
Q ND T N D
t
| |
= = =
|

\ .
2
4.3
T
T
Nt
D
| |
=
|
\ .
Mixing time factor
t
T
= mixing time, s
N = rotational speed, rps
T = tank diameter, m
H = liquid height, m
For HE-3 high-efficiency impeller (fully turbulent regime) the
mixing time factor is:
1.67 0.5
16.9
T
T H
Nt
D T
| | | |
=
| |
\ . \ .
Mixing time correlations
For standard Rushton turbine (fully turbulent regime) the total
flow rate circulated by the impeller is Q=0.92ND
2
T , it follows:
2
3
2
5 5 4.3
' 4 0.92
T
V T T
t
Q ND T N D
t
| |
= = =
|

\ .
2
4.3
T
T
Nt
D
| |
=
|
\ .
Mixing time factor
t
T
= mixing time, s
V = liquid volume, m
3
N = rotational speed, rps
D = impeller diameter, m
T = tank diameter, m
H = liquid height, m
Mixing Time factor correlations
When Re>10
5
, f
t
~ 5
2 1/ 2 1/6
2 2/3 1/6 1/ 2
1/ 2 3/ 2 2
( )
T
t T
t ND g D D T g
f Nt
H T T H N D
| | | | | |
= =
| | |
\ . \ . \ .
For HE-3 high-efficiency impeller (fully turbulent regime) the
mixing time factor is:
1.67 0.5
16.9
T
T H
Nt
D T
| | | |
=
| |
\ . \ .
For Rushton turbine (fully turbulent regime) the mixing time
factor is:the
1/Fr
Mixing time factors in agitated vessels
Dashed lines:
unbaffled tanks
Solid lines:
baffled tanks
Dimensionless parameter dependency on Re
summary
Solid particle suspension
Processes involving solid particle suspension in liquids
(leaching, solid catalysed reactions, crystallization, ...) are
often carried out in agitated systems.
The role of agitation is to made available to mass and
heat exchange all the solid surface, therefore all particle
should move freely inside the tank. This is a bulk motion
controlled process.
Aim of agitation:
Produce a homogeneous mixture
Dissolve solids
Catalyze a chemical reaction
Promote growth of a crystalline product from a
supersaturated solution
Solid particle suspension regimes
Four different regimes apply for solid suspension:
1) Incomplete suspension: all or part of particle rest at the
bottom tank, forming fillets. This regime may be
acceptable only if the amount of unsuspended particles is
small;
2) On-bottom suspension: particles are suspended or, at least,
move on bottom.
3) Off-bottom suspension: all particles do not rest at bottom
for more than 1-2 seconds (Just Suspension regime). This
a commonly adopted working regime of suspension;
4) Homogeneous suspension: particles are uniformly
distributed inside the whole tank (particle concentration is
almost constant). It is a high power requiring regime and it
is impossible to achieve for heavy particles. It is needed
for very special applications.
Solid particle suspension
The most used correlation to estimate the Just Suspension
agitation speed (N
JS
) is that proposed by Zwietering:
0.45
0.1 0.2 0.85 0.13
JS p
L
N S d g D B

| |
A
=
|
\ .
N
JS
= just suspension speed, rps
S= geometry factor, -
v= kinematic viscosity, m
2
/s
d
p
= particle diameter, m
g = gravitational acceleration, m/s
2
A = particle to liquid density difference, kg/m
3

L
= liquid density , kg/m
3
D = impeller diameter, m
B = particle mass to liquid mass ratio x 100, %
Dimensional correlation!
Shape Factor, S
Impeller type T/D T/E
(E is height of
impeller above vessel
floor)
S
6-blade turbine
D/W = 5
N
P
= 6.2
2
3
4
4
4
4
4.1
7.5
11.5
2-blade paddle
D/W = 4
N
P
= 2.5
2
3
4
4
4
4
4.8
8
12.5
3-blade propeller
N
P
= 0.5
3
4
4
4
4
2.5
6.5
8.5
9.5
For the same geometry, critical speed is about
the same for standard turbine and paddle
However, turbine requires twice as much power
as paddle, and 15-20 times as much power as
propeller
Sole purpose to suspend solids use propeller
For good gas dispersion or high shear use
turbine
Power required for complete suspension of solids
in agitated tanks using pitched-blade turbines
Gas-Liquid dispersions
Gas liquid mechanically agitated systems are used for those
processes where a gas-liquid mass transfer phenomena are
involved (hydrogenation, chlorination, oxidation, ...).
The role of mixing is to:
generate as much interfacial area as possible (by disrupting
the gas phase)
disperse the bubbles throughout the liquid
keep the bubbles in the liquid (i.e. recirculate) for
sufficient time
homogenize the liquid concentration
enhance mass and heat transfer coefficients.
To this aim, impellers that produce large shear stresses
(high velocity turbines) are preferable.
Gas-Liquid dispersions
The gas phase is fed on the lower
part of the tank, below the
impeller, through a gas sparger.
Gas spargers may consist simply
of open end tubes or may be
slightly more complicated
(perforated rings, porous plates).
The importance of gas sparger is
not as crucial as in other non
agitated systems (e.g. bubble
columns) as the gas phase
dispersion is mainly performed by
the impeller.
sparger
Gas-Liquid dispersions regimes
Depending on the agitation speed N and the gas flow rate
Q
G
different dispersion regimes hold:
a) & b) Flooding Loading
Complete
dispersion
Highly gas
recirculation
regime
Surface aeration
(open systems)
Gas-Liquid dispersions regimes
Correlation to regime transition parameters estimation:
Flooding Loading (N
F
)
3.5 3.5
2
3
30 30
G F
F F
F
Q N D D D
Fl Fr
N D T g T
| |
| | | |
= =
| | |
\ . \ .
\ .
Loading Compl. Disp. (N
CD
)
0.5
0.5 0.5
2
0.5
3
0.2 0.2
G CD
CD CD
CD
Q N D D D
Fl Fr
N D T g T
| |
| | | |
= =
| | |
\ . \ .
\ .
Compl. Disp. High Gas Rec. (N
R
)
2
5 5
2
2
3
13 13
G R
R R
R
Q N D D D
Fl Fr
N D T g T
| |
| | | |
= =
| | |
\ . \ .
\ .
Gas-Liquid power requirements
The gas strongly affects the fluid dynamics inside the tank as it
interferes in the impeller momentum transfer. Therefore
correlations of N
P
valid for single phase do not hold anymore.
The figure shows how the ratio of power in gassed conditions (P
g
)
over the power consumed in ungassed systems (P) varies with the
Flow Number (Fl) at constant gas flow rate Q
G
:
Power curves at constant gas rate for Rushton turbines.
P
g
/P always < 1
Gas cavities behind blades
disc
Increasing
agitation
speed
Gas-liquid dispersion empirical correlations
Michel & Miller correlation to predict P
g
in standard systems:
2 3
0.56
m
g
G
P ND
P
Q
|
| |
=
|
\ .
Dimensional correlation (SI units required)
P=ungassed power requirement [W], P
g
[W]
N [rps], D [m], Q
G
[m
3
/s]
|= 0.83 (Rushton turbine, standard geometry)
m=0.45 normally coalescent liquids
Vant Riet correlation to calculate the volumetric gas-liquid
mass transfer coefficient (k
L
a) in standard systems:
g
L sg
L
P
k a v
V
|

o
| |
=
|
\ .
Dimensional correlation (SI units required):
P
g
[W], V
L
[m
3
] liquid volume k
L
a [1/s], v
sg
superficial gas velocity (Q
g
/S
tank
) [m/s]
Coalescent
systems
Non coalescent
systems
o 0.026 0.002
| 0.4 0.7
0.5 0.2
P
g
/P vs Q
G
for different impellers
P
g
/P always < 1
Typical power curves for gassed agitators (D.T.= disc turbine; V.D.= vaned
disc; P.B.T. = pitched blade turbine. All curves for one N and D.)
Liquid-liquid dispersions
Liquid-liquid dispersion operations may be performed in
agitated tanks provided by high shear rate impellers
(e.g. turbines).
As in the case of gas dispersion, the interfacial surface
between phases is generated by the agitation and varies
with it. Also the droplet size of the dispersed phase will
depend on the degree of the agitation being the result
of the two opposite processes of disruption (due to
agitation) and coalescence.
Liquid-liquid systems are characterised by major
complexity with respect to solid-liquid and, also, gas-
liquid dispersions. In particular, in some cases, it is not
possible a priori to establish which one of two
immiscible phases will perform as dispersed and
continuous one.
Mean diameter of drops
The main global parameter describing the characteristic of
dispersion is the mean droplet diameter d
p
. Considering that the
droplets are characterised by a dimension distribution, the average
diameter usually adopted is the surface-based mean diameter
(Sauter diameter) d
S
obtained starting from the ratio of total
volume to total surface of all dispersed drops in the volume:
3
3
1
2
2
1
6
6 6
ntot
i
i
disp
i tot S S
ntot
disp tot S
i i
i
d
n
V
n d d
a S n d
n d
t

t
=
=
= = = =

n
tot
= total number of drops
= disp. phase hold-up
a = specific surface, m
2
/m
3
6
S
d
a

=
Sauter mean diameter
Liquid-liquid dispersions
Liquid-liquid dispersion operations may be performed in
agitated tanks provided by high shear rate impellers
(e.g. turbines).
As the impeller action is produce high liquid
deformations (shear) in order to deform drops of
disperded phase and break them in smaller ones, this
action depends on the ratio of fluid kinetic energy at
the impeller tip speed to a surface-tension stress based
on D which define the Weber Number (We):
( )
2
2 3
C
C
ND
N D
We
D

o
o
= =

C
= density of continuous phase
o= surface tension
Correlation for d
S
Several empiric correlation have been proposed to estimate
mean drop diameter depending on agitation conditions,
relevant to different mixing devices.
Rushton turbine:
( )
0.6
0.058 1 5.4
S
d D We

= +
Static Kenics mixers:
0.6 0.4
0.35
S
d D We f

=
Where:
2
2
pipe diameter, m
average fluid velocity, m/s
friction factor, -
2
C
C
v D
We
D
v
D P
f
v L

=
=
=
A
= =
80
Design of agitation
(1) Decide the type and geometry of the tank and the agitator.
(2) Find the performance of the installation first, including the
size, rotating speed and power, then scaling up to
commercial scale.
Scaling up criteria
geometric similarity all the sizes have same ratio, such as H/D.
dynamic similarity there are same velocity ratio and direction on
corresponding points.
kinetic similarity all have same forces ratio on corresponding points
(with same Re, Fr or We).
where Rethe ratio of inertia to viscous forces
Fr the ratio of inertia to gravitational forces
We = N
3
D
2
/o the ratio of inertia to surface tension
Relevant parameters
D = impeller diameter (m), N = impeller speed (1/s)
W
s
= shaft power, W
brake
= brake power (W or HP)
T = tank diameter, Z = liquid level m.
Viscosity Pa.s, density kg/m
3
, Surface Tension N/m
Q
i
= impeller pumping capacity (m
3
/s)
Scale-Up
Based on geometrical similarity, if possible
Power consumption predicted by curves of N
P
vs N
Re
ROT for power
-1 hP per 1000 gal of thin liquid gives mild agitation
2-3 hP per 1000 gal gives vigorous agitation
4-10 hP per 1000 gal gives intense agitation
Actual power delivered to the liquid
Ratio of D
impeller
to D
vessel
Dispersing a gas in a liquid 0.25
Contacting two immiscible liquids 0.4
Blending 0.6 or more
Smaller the impeller, higher the impeller speed
83
Scaling up criterion
(1) power consumption per volume (Pw/V) =Const.
Used for constant liquid properties and relatively small
scaling-up ratio. Good for turbulent mixing dominated
situation in fully turbulent flow.
3 2 3 2
1 1 2 2
N D N D =
1 1 2 2
N D N D =
(2) Tip speed constant
Keep the agitator torque constant in a geometrical
analogue system. Suitable for operation of high head.
(3) Reynolds number, Re= Const.
2 2
1 1 2 2
N D N D =
84
(4) Froude number, Fr=Cost.
(5) Webber number, We= Const.
Which scaling up process should be used?
depends on the practical situation.
2 2
1 1 2 2
N D N D =
2 3 2 3
1 1 2 2
N D N D =
Scaling up criterion