PHASE CONTACTING AND LIQUID-SOLID PROCESSING

small droplets in gas-liquid and immiscible-liquid systems, (3) solids

deagglomeration, and (4) promotion of mass transfer between
phases.
The impeller discharge rate can be increased at the same power consumption by increasing impeller diameter and decreasing rotational
speed and peripheral velocity so that N 3D5a is a constant (Eq.
18-4)]. Flow goes up, velocity head and peripheral velocity go down, but
impeller torque TQ goes up. At the same torque, N 2D5 a is constant, P 5/2
Da ,
and Q D1/2
a . Therefore, increasing impeller diameter at constant torque
increases discharge rate at lower power consumption. At the same dis1
charge rate, NDa3 is constant, P D4
a , and TQ Da . Therefore, power
and torque decrease as impeller diameter is increased at constant
Q.
A large-diameter impeller with a high discharge rate is used for
(1) short times to complete mixing of miscible liquid throughout a
vessel, (2) promotion of heat transfer, (3) reduction of concentration
and temperature differences in all parts of vessels used for constantenvironment reactors and continuous averaging, and (4) suspension of
particles of relatively low settling rate.
Laminar Fluid Motion in Vessels When the impeller Reynolds
number is less than 10, the flow induced by the impeller is
laminar.
Under these conditions, the impeller drags fluid with it in a predominantly circular pattern. If the impeller blades curve back, there is a
viscous drag flow toward the tips of these blades. Under moderateviscosity
conditions in laminar flow, centrifugal force acting on the fluid layer
dragged in a circular path by the rotating impeller will move fluid in a
radial direction. This centrifugal effect causes any gas accumulated
behind a rotating blade to move to the axis of impeller rotation. Such
radial-velocity components are small relative to tangential
velocity.
For turbines at Reynolds numbers less than 100, toroidal stagnant
zones exist above and below the turbine periphery. Interchange of liquid between these regions and the rest of the vessel is principally by
molecular diffusion.
Suspensions of fine solids may have pseudoplastic or plastic-flow
properties. When they are in laminar flow in a stirred vessel, motion in
remote parts of the vessel where shear rates are low may become negligible or cease completely. To compensate for this behavior of slurries, large-diameter impellers or paddles are used, with (Da /DT) > 0.6,
where DT is the tank diameter. In some cases, for example, with some
anchors, Da > 0.95 DT. Two or more paddles may be used in deep
tanks to avoid stagnant regions in slurries.
In laminar flow (NRe < 10), Np 1/NRe and P N 2D3a . Since shear
stress is proportional to rotational speed, shear stress can be increased
at the same power consumption by increasing N proportionally to
D 3/2
as impeller diameter Da is decreased.
a
Fluid circulation probably can be increased at the same power consumption and viscosity in laminar flow by increasing impeller diameter and decreasing rotational speed, but the relationship between Q,
N, and Da for laminar flow from turbines has not been determined.
As in the case of turbulent flow, then, small-diameter impellers
(Da < DT / 3) are useful for (1) rapid mixing of dry particles into
liquids, (2) gas dispersion in slurries, (3) solid-particle
deagglomeration, and
(4) promoting mass transfer between solid and liquid phases. If stagnant regions are a problem, large impellers must be used and rotational speed and power increased to obtain the required results. Small
continuous-processing equipment may be more economical than
batch equipment in such cases.
Likewise, large-diameter impellers (Da > DT / 2) are useful for
(1) avoiding stagnant regions in slurries, (2) short mixing times to
obtain uniformity throughout a vessel, (3) promotion of heat transfer,
and (4) laminar continuous averaging of slurries.
Vortex Depth In an unbaffled vessel with an impeller rotating in
the center, centrifugal force acting on the fluid raises the fluid level at
the wall and lowers the level at the shaft. The depth and shape of such
a vortex [Rieger, Ditl, and Novak, Chem. Eng. Sci., 34, 397 (1978)]
depend on impeller and vessel dimensions as well as rotational speed.
Power Consumption of Impellers Power consumption is
related to fluid density, fluid viscosity, rotational speed, and impeller
diameter by plots of power number (gc P/N 3D5a ) versus Reynolds
number (Da2 N ). Typical correlation lines for frequently used

18-13

Impeller power correlations: curve 1, six-blade turbine, Da / Wi =

5, like Fig. 18-4 but with six blades, four baffles, each DT /12; curve 2, verticalblade, open turbine with six straight blades, Da / Wi = 8, four baffles each DT /12;
curve 3, 45 pitched-blade turbine like Fig. 18-3 but with six blades, Da / Wi = 8,
four baffles, each DT /12; curve 4, propeller, pitch equal to 2Da, four baffles, each
0.1DT, also same propeller in angular off-center position with no baffles; curve
5, propeller, pitch equal to Da, four baffles each 0.1DT, also same propeller in
angular off-center position as in Fig. 18-14 with no baffles. Da = impeller diameter, DT = tank diameter, gc = gravitational conversion factor, N = impeller rotaFIG. 18-17

tional
P = power
transmitted
byimpeller
Wi =mixture.
impellerAny
blade
height,speed,
= viscosity
of stirred
liquid, and
= densityshaft,
of stirred
set
of consistent units may be used, but N must be rotations (rather than radians)
per unit time. In the SI system, gc is dimensionless and unity. [Curves 4 and 5
from Rushton, Costich, and Everett, Chem. Eng. Prog., 46, 395, 467 (1950), by
permission; curves 2 and 3 from Bates, Fondy, and Corpstein, Ind. Eng. Chem.
Process Des. Dev., 2, 310 (1963), by permission of the copyright owner, the
American Chemical Society.]

for operation of the respective impellers in unbaffled tanks when the

Reynolds number is 300 or less. When NRe is greater than 300, however, the power consumption is lower in an unbaffled vessel than
indicated in Fig. 18-17. For example, for a six-blade disc turbine with
DT /Da = 3 and Da / Wi = 5, Np = 1.2 when NRe = 104. This is only
about one-fifth of the value of Np when baffles are present.
Additional power data for other impeller types such as anchors,
curved-blade turbines, and paddles in baffled and unbaffled vessels
are available in the following references: Holland and Chapman, op.
cit., chaps. 2, 4, Reinhold, New York, 1966; and Bates, Fondy, and
Fenic, in Uhl and Gray, op. cit., vol. 1, chap. 3.
Power consumption for impellers in pseudoplastic, Bingham plastic, and dilatant non-newtonian fluids may be calculated by using the
correlating lines of Fig. 18-17 if viscosity is obtained from viscosityshear rate curves as described here. For a pseudoplastic fluid, viscosity decreases as shear rate increases. A Bingham plastic is similar to
a pseudoplastic fluid but requires that a minimum shear stress be
exceeded for any flow to occur. For a dilatant fluid, viscosity increases
as shear rate increases.
The appropriate shear rate to use in calculating viscosity is given by
one of the following equations when a propeller or a turbine is used
(Bates et al., in Uhl and Gray, op. cit., vol. 1, p. 149):
For dilatant liquids,

D0.5

{ )

= 13N
DT

(18-6)

For pseudoplastic and Bingham plastic fluids,

= 10N

(18-7)

where = average shear rate, s1.

The shear rate calculated from impeller rotational speed is used to
identify a viscosity from a plot of viscosity versus shear rate deter-

impellers operating in newtonian liquids contained in baffled cylindrical vessels are presented in Fig. 18-17. These curves may be used also

mined with a capillary or rotational viscometer. Next NRe is calculated,

and Np is read from a plot like Fig. 18-17.