Agitation, Mixing & Blending

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 Agitation and Mixing
• Many operations depend upon effective agitation and mixing of components

• Agitation: induced motion of a material

• Mixing: random distribution of two initially separate phases

• A single homogeneous material such as water in a tank can be agitated but not
mixed until another material is added to tank

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Purpose of Agitation

 Suspending solid particles in a liquid

 Blending miscible/non-micible liquids e.g. methanol-water

 Dispersing a gas through a liquid in the form of small bubbles

 Dispersing a second liquid, immiscible with first to form an emulsion or suspension

of fine drops

 Promoting heat transfer between liquid and a coil or jacket.

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Agitation and mixing: Examples
1. GASES WITH GASES

2. GASES INTO LIQUIDS: DISPERSION.

3. GASES WITH GRANULAR SOLIDS: FLUIDIZATION, PNEUMATIC

CONVEYING; DRYING

4. LIQUIDS INTO GASES: SPRAYING.

5. LIQUIDS WITH LIQUIDS: DISSOLUTION, EMULSIFICATION, DISPERSION

6. LIQUIDS WITH GRANULAR SOLIDS: SUSPENSION.

7. PASTES WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH SOLIDS.

8. SOLIDS WITH SOLIDS: MIXING OF POWDERS.

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Agitated Vessels

• Round bottom to eliminate corners where

fluid cannot penetrate

• Impeller is mounted on a shaft

• shaft driven by a motor

• Baffles to reduce tangential motion of fluid

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DEVICES TO PRODUCE AGITATION

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Impellers: The rotating part of a centrifugal pump, compressor, or other machine
designed to move a fluid by rotation is called Impeller.

Types of Impellers
• Open impellers are generally faster and easier
to clean and repair. They are usually used in
smaller pumps and pumps that handle
suspended solids. (l to r) open, semi-closed, and enclosed (shrouded).

• Semi-Closed impellers have a back wall that adds strength to the impeller. Semi-closed
impellers are usually used with liquids or products that have solids. Reduced efficiency is a
common problem but the ability to pass solids is an important trade-off.

• Closed impellers are used primarily in larger pumps and can be used in applications that handle
.
suspended-solid service.
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 Impellers
1. Generate currents parallel with the axis of
impeller shaft → Axial-flow impeller

2. Generate currents in a radial or tangential

Axial-flow impeller
direction→ Radial flow impellers

 Axial flow impellers impose basically bulk

motion, and are used in homogenization
processes

 Radial flow impellers impose shear stress to

the fluid, and are used to mix immiscible
.
liquids

Radial flow impellers 8

 Types of Impellers

Three main types of impellers for low-to moderate viscosity liquids are.

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 High Efficiency Impellers

High efficiency impellers are designed to produce more uniform axial flow and better mixing

 It Reduces power requirements

 In high efficiency impellers, blades are sometimes folded to decrease the blade
angle near tip

 It is used to mix low to moderate viscosity liquids but not for very viscous liquids
or dispersing gases.

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 Impellers for highly viscous liquids

Helical Ribbon Impeller

 Having diameter almost equal to inside dia of tank
 Promotes liquid motion all the way to the tank wall
with very viscous liquids

Anchor Impeller
 Creates no vertical motion
 Less effective than helical
Anchor Helical Ribbon
 Promotes better heat transfer
May have scrapers to remove liquid from tank wall

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 Propeller
 An axial-flow, high speed impeller for liquids of low viscosity
 Small propellers turn at full speed either 1,150 or 1,750 rpm.
 Larger propellers turn at 400 to 800 rpm.

 Its rotation forces liquid downward until deflected by the floor vessel

 Propeller blades cut or shear the liquid produces a helix in the fluid

 Ration of distance to propeller diameter is called pitch of impeller. (square pitch=1)

 2 or more propellers may be used on a single shaft; directing liquid in same direction

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 Turbines
straight blade turbine
Pitched blade turbine

paddles
• straight blade turbine creates
 It is used when good overall forces liquid radially
zones of high shear rate and tangentially
circulation is important with no vertical
• Dispersing a gas in a liquid
movement.

• Current moves
Concave blade CD-6disc turbine outward to vessel wall
and then either
• It is also used for gas dispersion. upward or downward
• Consists of six concave blades.
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Flow patterns in Agitated Vessels
• Type of impeller
Depends upon

• Characteristics of the liquid (esp viscosity)

• Size and proportions of the tank, baffles and the impeller

3 velocity components
Liquid velocity at any point has 3 components
1. Radial – perpendicular to the shaft of impeller
2. Longitudinal – parallel with shaft
3. Tangential or rotational – tangent to a circular path around the shaft.
• Radial and longitudinal comp are useful in mixing
• When the shaft is vertical and centrally located; tangential component is
disadvantageous – creates a vortex 14
Vortex formation and its disadvantages
o If solid particles are present, they will be thrown at
the outside by centrifugal force; and move downward
and to the centre of the tank at bottom

o Instead of mixing; (reverse) concentration occurs

o Relative velocity b/w blades and liquid is reduced

o Hence power that can be absorbed by the liquid is

limited

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Prevention of Swirling (Vortex)
• In small tanks, impeller can be mounted off center

• In large tanks, agitator may be mounted in the side of the tank with an angle
with the radius

• Installing baffles in large tanks (2,3 or 4)

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 Mixing and Blending
 mixing is putting things together.

 Blending is the combination of things in a unified smoothed manner

 mixing is the combining of a number of dry ingredients which when combined

with a liquid is blended to achieve a uniform (usually) processed product

 Mixing is more difficult operation than agitation

 Criteria depends upon the experimenter
 Often good mixing is visual
• Color change of an acid base indicator
• Solid-liquid mixtures
• Rate of decay of concentration or temperature fluctuations; variation in the analysis
of small samples taken from various parts of the mix
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Blending in Process Vessels

• Impeller in process vessel produces high velocity stream

• Liquid is well mixed in the region close to impeller because of intense
turbulence.
• The fluid completes a circulation loop and returns to the eye of the impeller
where vigorous mixing again occurs
• Calculations show that complete mixing (99%) is achieved if contents are
circulated about 5 times

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Rate of Mixing– Circulation rates
• For efficient mixing, volume of fluid circulated by impeller must be
great enough to sweep out the entire vessel in a reasonable time

• The velocity of the stream leaving the impeller must be enough to carry the
currents to the remotest parts of the tank

• Circulation rate is not the only factor; turbulence in moving stream is

often very imp

• Turbulence results properly directed currents and large velocity gradients

in the liquid

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Rate of Mixing– Circulation rates

 Circulation and turbulence both consume energy

 Flow rate and power dissipation increase with stirrer speed

 However selection of the type and size of impeller influences the relative
values of flow rate and power dissipation

 Large impellers moving at medium speed promote flow

 Smaller impellers at high speed are used where intense turbulence is

required.

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