MASS TRANSFER IN AN AGITATED VESSEL (Experiment #5b) The purpose of this experiment is to study variation of mass transfer in an agitated

vessel and compare it to predicted values. The data are to be obtained on the agitated vessel test loop located at the entrance of the Unit Operations laboratory. This vessel holds approximately 250 liters of water, has an internal diameter (DT) of 2 feet and is equipped with an 11inch, 6 blade impeller and four 2.5 x 24 inch baffles. The vessel and its interior components are all made of SS. The vessel can be heated and cooled by flowing steam or cooling water through its jacket. The jacket is made of a coil, which makes 9 rounds around the vessel. A schematic of the cross-section of the vessel is provided in this manual. Air or nitrogen is injected into the water through a circular distributer which has 10 holes with 1/8 diameters. The holes are equally distributed around the 16 diameter distributor. Dissolved oxygen measurements are done at two locations inside the vessel and can be recorded by the data acquisition system. The speed of agitation of the impeller can be adjusted using the motor controller; instructions for its operation are provided in the lab. The RPM of the electrical motor is measured with a tachometer. A gear box between the impeller and the electric motor reduces the RPM by 6.3 times. NOTE: AVOID USING IMPELLER RPMS HIGHER THAN 1200, WHICH CAUSE VIBRATION OF THE VESSEL During the course of your experimental work you are expected to: (a) Obtain dissolved oxygen measurements as a function of time, from which you will calculate the mass transfer coefficients, during bubbling of air or nitrogen through the vessel. You do need to obtain data for a wide range of operating conditions that are possible in the present loop. (b) Compare your experimental findings to predicted values.

During this experiment you are expected to determine experimentally mass transfer coefficients in the vessel. A representative experiment is described below: First you run the agitator at a fixed RPM, and provide air into the contents of the vessel, while watching the Oxygen contend in the water. When Oxygen concentration is saturate in the water, you need to calibrate the DO meters. Then, stopping the air flow and starting the Nitrogen flow will cause the Oxygen concentration to decrease in the water. Continue this process until Oxygen concentration is close to zero. Then stop the Nitrogen and allow air to flow. This will increase the concentration of Oxygen back toward the saturation concentration. Repeating the above experiment with different operating conditions will allow you to investigate variation of mass transfer coefficient and compare it to predicted values.

0.6"

1.6"

2.4"

Wall Thichness of Vessel=0.125"

24"

NUMBER OF TURNS = 9

T1

T2

MOTOR

GEAR BOX

SCHEMATIC OF THE AGITATED VESSEL