Name of the discipline: Chemical Engineering

Semester No: 4th

Subject name as per Curriculum: Mechanical Operation

Unit No: 6

Name of Topic:FUNDAMENTALS OF MIXING & MIXING EQUIPMENT

Prepared By: Gargi Dey,

Lecturer In Chemical Engg,
Hooghly Institute Of Technology

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 Mixing
Mixing has been defined as “the application of mechanical motion in order to
create fluid dynamic effects that achieve a desired process result”. The process
result is the objective of the vessel operator and will be a transformation of the
ingredients fed to the vessel into a product. The goal of the operation will be to
understand the role of mixing in promoting the transformation and choosing an
impeller that will create the appropriate fluid-dynamic effects to do this.

From raw material to the conditioning of the finished product, any production in
the genius of the processes calls upon a coordinated succession of fundamental
operations distinct and independent of the process itself which are called unit
operations. Every process goes through a combination of a number of unit
operations [1]. Many processes of industries generally face difficulties related to
the implementation of non-Newtonian fluids such as polymer solutions, melted
polymers, detergents, petroleum products, biological fluids, food products, when
moved, stirred or mixed. If the agitation is a unit operation aiming at promoting a
physical process, such as homogenization or enhancement of heat transfer;
predicting the power required for its implementation will be the primary concern.
Since the mixer is a reactor, more information on the fine structure of the flow
will be essential. The agitation of these fluids into an industrial tank requires very
high energy consumption where the optimization is a crucial problem. This
operation is often implemented to achieve intimate contact between different
phases, to make them under the best conditions of mass and heat transfer. All
processes in the industry must meet two major requests: to provide finished
products of high quality on the one hand, a reduced cost taking into account the
preservation of environment, on the other hand. These require two major points:

Processes carried out in stirred tanks can be generally divided into the following
two classes:

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• Those relying on flow generated by the impeller creating motion throughout the
fluid, such as blending of pigments into a resin or emulsion in paint manufacture
where homogeneity of the vessel contents is critical to product quality

• Those relying on “shear” to reduce the size of a second dispersed phase,

whether gas bubbles, liquid droplets or particles, such as a hydrogenation reactor
where smaller bubbles provide more surface area for mass transfer from the gas
into the liquid phase Impellers are often described qualitatively as, among others,
high flow, high shear or high efficiency, and the choice of equipment required to
achieve the process result most efficiently .

Impellers are classified as either laminar (viscous) or turbulent mixers. For

situations involving very viscous fluids where laminar mixing is present, the
diameter of the impeller approaches the diameter of the tank. The larger
impellers aid in the transport of momentum throughout the tank and ensure
that the fluid is moving close to the tank wall. Some common geometries of
laminar impellers are the ribbon impeller, the screw impeller, and the anchor
impeller.

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 Figure 1

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 These impellers are also very useful in heat transfer applications when
it is important that the fluid closest to the wall moves at high
velocities.
Turbulent mixers can be further categorized as axial or radial flow
mixers. Axial flow impellers cause the tank fluid to flow parallel to the
impeller's axis of rotation while radial flow impellers cause the tank
fluid to flow perpendicular to the impeller's axis of rotation. The
following figure shows the different flow patterns achieved by using
either a radial or axial flow impeller.

Figure 2: Typical Flow patterns achieved using (a) radial flow

impeller(b) an axial flow impeller

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 Some common geometries for radial flow mixers include disk style flat
blade turbines and curved blade turbines, while some common axial
flow impellers are the propeller and pitched blade turbine.

Figure 3: Turbulent Flow Impellers

Axial flow impellers are very useful in mixing solid-liquid suspensions

because they prevent the solid particles from settling at the bottom of
the tank. The type and geometry of impeller used will vary from
process to process and the determination of the best geometry for a
specific process requires a great deal of experimentation.
Radial flow impellers should be used in situations where high shear
rates are needed, such as in dispersion processes.

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Here 4 Impeller Types and Their Applications are elaborated in more details

1. Axial Flow Impellers

Axial (down and up) pumping is an important flow pattern because it addresses
two of the most common challenges in mixing;
solid suspension and stratification. In this process both the superficial and
annular velocities can be calculated to determine and control the level of mixing.
(If your axial impeller is causing swirling or vortexing,

Here are some of the most common axial impellers:

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A. Marine-type Propellers

Viscosity: 0 – 5,000 cps

Commonly used on marine boats, the

propellers are often used in small portable
direct drive mixer applications because
they’re economical and efficient. However,
in larger applications they’re seldom used
because of their price and weight.

B. Pitch

Viscosity: 0 – 50,000 cps

The pitch blade impeller is the most

versatile impeller and was the standard
until the development of the airfoil.
They’re useful in blending two or more
liquids and are effective in low bottom
clearance with less liquid submergence.

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 C. Dynaflow (Hydrofoils)

Viscosity: 0 – 3,000 cps

The camber of the blade increases the

efficiency of the impeller, reducing its
power / pumping ratio. A more technical
benefit is the laminar flow created by the
camber of this impeller. This camber
reduces turbulence (shear) substantially.
That is why it is selected for shear-sensitive
applications as well.

2. Radial Flow Impellers

Unlike axial impellers, radial impellers are

commonly selected for low level mixing
(known as a tickler blade) or elongated tanks.
They typically give high shear rates because of
their angle of attack. They also have a
relatively low pumping number, making them
the most sensitive to viscosity. Radial
impellers do not have a high tank turnover
flow like axial flow impellers.

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Study of power consumption of mixers:
The operation of agitation has to be effective in achieving the objective, at a minimum
cost as well as in short time. With increasing cost of electricity, the energy
consumption of agitation and mixing has to be carefully audited for energy savings. In
the analysis electrical energy consumption, the techniques of optimization,
dimensional analysis are done to minimize the cost of installation and operation.

Circulation, Velocities and Power Consumption in Agitated Vessels Z:Volume

circulated by impeller must be sufficient to sweep out the entire vessel in
reasonable time. Velocity of the stream leaving the impeller must be sufficient to
carry the currents to the remotest points. Turbulence in moving stream often
governs the effectiveness of the operation. It is caused by large velocity gradients.

Volumetric flow rate, q is proportional to the speed and the cube diameter of impeller.
Another important parameter is the Flow Number, a dimensionless number.

Flow Number, NQ1 = N Q1 = q n× (Da )3

Flow number is constant for each type of impeller

For standard flat–blade turbine, in a baffled vessel, NQ ≈ 1.3

For Flat – blade turbines, the total flow, estimated from the average circulation time
for particles is

qT=0.92×n× (Da )3 × (Dt /Da)

For a Dt/ Da =3 the qT = 2.76 nDa3 or 2.1 times the value at the impeller (NQ=1.3). The above
equation should be used only for Dt / Da ratio between 2 and 4

Power number is dimensionless parameter used for estimating the power

consumed by the mixing impeller. For a standard vessel geometry, the power
consumed by an impeller at a specified rotational speed, for a liquid with known
density, can be determined from the power number correlation. P = Np ρn3Da,

Where
P = Impeller power, Watts
Np = Power number
ρ = Density of liquid, kg/m3
n – Agitator speed measured in revolutions / second
Da – Impeller diameters in meters

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 Power number data for different type of impellers, under a give set of
conditions are documented in technical literature. Typical values of power
number are as under:

o Axial flow impellers such as propellers, hydrofoils : 0.3 < Np < 0.75
o Mixed flow impellers such as paddles, pitched blade turbines : 0.75 <
Np < 3.0
o Radial flow impellers such as Rushton turbines : 3.0 < Np < 6.

o Power number decreases with an increase in Reynolds number.

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Dimensional analysis of power consumption

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 continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR

The continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR), also known as vat- or backmix

reactor, mixed flow reactor (MFR), or a continuous-flow stirred-tank reactor
(CFSTR), is a common model for a chemical reactor in chemical
engineering and environmental engineering. A CSTR often refers to a model used

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to estimate the key unit operation variables when using a continuous agitated-
tank reactor to reach a specified output. The mathematical model works for all
fluids: liquids, gases, and slurries.
The behavior of a CSTR is often approximated or modeled by that of an ideal
CSTR, which assumes perfect mixing. In a perfectly mixed reactor, reagent is
instantaneously and uniformly mixed throughout the reactor upon entry.
Consequently, the output composition is identical to composition of the material
inside the reactor, which is a function of residence time and reaction rate. The
CSTR is the ideal limit of complete mixing in reactor design, which is the complete
opposite of a plug flow reactor (PFR). In practice, no reactors behave ideally but
instead fall somewhere in between the mixing limits of an ideal CSTR and PFR.
The flow input –output and pattern of flow of a CSTR are shown below in figures.

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An ideal CSTR will exhibit well-defined flow behavior that can be
characterized by the reactor's residence time distribution, or exit age
distribution.[4] Not all fluid particles will spend the same amount of time
within the reactor. The exit age distribution (E(t)) defines the probability that
a given fluid particle will spend time t in the reactor. Similarly, the
cumulative age distribution (F(t)) gives the probability that a given fluid
particle has an exit age less than time t.[3] One of the key takeaways from
the exit age distribution is that a very small number of fluid particles will
never exit the CSTR.[5] Depending on the application of the reactor, this
may either be an asset or a drawback.

CSTRs facilitate rapid dilution of reagents through mixing. Therefore, for

non-zero-order reactions, the low concentration of reagent in the reactor
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means a CSTR will be less efficient at removing the reagent compared to a
PFR with the same residence time.[3] Therefore, CSTRs are typically larger
than PFRs, which may be a challenge in applications where space is
limited. However, one of the added benefits of dilution in CSTRs is the
ability to neutralize shocks to the system. As opposed to PFRs, the
performance of CSTRs is less susceptible to changes in the influent
composition, which makes it ideal for a variety of industrial applications:
Environmental Engineering

Activated sludge process for wastewater treatment[2]

Lagoon treatment systems for natural wastewater treatment[2]
Anaerobic digesters for the stabilization of wastewater biosolids[7]
Chemical Engineering

Loop reactor for pharmaceutical production

Fermentation
Biogas production

Sigma mixer
The sigma mixer is caused by a strong shearing action of a pair of mutually
cooperating and rotating Σ blades so that the semi-dry state or the rubbery
viscous plastic material can react quickly to obtain a uniform mixing of the
material. The sigma blade mixer machine is mainly composed of five parts:
kneading part, base part, hydraulic system, transmission system and electric
control system. Hydraulic system by a hydraulic station to manipulate the large
cylinder, to complete the opening and closing function, the hydraulic system
from a hydraulic station to manipulate the cylinder, to complete the cylinder,
opening and other functions, the details of the parameters can be arbitrarily
selected and requested by the user, Convenient and reliable. Transmission
system consists of motor, reducer and gear, according to the type of kneading
machine matching motor.

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 The sigma mixers drive part is synchronized by the motor speed, the elastic
coupling to the reducer, the output device drive fast slurry, to reach the
required speed, but also by the inverter for speed control.

The mixer has two Σ-type blades, the speed of the two blades is different,
according to the different process can set a different speed, the most
common speed is 28/28 per minute.

Double sigma blade mixer can be designed according to the needs of heating,
heat transfer methods are usually: electric heating, steam heating, circulating
hot oil heating, circulating water cooling and so on.

The discharge way of sigma mixer mainly have three way - hydraulic dumping
cylinder dump, ball valve discharge, screw extrusion and so on. Cylinder and pulp

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and material contact parts are made of SUS304 stainless steel to ensure product
quality.
The application of sigma mixer are :
1) Sigma blade mixer is widely used in high viscosity, high elastic plastic materials,
kneading, kneading, crushing, stirring, curing, re-polymerization and so on. The
kneading machine has the advantages of constant mixing, no dead ends and high
kneading efficiency.
2) Sigma mixer is especially suitable for chewing gum, bubble gum, toothpaste,
plastic, rubber, silicone rubber, dyestuff, pigment, ink, food base, architectural
coating, carbon, cellulose, high viscosity Sealant, neutral glass glue, aluminum
paste, silicone, pulp, cellulose, battery paste, dyes, silicone resin, cosmetics and
other industries.

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