Agitation tank design
Summary
The elaboration of this work consisted on the design
of an agitation tank for a mixture containing 4000
kg of water-sugar at 50% in weight / weight
percentage and 7% of additional solid particles.
According to the mixing requirements, a turbine
agitation tank with 4 blades was designed, because
this type of agitators works with wide ranges of
viscosity, among which is the study mixture, it is
also ideal when you have solid particles because it
causes the currents to flow down, thus lifting the
solids. Once the design calculations were made, the
power required by the agitator was obtained,
considering 80% efficiency, and the cost of
agitation, which were 1.55 KW and 2.36E-04 $ / kg
batch.
Objective
Perform the design of a tank and agitation system
for a mixture that meets the design criteria and
specifications from the problem.
Description of the problem
It is necessary to design a stirring tank to prepare a
mixture of a water-medicated solution that is
prepared at 50% w / w knowing that the load to be
prepared is 4000 kg and additionally 7% solid
particles are loaded onto the sugar water mixture,
that must be mixed for 2 hours. The rheological
properties of the mixture are considered as if they
were water-sugar.
Introduction
Agitation and mixing is one of the most common
operations used in the industry, although both are
interrelated, it is established that the main difference
is that the agitation falls on the power consumption
(Griskey, 2002). With the mixing a uniform
combination of two or more components is obtained
(Brennan, 2006), while the agitation refers to the
forcing of a liquid by mechanical means so that this
acquires a circulatory movement inside a cylindrical
container that can be open or closed, the height of
this is approximately equivalent to the diameter of
the tank. The agitation is carried out by means of a
stirrer propeller which is driven by an electric
motor. In Figure 1, a traditional agitation system is
shown (Geankoplis, 2006).
Figure 1. Stirring tank with deflectors and flat
paddle turbine agitator with axial flow pattern. a)
side view, b) background view.
The main objectives of the agitation are:
▪ Mix of two miscible liquids
▪ Improve heat transfer
▪ Dissolution of solids in liquid
▪ Dispersion of a gas in a liquid
▪ Dispersion of fine particles in a liquid
▪ Dispersion of two non-miscible phases
To carry out the selection of the agitator, the
viscosity of the fluid must be taken into account, for
viscosities lower than 3000 cp, the use of
propellants is recommended; from 10,000 cp
 Agitation tank design
downwards turbines can be used; the anchor-type
agitators can work with viscosities of 50,000 to
500,000 cp, the helical agitators can work from
500,000 to 25,000000 cp. At viscosities greater than
5000 cp, the use of deflectors is not necessary
because there is little turbulence (Geankoplis,
1998).
Types of agitators
Three-blade propeller agitator.
the currents flow downwards and lift the deposited
solids (Geankoplis, 1998).
Helical band stirrers
They are useful when you have liquids with high
viscosities. The solution is moved in a tortuous flow
path down the center and upwards to the sides, with
turning movement and operates at a few rpm,
generating a laminar Flow (Geankoplis, 1998).

This type of agitators rotates at speeds of 400 to

1750 rpm (revolutions per minute) and are used for
low viscosity liquids, can be mobile to be
introduced laterally in the tank or be mounted on the
wall of an open tank, in position displaced from the
center. The type of flow pattern of this type of
agitator is axial flow because the fluid flows axially
downward on the central axis and upward on the
sides of the tank (Geankoplis, 1998).

Paddle agitators.

They are used for speeds of 20 to 200 rpm, with

systems of two to four flat blades, with viscous
liquids that can generate deposits on the walls. The
length of the paddle propeller measures between 60
to 80% of the diameter of the tank and the width of
the paddle has a ratio of 1/6 to 1/10 of its length
(Geankoplis, 1998).
Turbine agitators.
They are used in liquids with wide viscosities, and
to disperse a gas in a liquid by means of the
propeller of the turbine, making it pass under its
axis. The diameter of a turbine agitator can measure
around 30 to 50% of the diameter of the tank and
usually these have four or six blades. This type of
turbines is very useful for suspended solids, since
Figure 2. Types of agitators: a) blade of four blades,
b) gate blade or anchor, c) open turbine with six
blades, d) blade turbine inclined (45 °)
Methodology
To carry out the design of the agitation tank,
initially the required properties were obtained, such
as the density and viscosity of the mixture, which
were 1262.65 kg / m3 and 0.011 Pa s, at 20 ° C and
one atm, obtained by the rule of mixing. The mass
of the solution was determined with the mass
balance, considering 4000 kg of water-sugar
solution and 280 kg of suspended solids, obtaining a
total of 4280 kg. With the data obtained, the volume
 Agitation tank design
of the mixture that will occupy in the tank was The geometrical similarities of a turbine-type
determined by equation 1. agitator shown in table 2 were used to calculate the
dimensions of the tank and agitator.
mm
v m= Ec. 1
ρm
Where:
Vm = Volume of the mixture in m3
mm = Mass of the mixture in kg
ρ = Density of the mixture in kg / m3
Once the volume of the mixture was calculated,
which was 3.31 m3, an additional 20% was
considered to obtain the dimensions of the tank
through an iterative process setting the volume, the
results obtained are shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Dimensions of the mixing tank

Dimensions Tank
h (m) 1.64
Figure 3. Dimensions of the tank and the turbine
d (m) 1.76
r (m) 0.88 Table 2. Geometrical similarities
Volumen (m3) 3.97
H/Dt 1
Da/Dt 0.33
E/Dt 0.33
w/Da 0.125
J/Dt 0.1
f/Dt 0.02

In the design of the agitator tank the following
criteria were taken into consideration:
• A 4-blade turbine was selected because the
viscosity of the solution is within the viscosity
range of this type of agitators, in addition to the
above, it is useful when you have solids in
suspension, since the currents flow downwards thus
lifting the deposited solids.
• The construction material should be 316 stainless
steel since it is used in pharmaceutical processes.
Where:
H = Fluid height in m.
Dt = Diameter of the tank in m.
Da = Diameter the agitator in m.
E = Distance from the bottom of the tank to the
blades, in m.
J = Baffle plate width in m.
f = Thickness of baffle plates in m.
w = Width of the turbine in m.
 Agitation tank design
Table 3. Results obtained from the dimensions 1.94
Efficiency of 80%
Da (m) 0.580 (kW) 1.55
E (m) 0.580
w (m) 0.073 Finally, with the determination of the power of the
J (m) 0.176 agitator, the cost of the agitation was calculated in $
f (m) 0.035 kg / lot, if the cost of the current is 0.65 $ / kw h the
results obtained are shown in table 5.
Subsequently, using the Reynolds number equation, Table 5. Agitation costs
the rotation speed is determined by equation 2,
establishing a turbulent rate value. kW/h 7.76E-01
kW/kg batch 3.63E-04
ℜ∗μ
N= Ec. 2 $/kg batch 2.36E-04
Dt 2∗ρ

Where:
N = Speed of rotation in rps.
Re = Reynolds number.
Dt = Diameter of the agitator in m.
ρ= Density of the fluid in kg / m3.
The power of the agitator was determined by
equation 3, using a value of 1.63 for the constant
KT of a turbine with four blades.
P=KT∗N 3∗Da5∗ρ Ec. 3
Where:
P = The theoretical power of the stirrer in W.
KT = Constant for 4 blade turbine
N = Rotational speed in rps
Da = Diameter of the agitator in m.
= Density of the fluid in kg / m3.
Table 4. Results obtained from the power required
for the agitator
Power (W) 1,939.38
Power (kW)
Conclusion
To carry out the design of an agitation tank, it is
important to know the viscosity and density of the
solution to define the type of agitator to be used and
thus select the appropriate geometric similarities to
calculate the dimensions of the tank and agitator.
Another important design parameter was the
selection of the material that must be built, which
was a 316 stainless steel, since it is used in drug
production processes. In addition to the design
requirements, it is important to know the code of
ethics of the Board of Directors of the American
Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), which
establishes the importance of maintaining the safety,
health and well-being of the public, as well as
protecting the environment in the development of
work functions.
References
Brennan, J.G. (2006). Mixing, emulsification and
size reduction. Food Processing Handbook,
 Agitation tank design
(J.G. Brennan ed.), Germany, WileyVCH,
pp. 513-558
Geankoplis, C.J. 2006. Procesos de transporte y
principios de procesos de separación. México:
Cecsa
CECSA. Griskey, R.G. 2002. Transport
Phenomena and Unit Operations. A
combined approach. New York, John Wiley
and Sons, Inc.
Geankoplis, C. J. (1998). Procesos de transporte y
operaciones unitarias. México: Cecsa.
Castillo, V. (2013). Diseño y Cálculo de un
agitador de fluidos. Recuperado el 13 de
abril de 2018, de Universidad del Bío-Bío:
http://repobib.ubiobio.cl/jspui/bitstream/123
456789/412/1/Castillo_Uribe_Vladimir.pdf

Vaxasoftware. (Desconocido). Tabla de viscosidad

dinámica. Recuperado el 13 de abril de 2018
de:
http://www.vaxasoftware.com/doc_edu/fis/v
iscosidad.pdf

Vaxasoftware. (Desconocido). Densidad del agua

líquida entre 0°C y 100°C. Recuperado el 13
de abril de 2018 de:
http://www.vaxasoftware.com/doc_edu/qui/
denh2o.pdf

Iminox. (2002). Clasificación y características del

acero inoxidable. Recuperado el 13 de abril
de 2018 de:
http://www.iminox.org.mx/downloads/publi
caciones/manual_caracteristicas_y_clasifica
cion.pdf
AIChE. (2015). AIChE Code of Ethics. Recuperado
el 13 de abril de 2018, de AIChE de:
https://www.aiche.org/about/code-ethics