Front. Chem. Eng.
China 2009, 3(1): 93–96
DOI 10.1007/s11705-009-0112-x
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Combined static mixers for high viscous fluids mixing
Zhenhao XI1, Weizhen SUN1, Ling ZHAO (✉)1, Zhaoyan LIU2
1 State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
2 Beijing Innovation Polymerization Technology Company, Beijing 100050, China
© Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag 2009
Abstract A new static mixer Cross-over-Disc has been
invented to strip off the boundary layer and to make strong
radial mixing. The pressure drop of Cross-over-Disc is
12–26 times as large as that of empty pipe with equivalent
diameter and length. The mixing performance of Cross-
over-Disc with 14 elements has been investigated in the
viscosity range of 190–250 Pa$s by decoloration method,
and the gray analysis of images shows that mixing
inhomogeneity is about 7.5% and 9.4% for the mixing
ratio of 5∶1 and 10∶1, respectively. Furthermore, mixing
inhomogeneity for a combination of static mixing elements
(four from Cross-over-Disc and three pairs from Sulzer-
type) can be decreased to 2.1%–3.1% within a reasonable
range of pressure drop.
Keywords static mixer, Cross-over-Disc, pressure drop,
mixing performance, high viscous fluid
1 Introduction
In processing industries, viscous liquids have to be
homogenized in continuous operations such as distributing
within polymer a small amount of additives like pigments
or loading materials, and stripping off the boundary layer
to avoid the polymer’s degradation and pipe choking and to
enhance heat transfer. Static mixers are often used in these
operations. For high viscous fluids, however, slow-moving
fluid is often in the state of laminar flow or even creeping
flow, leading to inhomogeneity and poorly mixed regions
within the flow system [1]. Therefore, using static mixers
to achieve good mixing performance remains a challenge.
Generally, the mixer elements are designed to split the flow
into two streams or more, rotate them and then recombine
them for a better mixing. Most existing static mixing
elements fulfil their boundary layer tasks utilizing
Received August 13, 2008; accepted November 5, 2008
E-mail: zhaoling@ecust.edu.cn
secondary vortices generated by streamline change. But
the secondary flows are weak at low Reynolds number, and
the boundary layer is only partially superficially and
indirectly decorticated.
A new static mixer [2], named Cross-over-Disc, has
been invented to decorticate the boundary layer as well as
to make strong radial mixing. Each Cross-over-Disc
element has a couple of Wall-Side-to-Center-Area and
Center-Area-to-Wall-Side channels alternately allocated,
and the number of channels and sizes could be adjusted
with corresponding pipe diameter and purpose. When
passing through the Cross-over-Disc, materials in central
area and wall sides exchange their positions well each
other. If multiple Cross-over-Discs are placed in series
within the pipe or column, materials will experience a
Split-Displace-Converge process when flowing through
each Cross-over-Disc. Thus, materials in the Wall-Side-
Area are decorticated forcibly and completely. Both
experimental and CFD results [2,3] suggested that the
Cross-over-Disc static mixer has a spatially periodic flow
which matches the periodicity of the mixer geometry, and it
can have fluids flowing inside forcibly exchange their
radial position, thus ensuring to decorticate the boundary
layer and make the flow easier to approach ideal plug flow
or enhance the heat-transfer coefficient.
In the present work, compared and combined with some
commercial static mixers, including Kenics-type (SK) and
Sulzer-type (SMX) static mixers, the pressure drop of
Cross-over-Disc and its mixing performance have been
investigated for high viscous fluids at very low Reynolds
number.
2 Experimental
Figures 1 and 2 show the experimental system for the
pressure drop and mixing performance investigation,
respectively. For the fluid with a viscosity range of
1–300 Pa$s, the pressure drop of Cross-over-Disc with
diffrent structural parameters have been measured with
94 Front. Chem. Eng. China 2009, 3(1): 93–96
Fig. 1 Experimental system for pressure drop investigation
A, B, C: pressure tap (the distance between A and C is 783 mm)
Fig. 2 Experimental system for mixing performance investigation
Reynolds number (Re) ranging from 0.001 to 20 using
different aqueous solutions of corn syrup as the model
media in an 80 mm diameter pipe. All the external
diameters of static mixers are the same as the inner
diameter of pipes. The mixing performance of static mixers
has been investigated in the viscosity range of 190–
250 Pa$s by decoloration method. Tank A is fed with a
uniformly colorless syrup mixed with 0.02 mol/L sodium
hyposulfite (Na2S2O3) while Tank B is a red-brown syrup
mixed with a 0.04 mol/L solution of iodine (I2). The two
fluids encounter by screw pumps for the mixing ratio of
5∶1 and 10∶1 respectively, then are mixed and dispersed
while passing through the static mixer elements.
Because of the reaction between Na2S2O3 and I2, the
color of the fluids changed with the position in pipe. And
Fig. 3 Example for images gray processing
the mixing performance could be deduced from picture
record at the outlet port by image gray processing, which is
shown in Fig. 3. The mixing inhomogeneity is defined as
the ratio of dimensionless mean squared deviation of each
pixel (δ) to the mean gray-value x of image after gray
processing, expressed as following equation.
vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
uX n 
u xi 2
u –1
 t i¼1 x
MI ¼ ¼ ,
x n
where xi is the gray-value of pixel i. For each image, about
20000 pixels are selected.
Cross-over-Disc-type mixing elements with different
channels (length∶diameter = 1∶1) were provided by the
Beijing Innovation Polymerization Technology Company,
and the SK-type mixing elements (length∶diameter =
1.5∶1) and SMX-type mixing elements (length∶diameter
= 1∶1) were purchased from the Qidong mixer plant.
Figure 4 illustrates the combination modes of different
static mixers.
3 Results and discussion
Shown in Fig. 5 is the typical structure of Cross-over-Disc
static mixer with 4-channels, and Fig. 6 displays its
excellent capability to strip off the boundary layer using
color tracing.
After numerous lab measurements, the pressure drop of
the Cross-over-Disc and its comparison with that of the
empty pipe at different velocities and Re were identified, as
shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The pressure drops of different
static mixers linearly changed with the fluid velocity for
laminar flow. For Cross-over-Discs, the more channels, the
higher pressure drop. If the pressure drop of the static
mixer is expressed by the amplifying multiple compared
with that of the empty tube under the same condition,
ΔPSM ¼ ZΔP , where Z is the amplifying multiple, ΔP is
the pressure drop of empty pipe for laminar flow, the Z
value is around 12, 17, 26 for Cross-over-Disc mixing
element with 4, 8 and 10 channels respectively, when Re is
less than 16, which would be a little higher than that for
 Zhenhao XI et al. Combined static mixers for high viscous fluid mixing 95

Fig. 4 Different combination modes of static mixing elements

a: Cross-over-Disc with 10-channels; b: Cross-over-Disc with 8-channels; c: Cross-over-Disc with 4-channels

Fig. 5 3D structure chart of Cross-over-Disc static mixer with 4-

channels

Fig. 7 Pressure drops of Cross-over-Disc at different fluid

velocity at 1.1 Pa$s

Fig. 6 Decorticating result of one Cross-over-Disc mixing

element

Kenics-type (about 7), but lower than that for static mixers
(about 52). The measured Z values of SK and SMX static
mixer fit with those from literatures [4,5].
The mixing performance of different combination
modes of static mixing elements has been investigated Fig. 8 Correlation between amplifying multiplier and Reynolds
for laminar flow at different mixing ratios, as displayed in number of static mixers
Table 1. The mixing performance of a combination of only
Cross-over-Disc static mixing elements with different in a housing tube of diameter. Pairs of elements are
channels is not very good, as shown in Fig. 9, since it positioned one after another with a circumferential shift of
has very good radial mixing and no strong circumferential a 90 degree angle, which splits fluid flow into several
mixing. SMX-type is made of identical elements inserted partial streams and creates a three-dimensional mixing to
96 Front. Chem. Eng. China 2009, 3(1): 93–96

uniformize fluids, but the pressure drop of SMX-type is 4 Conclusions

usually very large. If the Cross-over-Disc static mixing
elements are combined with SMX-type mixing elements, Due to its special design, the Cross-over-Disc has better
good mixing performance can be achieved and mixing performance than traditional static mixers. It can strip off
inhomogeneity can be decreased to 2.1%–3.1% within a the boundary layer completely and cause strong radial
reasonable pressure drop, as shown in Fig. 10. Therefore, mixing forcibly. The pressure drops of different Cross-
this kind of combination can ensure that fluids at any point over-Disc mixing elements are 12–26 times as large as that
on the diameter line at any angle have equal chance from of empty pipe with equivalent diameter and length when
the central to wall side and vice versa. Comparing mode 2 the Reynolds number is from 0.001 to 16, which are
with mode 4, one Cross-over-Disc static mixing element slightly higher than that of SK but much lower than that of
plays a better role than a pair of SK-type mixing elements. SMX. For high viscous fluids, the combination of Cross-
over-Disc static mixing elements with SMX-type mixing
Table 1 Mixing inhomogeneity at the outlet through mixing elements elements can achieve very good mixing performance,
combination mixing ratio mixing inhomogeneity total pressure while the combination of only Cross-over-Disc static
mode /% dropa) mixing elements with different channels cannot. It is
1 5∶1 9.4 304 promising that the Cross-over-Disc static mixer would be
10∶1 7.5 widely applied in many processes such as enhancing heat
2 5∶1 8.1 396 transfer, homogenizing temperature and mixing high
10∶1 6.6
viscous materials.
3 5∶1 6.2 385
Acknowledgements The authors appreciate the financial support from the
10∶1 5.4 Innovative Research Team in University (IRT0721) and the Programme of
4 5∶1 3.1 360 Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities (111 Project) (B08021).

10∶1 2.1 Notation

a)
Total pressure drop is expressed as the sum of Z of each mixing element Re Reynolds number
multiplied by ratio of its length to diameter MI mixing inhomogeneity
δ dimensionless mean squared deviation to the mean gary-
value of image
x mean gray-value of image
xi gary-value of pixel i
n number of pixels
ΔPSM pressure drop of static mixer in pipe, Pa
ΔP pressure drop of empty pipe, Pa
Z amplifying multiple

Fig. 9 Mixing performance for combination mode 1

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