CHAPTER 9

AGITATION AND MIXING OF

LIQUIDS

1
Agitation the induced motion of a material in a specified
way, usually in a circulatory pattern inside some
sort of container
Mixing the random distribution, into and through one
another, of two or more initially separate phases.

Purposes of agitation
suspending solid particles
blending miscible liquids
dispersing a gas through the liquid in the form of small
bubbles
dispersing a second liquid, immiscible with the first, to
form an emulsion or suspension of fine drops
promoting heat transfer between the liquid and a coil or
jacket
Agitated Vessels

steam
/

FIGURE 9.1 Typical agitation problem.

vessel on tank is usually cylindrical in form with a
vertical axis.
the tank bottom is rounded, not flat, to eliminate sharp
corners or regions into which fluid current would not
penetrate.
liquid depth ~ diameter of the tank.
an impeller is mounted on an over hung shaft,
connected to a motor through a speed-reducing
gearbox.
inlet and outlet lines, coils, jackets, wells for
thermometers.
baffles to reduce tangential motion.
⇐

÷:- UÑn but UÑA

Impellers
Axial flow impellers those that generate currents parallel
with the axis of the impeller shaft

Radial flow impellers those that generate currents in a

radial or tangential direction

Types of impeller:

propeller, turbines, and high-efficiency impeller: for low- to

moderate- viscosity liquid.

helical impellers and anchor agitators: for very viscous

liquids.
Propellers

an axial flow; high speed impeller for liquids of low

viscosity. Small propeller full speed: 1150 or 1,750 rpm.
Larger propeller full speed: 400 to 800 rpm.
direction of rotation is chosen to force the liquid downward,
and the flow currents leaving the impeller continue until
defected by the floor of the vessel.
propellers rarely exceed 18 in. diameter regardless of the
size of the vessel. More propellers on the same shaft for a
deep tank.
Turbines

FIGURE 9.2 Impellers for liquids of moderate viscosity:

(a) three- blade marine propeller (d) concave-blade CD-6 impeller
(b) simple straight-blade turbine (e) pitched-blade turbine
(c) disk turbine
Turbines
1. simple straight-blade turbine (paddles)
- pushes the liquid radially and tangentially with almost no
vertical motion at the impeller.
- the currents it generates travel outward to the vessel wall
and then flow either upward or downward.

The flat blad turbine is effective for very high torque

applications and is primarily used for blending or when high
shear is required. Example are liquid-liquid emulsions or
high intensit solids scrubbing.
The curved blade turbine is the most flow-efficient radial
flow impeller used to break up or plug flow in flow-velocity
sensitive applications, such as in a multi-stage aluminum
digester. It is also used where high wall velocity is required,
such as in heat transfer applications.
2. disk turbine
- creates zones of high shear rate
- useful for dispersing a gas in a liquid

The disk turbine were often the impeller of choice for gas
dispersion applications but are now often being superceded
by the high solidity hydrofoil and/or the Smith turbine.
Primarily used for very high intensity mixing applications
3. concave blade
- creates zones of high shear rate
- gas dispersion

The Smith turbine (Concave-blade CD-6 impeller) offers a

unique blade design that handles higher gas rates for
improved process efficiency. This turbine is characterised by
curved pipe sections mounted to a disk. Designed specially
for gas dispersion applications.
4. The pitched blade turbine

- used when good overall circulation is important

The pitched blade turbine has been the main stay of

mixing industry for decates. Still used in many applications
today. This impeller produces some axial flow in addition to
radial flow whilst imparting varying degrees of shear. By
varying blade width and pitch angle. These impellers can be
configured to optimise process performance.
“Standard” turbine design
Make decision type and location of the impeller
the proportions of the vessel
the number and proportion of the baffles.

Affects the circulation rate of the liquid

the velocity patterns
the power consumed

- proportions Da 1 H J 1
1
Dt 3 Dt Dt 12
E 1 W 1 L 1
Dt 3 Da 5 Da 4

- number of baffles = 4
- number of impeller blades = 4 - 16, generally 6 - 8
Design

11:11
FIGURE 9.3 Measurements of turbine
High-efficiency impellers

High-efficiency impeller:
- More uniform axial flow
and better mixing
- Use to mix low to
moderate viscosity liquid

FIGURE 9.4
High-efficiency impeller:
(a) HE-3 impeller
(b) A310 fluid-foil impeller
Impellers for highly viscous liquids

FIGURE 9.5 Impellers for high-viscosity liquids:

(a) double-flight helical- ribbon impeller
(b) anchor impeller
the helical-ribbon impeller is effective
viscosity above 20 Pa.s up to 25,000 Pa.s
diameter of the helix is very close to the inside diameter
of the tank
Guarantee liquid motion all the way to the tank wall

an anchor impeller

provide good agitation near the floor of the tank

creates no vertical motion
less effective mixer than a helical ribbon
promotes good heat transfer to or from the vessel wall
Flow patterns

depends on the type of impeller

characteristics of the liquid ex. viscosity
size and proportions of the tank
baffles and impeller

liquid velocity
radial, acts in a direction perpendicular to the shaft of
the impeller
axil

longitudinal and acts in a direction parallel with the

shaft
tangential, or rotational, and acts in a direction tangent
to a circular path around the shaft
 axil
radial and longitudinal components are useful and provide
the flow necessary for the mixing action.
tangential component is generally disadvantageous
flow follows a circular path around the shaft and
creates a vortex in the liquid

FIGURE 9.6 Swirling flow pattern with a radial-flow turbine in an

unbaffled vessel.
if solid particles are present, circulatory current tend to
throw the particles to the outside by centrifugal force;
from there they move downward and to center of the
tank at the bottom.
instead of mixing, its reverse-concentration-occurs.
in an unbaffled vessel, circulatory flow is induced by all
types of impellers .
Prevention of swirling

Small tank the impeller can be mounted off center, then

tilted in a plane perpendicular to the direction
of the move
mounted in the side of
the tank, with the shaft in
a horizontal plane but at
an angle with a radius.

FIGURE 9.7
Flow pattern with off-center
propeller.
Large tank
install baffles
install vertical strips
perpendicular to the wall of the
tank.
in very large tanks, four baffles
are sufficient to prevent swirling
and vortex formation
for turbines, the width of the
baffle no more than 1/12 dia of
vessel and for propellers, the
width of the baffle no more than
1/18 dia of vessel. For viscous
liquid, narrower baffles are
used.
1 > 10 Pa.s, baffles are not
needed.
2
Dt

baffle are not needed with side-

entering, inclined, or off-center
propellers.
Propeller agitators
drive liquid down to the bottom of the tank, where the
streams spreads radially in all directions toward the
wall, flows upward along the wall, and returns to the
suction of the propeller from the top.
used when strong vertical currents are desired ex.
when heavy solid particles are to be kept in
suspension.
not used when > 5 Pa.s *
EH
Pitch-blade turbines with 45 down-thrusting blades
used to provide strong axial flow for suspension of
solids.
Flat-blade turbines
give good radial flow in the plane of the impeller.
form two separate circulation patterns.
one portion flows downward along the wall and back
to the center of the impeller from below.
the other flows upward along the wall and back to
the impeller from above.
in a vertical cylindrical tank, the depth of the liquid
should be equal to or greater than the diameter of
the tank.

Draft tube

used to control the direction and velocity of flow to

the suction of the impeller
FIGURE 9.8 Draft tubes, baffled tank: (a) turbine; (b) propeller

used when high shear is desired.

add friction in the system, not used unless they are
required.
Circulation rates

volume of fluid circulated by impeller must be great

enough to sweep out the entire vessel in a reasonable
time
turbulence results from properly directed currents and
large velocity gradients in the liquid.
turbulence in the moving stream often governs the
effectiveness of the operation.
large impellers moving at medium speed are used to
promote flow.
smaller impellers operating at high speed are used
where intense turbulence is required.
Flow number
See derivation on p.253-254.
3
g- f. s
-

q nD a
(9.7)

q – volumetric flow rate through the impeller

n – round per second (r/s)
Da – impeller diameter
q
NQ (9.8)
nD 3a
NQ – flow number
– constant for each type of impeller
= 1.3 for a flat blade turbine in a baffled vessel
For baffled agitated vessels:

For marine propellers (square pitch) NQ = 0.5

W 1
For a four-blade 45 turbine NQ = 0.87
Da 6

For a disk turbine NQ = 1.3

For HE-3 high-efficiency impeller NQ = 0.47

 Velocity patterns and velocity gradients
Yo
Vmax

=/

FIGURE 9.12 Velocity patterns in turbine agitator. The number is magnitude

of fluid velocity as fraction of the velocity at the tip of impeller blade
Power consumption

-Power required to drive the impeller

-Power required = flow q produced by the impeller x the
kinetic energy EK/volume
2 '
V2 V2
q nDa3 N Q Ek
2 u2
G. MY
=

u2 = tip speed, V2 ' = total liquid velocity

V2 u2 Da n
2 2
P nDa3 N Q ( nDa ) 2 n 3 Da5 ( NQ )
2 2
2 2
P
Power number , N P 3 5
NQ
n Da 2
Power correlations

To estimate the power required to rotate a given impeller

at a given speed

shape factor – various linear measurements converted to

dimensionless ratios called ‘shape factors’

P n , D a , , g, (9.13)

Application of dimensional analysis gives the result

P nDa2 n 2 Da
Np 3 5
, (9.14)
n Da g
By taking account of the shape factor; Re -
-

P nDa2 n 2 Da
, , S1 , S 2 ,..., S n (9.15)
n 3 Da5 g

NP Re, Fr , S1 , S 2 ,..., S n (9.16)

nDa2 nDa Da u2 Da
Re (9.17)

Re < 10, viscous flow.

Re > 104, turbulent flow.
DID,
S1 - the ratio of impeller diameter to tank diameter
S2 - the clearance (distance between impeller and bottom tank)
S4 - the ratio of blade width to impeller diameter
Power number, NP

P
Np
n 3 Da5

is analogous to a friction factor or a drag coefficient.

it is proportional to the ratio of the drag force acting on
a unit area of the impeller and the inertia stress.
the flow of momentum associated with the bulk motion
of the fluid.
Froude number, Fr
n 2 Da
Fr
g
The Froude number is a dimensionless number. It may be
used to quantify the resistance of an object moving
through water, and compare objects of different sizes.
is a measure of the ratio of the inertial stress to the
gravitational force per unit area action on the fluid.
it appears where there is significant wave motion on a
liquid surface or vortex.
not important when baffles are used or when Re < 300.
Power correlations for specific impellers

FIGURE 9.13 Power number Np versus Reynolds number Re for turbines

and high-efficiency impellers in baffled tank.
FIGURE 9.14 Power number Np versus Reynolds number Re for marine
propellers and helical ribbons.
Effect of system geometry

effects on NP of the shape factors S1, S2,…, Sn are

sometimes small and sometimes very large.

1. S1 – ratio of Da / Dt, NP increase when baffles are few

and narrow
2. S2 – the clearance, Np depends on design of turbine
3. S4 – ratio if W/Da, Np depends on type of turbine
4. Number of blade, Np increase with number of blades
5. Shape of tank, Np is slightly affected (circulation patterns
are strongly affected)
Calculation of power consumption
10 ( Re 110,000
Power deliver to fluid GVÑN impeller

P N P n 3 D 5a (9.18)
In baffled and unbaffled at low Re, Re < 10;
KL
p=NpÑDÉp×¥ NP
Re → Ding
(9.19)
P=⑧pñDIµ M

1k 2 3
,
P K Ln D a (9.20)

In baffled tanks at Re 10,000;

NP KT (9.21)

P K T n 3 D 5a (9.22)
Table 9.2 Values of constants KL and KT in Eqs. (9.19) and (9.21) for
baffled tanks having four baffles at tank wall, with width equal to 10
percent of tank diameter
Re ( 10 Re > 10,000

Type of impeller KL KT
Propeller, three blades
Pitch 1.043 go 41 0.32
Pitch 1.537 48 0.87

Turbine
Six-blade disk37 (S3 = 0.25, S4 = 0.2) 65 5.75
Six pitched blades42 (45 , S4 = 0.2) - 1.63
Four pitched blades37 (45 , S4 = 0.2) 44.5 1.27

Flat paddle, two blades43 (S4 = 0.2) ± 36.5 1.70

HE-3 impeller 43 0.28

Helical ribbon 52 -

Anchor37 300 0.35

EXAMPLE 9.1. A disk turbine with six blades is installed
centrally in a vertical baffle tank 2 m in diameter. The turbine is
E)
0.67 m in diameter and is positioned 0.67 m above the bottom
of the tank. The turbine blades are 134 mm wide. The tank is
It
filled to a depth of 2 m with an aqueous solution of 50% NaOH
at 65 C, which has a viscosity of 12 cP and a density of 1,500
kg/m3. The turbine impeller turns at 90 rpm. What power will be
required? " " " "
¥÷
o.am#.mrps90r-mjfY-g
" " " ⇐

Solution. First calculate Re. The quantities needed are

90
n 1.5 r/s

yy
Da 0.67 m
60
0.012 Pa s 1,500 kg/m 3
12×10-0
De
Then
Da2 n 0.67 2 1.5 1,500
Re 84,169
0.012

Since Re > 104, NP = KT.

From Table 9.2, KT = NP = 5.8

Lgitg

And from Eq.(9.22) P K T n 3 D 5a

P = 5.8 1.53 0.675 1,500 = 3,964 W, or 3.96 kW

EXAMPLE 9.2. The agitation system of Example 9.1 is to be

I
used to mix a rubber-latex compound having a viscosity of 120
Pa s and a density of 1,120 kg/m3. What power will be
required? disk o turbine Da P
-

n
2
0.67 1.5 1,120
Solution. The Re is now Re 6.3
120
M

Re < 10, NP = KL P K L n 2 Da3

From Table 9.2, KL = 65, and from Eq.(9.20)

P 65 1.52 0.67 3 120 5,278 W, or 5.28kW

There is no reason for baffles in a vessel operated at such a
low Re, as a vortex does not form under these condition.

Note that a 10,000-fold increase in viscosity power increases by only ~33%

over that required in operating the low-viscosity liquid
BLENDING AND MIXING
It -1

the mixing time can be predicted from the correlations for

total flow produced by various impellers.
complete mixing should be achieved if the contents of
the tank are circulated about 5 times.

For a standard six-blade turbine: ☒ ¥

3 Dt
q T 0.92nD a (9.28)
Da
5V D 2t H 1
tT 5 (9.29)
qT 4 0.92nD a2 D t
mixing 2
time fac -

Da Dt
nt T const 4.3 (9.30)
Dt H
 6¥

Un
baffle

40 -

FIGURE 9.16 Mixing times in agitated vessels. Dashed lines are for unbaffled
tanks; solids lines are for baffled tanks.
A general correlation for turbine (give by Norwood and Metzer):

FIGURE 9.17 Correlation of blending times for miscible liquids in a turbine-

agitated baffled vessel.
2 16
2 23 16 12 12
t T nDa g D a Da Dt g
ft 12 32
nt T (9.31)
H D t Dt H n 2Da
EXAMPLE 9.3. An agitated vessel 6 ft (1.83 m) in diameter
contains a six-blade straight-blade turbine 2 ft (0.61 m) in
diameter, set one impeller diameter above the vessel floor,
and rotating at 80 rpm. It is proposed to use this vessel for
neutralizing a dilute aqueous solution of NaOH at 70 F with a
stoichiometrically equivalent quantity of concentrated nitric
It
acid (HNO3). The final depth of liquid in the vessel is to be 6 ft
(1.83 m). Assuming that all the acid is added to the vessel at
one time, how long will it take for the neutralization to be
complete?
D-iofl-HN-80-j-1.HR/sDa=2rt=Et-i
?

Solution. Figure 9.16 is used. The quantities needed are

Dt = 6 ft Da = 2 ft

¥ E = 2 ft n = 80/60 = 1.333 r/s

3
6.6 10 lb / ft s4 62.3lb / ft (App. 6)
"
0.9820×6.7197×10 / biffs
The Re is
nD a2 1.333 2 2 62.3
Re 503,000
6.60 10 4

From Fig.9.16, for Re = 503,000, ntT = 36. Thus

36
tT 27 s
1.333
n
Stratified blending in storage tanks:
Jet mixers:

FIGURE 9.18 Flow of a submerged circular jet.

Static mixers:

FIGURE 9.19 Static mixers: (a) elements of a helical-element mixer

(b) turbulent vortex mixer.
AGITATOR SCALEUP
Scale up all based on geometric similarity between
the laboratory and plant equipment

¥÷ the optimum ratio of impeller diameter to 1¥ ;

vessel diameter for a given power input is
an important factor in scale up
the nature of the agitation problem strongly
influences this ratio
Even if geometric similarity is obtainable, dynamic similarity
and kinematic similarity are not. So that the results of the scale
up are not always fully predictable
1-
for dispersing gas in liquid, the optimum ratio is about 0.25 4

for liquid-liquid extraction, the optimum ratio is about 0.40 2-g

for blending, the optimum ratio is about 0.60 }
the power input is kept constant, the smaller the impeller,
the higher the impeller speed Da
Scaling up
constant power per unit volume frond
geometric similarity btw Da

☒{
watt
Di watt E.
101

2
3 5
P NPn D 4N P Da Da
2
a
n 3 D a2 (9.49)
V 4DH t Dt H

I
23
n2 D a1 (9.50)
n1 Da 2

IPNHani.HN/hi uni=fniuN:jfDaiun.jlPN1boinHnDiwin
Main Davin
EXAMPLE 9.6. A pilot-plant vessel 0.3 m in diameter is
agitated by a six-blade turbine impeller 0.1 m in diameter.
When the impeller Re is 104, the blending time of two miscible
liquids is found to be 15 s. The power required is 0.4 kW/m3 of
liquid.
(a) What power input would be required to give the
same blending time in a vessel 1.8 m in diameter?
(b) What would be the blending time in the 1.8m vessel
if the power input per unit volume were the same as in the
pilot-plant vessel?

Solution.
(a) Since the Reynolds number in the pilot-plant vessel is
large, the Froude number term in Eq.(9.31) would not be
expected to apply, and the correlation in Fig.9.16 will be used
in place of the more complicated relation in Fig.9.17. From
Fig.9.16, for Reynolds numbers of 104 and above, the mixing
time factor ntT is constant; and since time tT is assumed
constant, speed n will be the same in both vessels.
Pilot ooh Inoki

D-il.8MDa-O.IM
Dio.3M

Da -
0.6M

Re
"
-10
-

t, -15sec

P=OAkW_
'
M

a) Power ? ,
-1 , -15sec

'

b) ti ?
Iunsñ
In geometrically similar vessels the power input per unit
volume is proportional to P/Da3. At high Reynolds numbers,
from Eq.(9.22) IPNliani.E-i.ir
P P IPN / win trillionth
=
K T n 3 Da2
Klint , y Da3 t.im:# win
•:nIuNi=nbÑn fF:¥;H¥:÷I
For a liquid of given density this becomes

P
c2 n 3 Da2
Da3

where c2 is a constant. From this the ratio of power inputs per

unit volume in the two vessels is
3 3 2
P6 / D a6 n6 Da6
3
P1 / D a1 n1 D a1
Since n1 =n6,
0.6 2 '

=/ /
3
P6 / D Da 6 3 PN land Daluni
a6
3
P1 / D Da1
6 2
①
36
PN win Davin
a1 wuuuvuuuw

0.1

The power per unit volume required in the 6-ft vessel is

then 0.4 36 = 14.4 kW/m3. This is an impractically large
amount of power to deliver to a low-viscosity liquid in an
agitated vessel.

PN FUN; =
30×0.4
'
=
14.4kW / m
(b) If the power input per unit volume is to be the same in the
two vessels, Eq.(9.50)

w .ifnuoi.j/DaiurfP#bofn boinDab/ofn boin=/Daluri

2/3
n1 Da 6
"

=
-41mn: n6 Da1
hurl Daboih Konin

Since ntT is constant, n6 / n1 = tT1 / tT6, and

nt ,ngÑ=o
2/3
t T6 Da6
n t- H N I - n b - i o f n i u n j .t- i b o n b o f n t . i m
; t T1 D a1
6 2/3
3.30

The blending time in the 6-ft vessel would be 3.30 15 = 49.5 s

213

=/ :/
DUNN
Testani Twain
DabÑn

=
3.30×18=49.58