12th European Conference on Mixing

Bologna, 27-30 June 2006

GAS DISPERSION CAPABILITIES OF THE CD-6 IMPELLER

K. J. Myersa, E. E. Janzb*, and J. B. Fasanoc

a
Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Dayton,
300 College Park, Dayton, Ohio 45469-0246 USA
b
Chemineer, Inc., 5870 Poe Avenue, Dayton, Ohio 45414-3442 USA; e.janz@chemineer.com
c
Mixer Engineering Company, 269 Scott Drive, Englewood, Ohio 45322 USA

Abstract. Gas dispersion studies in low-viscosity liquids indicate that the semicircular-blade CD-6 is
in some ways similar to, but in other ways different than, the flat-blade Rushton turbine. At lower gas
flows a linear relation between the gas flow and Froude numbers describes the transition between
dispersed and flooded conditions for both impellers. At these lower gas flows and with smaller
impeller diameter to tank diameter ratios, the proportionality constant between the gas flow and
Froude numbers at flooding is very similar for the two impellers. At larger impeller diameter to tank
diameter ratios, the CD-6 proportionality constant can be as much as twice that of the Rushton
turbine. The primary difference between the two impeller styles is that at higher gas flows, the CD-6
gas dispersion capabilities increase rapidly while those of the Rushton turbine do not. Comparison of
the gas dispersion power requirements of the two impeller styles at an intermediate impeller diameter
to tank diameter ratio indicates that the CD-6 has a small advantage over the Rushton turbine at lower
gas flows, but this advantage increases substantially at higher gas flows.

Key words: gas dispersion; flooding; high gas flow; CD-6

1. INTRODUCTION
Many researchers have studied the gas dispersion capabilities of the Rushton turbine, and
Middleton and Smith have provided a summary of this work [1]. It is generally agreed that
the following scale-independent criterion that relates the gas flow number, NA, and Froude
number, NFr, describes the demarcation between flooded and dispersed conditions when using
the Rushton turbine for gas dispersion in low-viscosity liquids [2, 3].
3.5
⎛ D⎞
N A = 30 ⎜ ⎟ N Fr (1)
⎝T⎠

Over the past twenty years, concave-blade impellers have largely replaced the Rushton
turbine in gas dispersion operations, primarily due to their higher relative gassed power draw
(the ratio of gassed to ungassed power draw) and superior gas dispersion capabilities.
Despite the widespread industrial use of concave-blade turbines, most of the evidence of their
gas dispersion capabilities has been anecdotal in nature, and correlations similar to Equation
1 are not typically available for impellers of this type. This work presents such a correlation
for the Chemineer CD-6 impeller, a concave-blade impeller with semicircular blades.
Additionally, most previous studies are limited to relatively low gas flow rates, despite the
industrial need for data at high superficial gas velocities (Ug > 0.08 m/s) [1]. In this work
data is presented at high gas flow rates, the conditions at which concave-blade impellers are
purported to have the greatest advantage over the Rushton turbine.

2. EXPERIMENTAL APPARATUS AND METHODS

Chemineer, Inc. (Dayton, Ohio, USA) supplied CD-6 impellers of standard design with disc
and blade thickness of 1.5 mm. The CD-6 impeller is a disc impeller with six semicircular
blades of height equal to twenty percent of the impeller diameter (W/D = 0.20). Most
experiments were performed using air and water in a 0.445-m diameter dish-bottom vessel.
Table 1 details the impeller and tank combinations that were used to study impeller diameter
to tank diameter ratios ranging from twenty-five to fifty percent (the first five entries on the
left of this table).

Table 1. Experimental Geometries

D(m) 0.111 0.144 0.175 0.175 0.222 0.111 0.175 0.222 0.144 0.526
T(m) 0.445 0.445 0.445 0.394 0.445 0.292 0.445 0.602 0.445 1.52
D/T 0.25 0.32 0.39 0.45 0.50 0.38 0.39 0.37 0.32 0.35

All vessels were equipped with standard baffling, and experiments were performed using
ungassed liquid level to tank diameter ratios of seventy percent and unity (Ho/T = 0.70 and
1.0, respectively). The impeller off-bottom clearance was equal to one-third of the vessel
diameter for all experiments (C/T = 1/3), with the gas being introduced into the system using
a sparge ring placed below the impeller. The impeller disc diameters were approximately
seventy percent of the impeller diameters (Dd/D ~ 0.7). In all instances, the sparge ring
diameter was smaller than the impeller disc diameter, thus having limited influence on the
impeller performance [3].
To examine the effect of scale, the CD-6 was studied in a number of vessels as outlined in
Table 1 (the two groups of entries to the right of this table). The impeller diameter to tank
diameter ratios were similar, but not exactly the same, at the various scales.
The gas dispersion capabilities of the CD-6 impeller were compared to those of the
Rushton turbine at an impeller diameter to tank diameter ratio of thirty-two percent (D/T =
0.32) in the 0.445-m diameter vessel. The CD-6 and Rushton impellers had the same blade
height to diameter ratios (W/D = 0.20) and disc diameter to impeller diameter ratios (Dd/D ~
0.7).
To be conservative, the experimental technique of Sensel et al. [4] was used in this work.
In this approach, the gas flow was set at the desired value before impeller rotation was
initiated. Once the gas flow was stabilized, impeller rotation was started at a pre-selected
speed. Thus, the impeller was initially flooded, and the impeller was allowed to operate for
approximately one minute to determine if it could disperse the gas flow. If dispersion was
achieved, the impeller speed was reduced, and the impeller rotation was stopped, again
allowing the gas flow to dominate the system before restarting impeller rotation at the lower
speed. If the impeller could not disperse the gas at the pre-selected speed, the speed was
increased, the impeller rotation was stopped, and the gas was allowed to dominate the system
before restarting impeller rotation at the higher speed.
Determination of the point of gas dispersion was primarily visual, although differences in
sound and torque between dispersed and flooded conditions were also useful. The condition
of dispersion is typically termed “loaded” in the literature. Under loaded conditions, the
incoming gas flow is forced to the vessel wall by the pumping action of the impeller. Once
the gas reaches the vessel wall, some of it is turned downwards by the liquid flow, but
recirculation of large amounts of gas through the impeller does not occur.
 The primary data of this study was the lowest rotational speed at which an impeller could
disperse a particular gas flow. In addition, the corresponding gassed torque requirement (Mg)
was measured using a calibrated strain gauge reaction torque sensor. From this data, the
gassed power requirement (Pg = 2ΠNMg) and gas flow and Froude numbers (NA = Qg/ND3
and NFr = N2D/g, respectively) could be calculated. The ungassed power number (Npo =
Po/ρLN3D5) was also measured.

3. RESULTS
3.1 Ungassed Power Number
Table 2 presents the ungassed power number of the CD-6 impeller as a function of the
impeller diameter to tank diameter ratio (D/T). The ungassed power number is substantially
lower than that of the Rushton turbine and decreases by twenty percent as the impeller
diameter to tank diameter ratio is increased from twenty-five to fifty percent.

Table 2. Ungassed Power Number of the CD-6 Impeller

D/T 0.25 0.32 0.39 0.45 0.50
Npo 3.21 2.89 2.77 2.56 2.55

3.2 Relative Gassed Power Draw

Figure 1 compares the relative gassed power draws of the Rushton turbine and CD-6 at
various gas flow rates. Both impellers have an impeller diameter to tank diameter ratio of
0.32 and a rotational speed of 6 s-1 (corresponding to a Froude number of 0.53). This
comparison illustrates three points. First, the relative gassed power draw of the CD-6 is
substantially higher than that of the Rushton turbine, averaging 86 percent higher. Also, the
CD-6 is capable of dispersing 40 percent more gas than the Rushton turbine at these
conditions. The last point to be taken from this data is the increase in relative gassed power
draw that occurs when going from dispersed to flooded conditions with an increase in gas
flow rate. This effect is apparent for both impellers, but particularly for the CD-6. This
increase in power draw was one indicator used to experimentally determine the transition
from dispersed to flooded conditions, an approach used in numerous past studies including
Nienow et al. [3].

3.3 Gas Dispersion Capability

The basic data of this study for the CD-6 with an impeller diameter to tank diameter ratio of
thirty-two percent is shown in Figure 2. The data at the two ungassed liquid levels is nearly
identical at high and low gassing rates, but at intermediate gas flows more gas can be
dispersed at the higher ungassed liquid level. Nienow et al. [3] found the liquid level to have
no effect on the Rushton turbine’s gas dispersion behavior, but their study was limited to low
gas flows where the data of the current study is also not affected by liquid level. The reason
for the effect of liquid level is unclear, but is not believed to be due to gas incorporation from
the surface at the lower liquid level. Almost no gas is drawn into the liquid under ungassed
conditions at the speeds studied here, and the amount of surface gas incorporation decreases
with increasing gas sparging rate [5] such that it would likely be insignificant at the gas flows
of this work.
 1.2 1.2
CD-6 Dispersed Ho/T = 0.7
CD-6 Flooded
Relative Gassed Power Draw

1.0 1.0 Ho/T = 1.0

D-6 Dispersed
D-6 Flooded Correlation

Gas Flow Number

0.8 0.8

0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0.0 0.0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
Gas Flow Number Froude Number

Figure 1. Relative gassed power draw of the CD-6 Figure 2. Effect of liquid level on CD-6 gas
and Rushton turbine (D/T=0.32, N=6 s-1) dispersion performance (D/T=0.32)

Both liquid levels were studied at all impeller diameter to tank diameter ratios with similar
results, except at the smallest impeller diameter to tank diameter ratio (D/T = 0.25) where the
trend was reversed with larger gas flows being dispersed at the lower liquid level.
Comparison of the two data sets of Figure 2 illustrates that the lower ungassed liquid level is
used for correlation purposes because it is the more conservative approach. Also, for many
industrial applications, an additional impeller is often used when the ungassed liquid level is
increased above about seventy percent of the vessel diameter. And lastly, the data at the
lower liquid level is linear, closely following the correlation of Equation 1. However, the
linear relationship between the gas flow and Froude numbers only describes the data at the
lower gassing rates. As the Froude number is increased above 0.5, the ability of the CD-6 to
disperse gas increases rapidly, with very little increase in rotational speed required to disperse
the highest gas flow rates that were studied. This phenomenon has not been widely
recognized because these high gas flows are rarely studied despite their industrial importance.
An exception to this is the work of Gezork et al. [6, 7] who studied the Rushton and Scaba
6SRGT turbines at gas flows comparable to those used in the current study. They found that
the concave-blade 6SRGT, like the concave-blade CD-6, exhibited enhanced gas dispersion
capabilities at high gas flows, with little speed increase required to disperse high gas flows
(refer to Figure 5 in [6]).
Figure 3 demonstrates that similar behavior occurs at impeller diameter to tank diameter
ratios from twenty-five to fifty percent. This figure has been divided into two parts for clarity
because the small and large diameter impellers operate in different Froude number ranges.
Note that the data taken with an impeller diameter to tank diameter ratio of thirty-nine
percent (D/T = 0.39) is included in both figures. A linear correlation between the gas flow

1.6 1.6
D/T = 0.25 Data D/T = 0.25 Correlation D/T = 0.39 Data D/T = 0.39 Correlation
1.4 D/T = 0.32 Data D/T = 0.32 Correlation 1.4 D/T = 0.45 Data D/T = 0.45 Correlation
D/T = 0.39 Data D/T = 0.39 Correlation D/T = 0.50 Data D/T = 0.50 Correlation
1.2 1.2
Gas Flow Number

Gas Flow Number

1.0 1.0

0.8 0.8

0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0.0 0.0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35
Froude Number Froude Number

Figure 3. Effect of impeller diameter to tank diameter ratio on CD-6 gas dispersion performance
(Left: 0.25 < D/T < 0.39; Right: 0.39 < D/T < 0.50)
 6 1.2

CD-6
5

Maximum Froude Number

1.0
Proportionality Constant

Rushton
4 0.8

3 0.6

2 0.4

1 0.2

0 0.0
0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55
Impeller Diameter to Tank Diameter Ratio Impeller Diameter to Tank Diameter Ratio

Figure 4: CD-6 gas flow number-Froude number correlation parameters (Left: proportionality constant (k);
Right: maximum Froude number at which a linear gas flow number-Froude number relation exists)

number and Froude number at each impeller diameter to tank diameter ratio has been
included in Figure 3. These correlations are of the form

N A = k N Fr (2)

in which the proportionality constant, k, is dependent on the impeller diameter to tank

diameter ratio as shown in Figure 4. The proportionality constant correlation of the Rushton
turbine (k = 30 (D/T)3.5) is also shown in this figure, indicating that the proportionality
constants of the two impellers are very similar at smaller impeller diameter to tank diameter
ratios, while the proportionality constant of the CD-6 is substantially higher at larger impeller
diameter to tank diameter ratios. Figure 4 also presents the maximum Froude number at
which the linear gas flow number-Froude number relation exists for the CD-6 impeller.
Above this Froude number, the gas dispersion capabilities of the CD-6 increase rapidly, and
no attempt has been made to correlate the gas flow and Froude numbers.
All of the data presented in Figure 3 was taken at a single scale (T = 0.445 m), and the
correlation developed from this data was checked at two other scales (T = 0.292 and 0.602 m)
to determine if the correlation is scale independent such as the Rushton turbine correlation of
Equation 1. The data taken with the CD-6 impeller at three scales (refer to Table 1) is shown
in the left side of Figure 5. The impeller diameter to tank diameter ratio varied somewhat,
ranging from thirty-seven to thirty-nine percent, but the data taken at all scales is very similar
including the increase in gas dispersion capability at Froude numbers greater than about 0.3.
Sufficient gas flow was not available to test this increase in gas dispersion capability in the
largest scale. Additionally, data was taken at an even larger scale (T = 1.52 m; refer to Table
1) with an impeller diameter to tank diameter ratio of thirty-five percent. This data is
compared with smaller scale data (T = 0.44 m with D/T = 0.32) in the right side of Figure 5,
and the agreement between the data taken at the two scales is again good, although there is
deviation at the lowest Froude numbers of the larger scale. Again, in the larger scale,
sufficient gas flow was not available to require Froude numbers for which the gas dispersion
capabilities increase markedly.

3.4 Gas Dispersion Torque and Power Requirements

The torque required to achieve gas dispersion with the CD-6 is shown on the left of Figure 6.
A limited number of impeller diameter to tank diameter ratios were studied, but reasonable
conclusions can be made. The torque requirement is independent of impeller diameter to
tank diameter ratio at the lowest gas flows, but a maximum torque is observed at an impeller
 2.5 1.0
T = 0.29 m T = 0.44 m
T = 0.44 m T = 1.5 m
2.0 T = 0.60 m 0.8 Correlation
Correlation
Gas Flow Number

Gas Flow Number

1.5 0.6

1.0 0.4

0.5 0.2

0.0 0.0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
Froude Number Froude Number

Figure 5. CD-6 gas dispersion performance at various scales (Left: 0.37 < D/T < 0.39; Right: 0.32 < D/T <
0.35)

diameter to tank diameter ratio of thirty-nine percent at the higher gas flows. At a particular
gas flow, the highest torque requirement is never more than ninety percent higher than the
lowest torque requirement. At lower gas flows, the dispersion torque increases with
increasing gas flow. At the highest gas flows, the dispersion torque is relatively independent
of the gas flow, reflecting the rapid increase in the CD-6 gas dispersion capabilities at higher
gas flows.
The corresponding gas dispersion power requirements of the CD-6 are shown on the right
of Figure 6, illustrating that the power requirements decrease almost linearly with increasing
impeller diameter to tank diameter ratio. At a particular gas flow, the highest power
requirement ranges from three to eight times the lowest power requirement. As was observed
with the torque requirements, the dispersion power increases with increasing gas flow, but
this increase is limited at higher gas flows.

3.5 Rushton Turbine Results

Data taken with the Rushton turbine at an impeller diameter to tank diameter ratio of thirty-
two percent are compared to the literature correlation of Equation 1 in Figure 7. Reasonable
agreement occurs at the lower gas flows, indicating the experimental techniques of this study
are consistent with past work. The difference between the data and correlation increases at
higher gas flows, but these flows are higher than those used to develop the original
correlation. At these higher gas flows, the experimental determination of the dispersion
speed of the Rushton turbine is difficult to judge because the impeller is not capable of

1.2 40

1.0
Dispersion Torque (Nm)

Dispersion Power (W)

30
0.8

0.6 20

0.4
10
0.2

0.0 0
0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55
Impeller Diameter to Tank Diameter Ratio Impeller Diameter to Tank Diameter Ratio

Figure 6. CD-6 gas dispersion torque (left) and power (right) requirements (T = 0.44 m; data sets are for
superficial gas velocities of 0.0029 (lowest data set), 0.0058, 0.0087, 0.0116, 0.0145, 0.0217, 0.0289, 0.0435,
0.0578, 0.0818, and 0.115 (highest data set) m/s)
 0.8 60

0.7 50

Dispersion Power (W)

0.6
Gas Flow Number

40
0.5

0.4 30

0.3
20
0.2 Data
Rushton
Equation 1 10
0.1 CD-6

0.0 0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12
Froude Number Superficial Gas Velocity (m/s)

Figure 7. Comparison of current Rushton turbine gas Figure 8. Comparison of CD-6 and Rushton
turbine dispersion data with literature gas dispersion power requirements
correlation (D/T = 0.32) (D/T =0.32, T = 0.44 m)

maintaining a high-quality dispersion. Periodically the impeller oscillates between dispersed

and not dispersed conditions. This does not occur with the CD-6 impeller. Once gas
dispersion is achieved, the CD-6 continues to disperse the gas flow with no fluctuation in the
dispersion quality. From the Rushton turbine data of Figure 7, there is no clear indication
that the gas dispersion capabilities of this impeller increase at high gas flows like those of the
CD-6. However, there is a considerable increase in the gas dispersion capability of the
Rushton turbine between the last two data points, but it is unclear if this is a real effect or if
this results from the difficulty in determining the dispersion speed with this impeller. Gezork
et al. [6] did not find the Rushton turbine to have enhanced dispersion capabilities at high gas
flows (refer to Figure 4 of this reference).
The gas dispersion power requirements of the CD-6 and Rushton turbine at an impeller
diameter to tank diameter ratio of thirty-two percent are compared in Figure 8. At the lower
gas flows, the power requirements of the two impellers are similar, with the CD-6 power
averaging five percent below that of the Rushton turbine at the five lowest gas flows. When
the dispersion capabilities of the CD-6 increase at high gas flows, its dispersion power
requirements are substantially less than those of the Rushton turbine, averaging forty percent
lower at the four highest gas flows. This comparison is consistent with past claims that the
advantage of concave-blade gas dispersion impellers is most significant at high gas flow
rates.

4. CONCLUSIONS
Like the Rushton turbine, at lower gas flows a linear relation between the gas flow and
Froude numbers describes the CD-6 impeller’s gas dispersion capabilities. However, at
higher gas flows, the gas dispersion capabilities of the CD-6 increase dramatically, requiring
very limited increases in the rotational speed as the gas flow is increased. This nonlinear
behavior is significantly different than that of the Rushton turbine and would be expected
with other concave-blade impellers such as the Chemineer BT-6 whose blades are
asymmetric with respect to the impeller disc.
At lower gas flows the gas dispersion capabilities of the two impellers are similar, but at
higher gas flows the gas dispersion capabilities of the CD-6 are substantially greater than
those of the Rushton turbine, consistent with past claims concerning concave-blade impellers.
Additionally, the gas dispersion capabilities of the CD-6 at larger impeller diameter to tank
diameter ratios, in the range of forty to fifty percent (0.4 < D/T < 0.5), are better than those of
the Rushton turbine. The torque required to disperse a given gas flow is maximum at an
intermediate impeller diameter to tank diameter ratio (D/T ~ 0.39), while the power
requirement continually decreases with increasing impeller diameter to tank diameter ratio.

5. NOMENCLATURE
C Impeller off-bottom clearance (m)
D Impeller diameter (m)
Dd Impeller disc diameter (m)
H Liquid level/depth (m)
g Acceleration of gravity (9.8 m/s2)
k Gas flow number-Froude number proportionality constant (-)
M Torque (N·m)
N Rotational speed (s-1)
NA Gas flow number (also called aeration number), Qg/ND3 (-)
NFr Froude number, N2D/g (-)
Np Impeller power number, P/ρLN3D5 (-)
P Power (W)
Qg Volumetric gas flow rate (m3/s)
T Tank diameter (m)
Ug Superficial gas velocity (m/s)
W Impeller blade height (also called width) (m)
ρL Liquid density (kg/m3)
g Refers to gassed conditions
o Refers to ungassed (liquid-only) conditions

6. REFERENCES
1. Middleton, J. C., Smith, J. M., 2004. “Gas-Liquid Mixing in Turbulent Systems”, in:
Handbook of Industrial Mixing: Science and Practice (E. L. Paul, V. A. Atiemo-Obeng,
and S. M. Kresta, eds.), Chapter 11, Wiley, Hoboken, New Jersey, pp. 585-638.
2. Smith, J. M., Warmoeskerken, M. M. C. G., 1985. “The Dispersion of Gases in Liquids
with Turbines”, Proc. 5th Eur. Conf. on Mixing (Wurzburg, 10-12 June), pp. 115-126.
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Flooding/Loading Transition and the Complete Dispersion Condition in Aerated Vessels
Agitated by a Rushton Turbine”, Proc. 5th Eur. Conf. on Mixing (Wurzburg, 10-12 June),
pp. 143-154.
4. Sensel, M. E., Myers, K. J., Fasano, J. B., 1993. “Gas Dispersion at High Aeration Rates
in Low to Moderately Viscous Newtonian Liquids”, AIChE Symposium Series, Vol. 89
(E. L. Gaden, G. B. Tatterson, R. V. Calabrese, and W. R. Penney, eds), 293, pp. 76-84.
5. Nienow, A. W., Chapman, C. M., 1979. “Gas Recirculation Rate through Impeller
Cavities and Surface Aeration in Sparged Agitated Vessels”, Chem. Eng. J., 17, pp. 111-
118.
6. Gezork, K. M., Bujalski, W., Cooke, M., and Nienow, A. W., 2000. “The Transition
from Homogeneous to Heterogeneous Flow in a Gassed, Stirred Vessel”, Trans. IChemE,
78, pp. 363-370.
7. Gezork, K. M., Bujalski, W., Cooke, M., and Nienow, A. W., 2001. “Mass Transfer and
Hold-Up Characteristics in a Gassed, Stirred Vessel at Intensified Operating Conditions”,
Trans. IChemE, 79, pp. 965-972.