Solid-Liquid Mixing In Agitated Tanks : Experimental And CFD Analysis

Solid-liquid mixing plays a significant role in crystallization, suspension polymerization, leaching, solid-catalyzed reaction and adsorption. In this study, a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model was developed for solid-liquid mixing in a cylindrical tank equipped with a top-entering impeller. The multiple reference frame (MRF) technique, k-ε model and Eulerian-Eulerian approach were employed to simulate the impeller rotation, turbulent flow and multiphase flow, respectively. The effects of impeller speed, solid concentration, particle size, solid density and impeller clearance on the mixing performance of four different impellers (A310, marine propeller, pitched blad turbine and A320) were investigated. The CFD results were in good agreement with experimental data measured using electrical resistance tomography (ERT). In order to investigate the mixing quality in this study, the impeller speed required for maximum homogeneity, clouding height, and just-suspended impeller speed were investigated.