Agitators in tanks

Topics that acquire special importance on the industrial scale are the quality of mixing in tanks and the residence time distribution in vessels where plug flow may be the goal. The information about agitation in tanks described for gas/liquid and slurry reactions is largely apphcable here. The relation between heat transfer and agitation also is discussed elsewhere in this Handbook. Residence time distribution is covered at length under Reactor Efficiency. A special case is that of laminar and related flow distributions characteristic of non-Newtonian fluids, which often occiu s in polymerization reactors. 

Constant agitation in tank is necessary to keep Turbobrite suspended. 

This carbon dioxide-free solution is usually treated in an external, weU-agitated liming tank called a "prelimer." Then the ammonium chloride reacts with milk of lime and the resultant ammonia gas is vented back to the distiller. Hot calcium chloride solution, containing residual ammonia in the form of ammonium hydroxide, flows back to a lower section of the distiller. Low pressure steam sweeps practically all of the ammonia out of the limed solution. The final solution, known as "distiller waste," contains calcium chloride, unreacted sodium chloride, and excess lime. It is diluted by the condensed steam and the water in which the lime was conveyed to the reaction. Distiller waste also contains inert soHds brought in with the lime. In some plants, calcium chloride [10045-52-4], CaCl, is recovered from part of this solution. Close control of the distillation process is requited in order to thoroughly strip carbon dioxide, avoid waste of lime, and achieve nearly complete ammonia recovery. The hot (56°C) mixture of wet ammonia and carbon dioxide leaving the top of the distiller is cooled to remove water vapor before being sent back to the ammonia absorber. 

Fig. 2. Flow sheet of lecithin producing unit. Crude soybean oil is heated in the preheater, 1, to 80°C, mixed with 2% water in the proportion control unit, 2, and intensively agitated in 3. The mixture goes to a dweUing container, 4, and is then centrifuged after a residence time of 2—5 min. The degummed oil flows without further drying to the storage tanks. The lecithin sludge is dried in the thin-film evaporator, 6, at 100°C and 6 kPa (60 mbar) for 1—2 min and is discharged after cooling to 50—60°C in the cooler, 8. 9 and 10 are the condenser and vacuum pump, respectively.

Preparation is accompHshed by simple blending of the diluent into the hot base asphalt. This is generally accompHshed in tanks equipped with coils for air agitation or with a mechanical stirrer or a vortex mixer. Line blending in a batch circulation system or in a continuous fashion (40) is used where the volume produced justifies the extra faciUties. A continuous, line-blending system is appHcable to the manufacture of cutback asphalts and asphalt cements (Fig. 8). 

Modem manufacturing processes quench the roast by continuous discharge into the leach water held in tanks equipped with agitators. At this point the pH of the leach solution is adjusted to between 8 and 9 to precipitate aluminum and siHcon. The modem leaching operations are very rapid because no or htde lime is used. After separation of the ore residue and precipitated impurities using rotary vacuum filters, the cmde Hquid sodium chromate may need to be treated to remove vanadium, if present, in a separate operation. The ore residue and precipitants are either recycled or treated to reduce hexavalent chromium to Cr(III) before disposal. 

Axial-tlow impellers rnav also be mounted near the bottom of the cylindrical wall of a cssel as shown in Fig, 18-10, Such side-entering agitators are used to blend low- iscositv fluids [<(), Pa-s (100 cP)] or to keep slowly settling sediment suspended in tanks as large as some 4000 rn (1(P gal). Mixing of paper pulp i.s often carried out by sideentering propellers. 

The condition of the curd on precipitation is important. As the milk starts to gel, agitators in the coagulation tanks are started as the temperature is raised to about 65°C. Under these conditions the protein is thrown out in fine particles. Too slow an agitation will produce large clots difficult to wash whilst too fine a curd also presents washing problems. In order to obtain the requisite consistency of the precipitate it may be necessary to add inorganic material to the skimmed milk. For example, the addition of phosphate ions will prevent undesirable flaky polymer. Similarly, calcium-deficient casein will not coagulate satisfactorily and the addition of calcium ions may be necessary. 

Equation 7-93 was established for turbine agitators with flat blades and Z/D = 0.5. The eriteria for Equation 7-93 relate to a speeifie type of suspension. The distribution of the solid as a funetion of the height in the liquid is not uniform in every ease. Therefore, the uniformity ean only be approximated by obtaining a eireulation rate Q as high as possible. Nienow [42] found that H/E = 7 in tanks for whieh H/Dt =1.0. 

Heat Transfer Coils in Tank, Liquid Agitated... 

Propeller/paddle mixers are used to blend or agitate liquid mixtures in tanks, pipelines, or vessels. Figure 38.1 illustrates a typical top-entering propeller/paddle mixer. This unit consists of an electric motor, a mounting bracket, an extended shaft, and one or more impeller(s) or pro-peller(s). Materials of construction range from bronze to stainless steel, which are selected based on the particular requirements of the application. 

In a mixed agitated vessel with high agitation rate, at the centre of the vessel a vortex often forms. To prevent a central vortex in tanks less than 3 m in diameter, four baffles each with a baffle width of 15-20 cm are necessary. A basic assumption is to select a ratio of liquid height to tank diameter from 2 1 to 6 1. 

Cooper et al. (C9) were the first to determine mass-transfer coefficients by measuring the oxidation rate of sodium sulfite in an aqueous solution catalyzed by cupric ions. Their data were taken for a vaned-disk agitator with 16 blades and for a flat paddle. The ratio of agitator-to-tank diameter was 0.4, and the ratio of paddle to tank diameter was 0.25. The tank was equipped with four baffles, with baffle-width to tank diameter ratio of 0.1. 

The flow patterns for single phase, Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids in tanks agitated by various types of impeller have been repotted in the literature.1 3 27 38 39) The experimental techniques which have been employed include the introduction of tracer liquids, neutrally buoyant particles or hydrogen bubbles, and measurement of local velocities by means of Pitot tubes, laser-doppler anemometers, and so on. The salient features of the flow patterns encountered with propellers and disc turbines are shown in Figures 7.9 and 7.10. 

The power required by an agitator in a tank is a function of the following four variables ... 

An agitated batch tank, is used to dissolve a solid component from a solid matrix into a liquid solvent medium, as in Fig. 1.18, Geankoplis (1983). 

This is the simplest type of industrial crystallising equipment. Crystallisation is induced by cooling the mother liquor in tanks which may be agitated and equipped with cooling coils or jackets. Tank crystallisers are operated batchwise, and are generally used for small-scale production. 

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