Mixing process concentrate processing

In Chap. 8 we saw how the equilibrium osmotic pressure of a solution is related to AG for the mixing process whereby the solution is formed. Any difference in the concentration of the solution involves a change in AG j, ... 

Air is compressed to modest pressures, typically 100 to 200 kPa ( 15-30 psig) with either a centrifugal or radial compressor, and mixed with superheated vaporized butane. Static mixers are normally employed to ensure good mixing. Butane concentrations are often limited to less than 1.7 mol 1 to stay below the lower flammable limit of butane (144). Operation of the reactor at butane concentrations below the flammable limit does not eliminate the requirement for combustion venting, and consequendy most processes use mpture disks on both the inlet and exit reactor heads. A dow diagram of the Huntsman fixed-bed maleic anhydride process is shown in Figure 1. 

The phenomenon of concentration polarization, which is observed frequently in membrane separation processes, can be described in mathematical terms, as shown in Figure 30 (71). The usual model, which is weU founded in fluid hydrodynamics, assumes the bulk solution to be turbulent, but adjacent to the membrane surface there exists a stagnant laminar boundary layer of thickness (5) typically 50—200 p.m, in which there is no turbulent mixing. The concentration of the macromolecules in the bulk solution concentration is c,. and the concentration of macromolecules at the membrane surface is c. 

The acidic crude alkylbenzene flows over the head of the separator LSI (Fig. 17) through a mixer where alkali of a suitable concentration is fed into a separator (ST5) in which the high specific density alkali settles out (Fig. 18). The alkali is again fed into the mixing process. The crude LAB is pumped into an intermediate tank (T) and from there over a sodium hydroxide-containing column (DC) where it is dried before proceeding to the distillation stage. 

Accurate description of mixing processes on each of these scales is only possible in a few selected and idealized cases. One of the best understood cases is that of a turbulent PBL over flat terrain and a point source of a trace substance. In this case, the concentration downwind of the source is often described as a plume. Figure 7-3 shows such an idealized plume. 

The spatio-temporal variations of the concentration field in turbulent mixing processes are associated wdth very different conditions for chemical reactions in different parts of a reactor. This scenario usually has a detrimental effect on the selectivity of reactions when the reaction time-scale is small compared with the mixing time-scale. Under the same conditions (slow mixing), the process times are increased considerably. Due to mass transfer inhibitions, the true kinetics of a reaction does not show up instead, the mixing determines the time-scale of a process. This effect is known as mixing masking of reactions [126]. 

If the feed time of a concentrated fluid is short the reaction will often be completed within the circulation zone, outside the impeller zone. Macromixing can then be important and the blend time will be an important scale-up parameter. For long feeding times and low concentrations in the feed all the important mixing processes could be completed almost immediately in the vicinity of the outlet of the feed pipe. 

Here vq is the measured tangential velocity profile at time t and (ve,steady) is the value at steady-state. Both intensity indices have a value of unity at f = 0, and approach zero as t approaches infinity. Figure 4.5.15 shows the variation of the intensity indices with average strain, for an outer cylinder velocity of 0.05 cm s 1. These plots indicate that the mixing process occurs in two stages, where the velocity profile develops only after the droplet concentration profile is essentially uniform. It can be seen that 1 decays to zero at approximately 100 strain units, whereas Iv shows that the steady-state velocity profile is reached only when y ps 400. From Figure 4.5.14 it can be seen that when y = 115, flow is detected... 

In the explosives industry, precise control of temperature, mixing time, concentrations, heating, and cooling rates are maintained. Making these materials safely requires sophisticated equipment and technology to carry out the process even though the chemistry may appear simple. Under less than optimal conditions, some 2,3,5-trinitrotoluene, 3,5,6-trinitrotoluene, and 2,4,5-trinitrotoluene are produced, and they are much less stable than 2,4,6-TNT. A mixture of explosives is only as stable as its least stable... 

CFD might provide a way of elucidating all these spatial variations in flow conditions, in species concentrations, in bubble drop and particle sizes, and in chemical reaction rates, provided that such computational simulations are already capable of reliably reproducing the details of turbulent flows and their dynamic effects on the processes of interest. This Chapter reviews the state of the art in simulating the details of turbulent flows and turbulent mixing processes, mainly in stirred vessels. To this end, the topics of turbulence and CFD both need a separate introduction. 

The mixing process is assumed to be ideal, i.e., the product concentration of the feed is equal to the product concentration of the holdup at any time. The concentrations change at the event points only, such that the mixing process can be stated based... 

Restoring the solution concentration by adding dry solute or mixing with concentrated solution can save energy costs as it avoids heat of evaporation and the need for expensive plants. The method can be suggested successfully for small-scale production, at a low-technological level process, where the initial solution mass is small. Indeed, the main hurdle of this technique is the increase of the solution mass, even if a constant loss in volume of syrup (9-14%) is due to adherence to the food pieces (Bolin et al., 1983). 

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