Mixing Efficiency of Viscous Fluid in a Multiple‐Impeller Agitated Tank

Abstract

The development of a multi-impeller reactor for the mixing of non-Newtonian fluids under full flow regime conditions depends on mixing time, power consumption, and mixing energy. These parameters must be well-defined with 3-blade propellers, 4-pitched turbines, and 6-flat-blade turbines. An innovative expression of mixing time for the thermal pulse disturbance method is introduced. The Buckingham's p-theorem was utilized to denominate and transfer dimensionless power and homogenization number. To achieve consistent mixing, the results indicated that axial flow of the 4-pitched-blade turbine is the most effective approach. The examined correlation is a functional tool to determine the mixing energy based on the measured specific power consumption and mixing time.