Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Vol.89, No.5, 1104-1111, 2011
SOLIDS DISTRIBUTION IN TALL TANKS
Uniformly distributing slurry solids in "tall" (>= 2: 1 aspect ratio) process vessels is a significant challenge in the chemical industry. This work determined the performance of various multi-tier agitation systems in uniformly distributing a settling solid throughout water in a "tall" laboratory vessel. It used a 0.445m ID Plexiglas (R) tank, with a slurry height of 0.889 m, to determine how solids distribution changes with solids loading (wt.%), impeller speed, and impeller type. Some impeller types uniformly distributed the solids even before energy input exceeded 1.00 W/kg. Significantly higher energy improved solids distribution little because flow within the vessel eventually became choked.
Keywords:tall tanks;solids distribution;solids suspension;wide-blade hydrofoil;pitched blade turbine