GENERAL PROCESS CONSIDERATIONS IN THE SELECTION OF AGITATORS FOR SIMPLE APPLICATIONS AND IMPELLER DESIGN.

The first thing to keep in mind is proper positioning of the agitator with respect to the vessel geometry. If not, it is like placing your General Manager in Gang Mans position. Performance is liable to fail. The general thumb rule in any mi!ing problem is to determine the amount of energy or power re"uired to perform the operation# then selecting the most efficient method of applying this energy in terms of low a$ first cost, b$ operating cost % c$ maintenance cost. The ma&or steps in selecting a mi!er from the process standpoint are as follows. ' (efinition of the problem. ) (escription of materials to be mi!ed. * The mi!ing cycle. + ,lassification towards purpose. Definition of the problem. - clear picture what is to be attained. ..g. to make up and hold in uniform suspension '/0 slurry of hydrated lime or to dissolve */ 1gs. of sugar in 2/ liters. water in 2 minutes time. Des ription of m!teri!ls to be mi"e#. ,omplete physical properties of each ingredient should be known, including sp.gr., initial and final viscosities, easiness of miscibility, etc. The mi"in$ % le. - continuous operation with constant flow rate and retention time is always preferred. If it is batch operation, to obtain the followings. a. 3atch si4e, b. Time allowed or re"d. for operation, c. 5e"uence of adding materials, d. ,hanges of product characteristics during agitation, e. 6hether the mi!er is to be operative during filling or emptying the tank. Cl!ssifi !tion to&!r#s p'rpose. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. 3lending of miscible li"uids. (issolving. (ispersion 7li"uid li"uid, solid li"uid8. 9eat e!change. .mulsification. 5olids suspension. ,hemical reaction. .!traction including washing and leaching.

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Gas dispersion, absorption, and stripping. ,rystalli4ation.

(len#in$ of mis ible li)'i#s. .asiest of agitating applications and normally a!ial turbine or hydrofoil impellers are preferred. :et mi!ing by recirculation with an ordinary pump is e"ually good at lower cost. Dissol*in$ In dissolving, we want provision of high flow rate and low shear past the solid surface. ;nless the solid is polymeric or sticky or viscous in nature, it is an easy operation. (ata solicited are solid percentage, physical characteristics with interim changes, temp, solubility and permissible dissolving time. Dispersion +li)'i#, li)'i#- soli#,li)'i#.. (ispersion refers to mi!ing of non miscible li"uids or of solids in li"uids, into somewhat homogeneous mass whose stability is measured by its life before reasonable separation occurs. Power input varies greatly depending on purpose and impellers generally used are pitched blade turbine, or saw tooth cutter. This is most critical of mi!ing problems and unless properly understood, the design is liable to fail. He!t e" h!n$e. ;sed to speed up heat transfer by forced convection. -pparently simple but for critical applications, following data helps. Tank dimensions and details of &acket and coils, preferably G.-.drawing. 3 9eat transfer co efficients. , 5pecific heats and thermal conductivities. ( Temp. of batch at start and end of cycle. . Temp. < =iscosity curve of components. > 6hether solid suspension is included. Em'lsifi !tion. Imparting a high power to break the molecular chains and to form the oil water emulsion with a non ionic surfactant. ?ther applications are mainly in paints % lubricants sector. 5ome emulsion may be steady for years and some break within minutes. 5tatic mi!ers are preferred than agitators for high instantaneous power resulting better emulsion but washing pump % pipeline is problematic.

Soli#s s'spension. It is simple physical 7like mi!ing8 operation but power consumption varies greatly on purpose e.g. a$ complete motion of solids, b$ complete suspension of solids, c$ complete uniformity. Power re". is in ratio of '@ )@ 2 for said operations. Chemi !l re! tion. It can be considered as combination of blending, dissolving, heat transfer, e!traction, gas dispersion, and solid suspension etc. ;sually an easy task from agitator designers point but to be sure, pilot plant study is always recommended. - hapha4ard selection is vulnerable and over design 7like peripheral impeller tip speed8 has various detrimental effects on the final product. E"tr! tion in l'#in$ &!shin$ !n# le! hin$. This is normally a continuous counter current 7fluidi4ed bed8 process like solid suspension involving water to be well mi!ed up with other ingredients and the ingredients separates out by gravity separation. ;sually of interest for mining people. G!s #ispersion- !bsorption- !n# strippin$. Gas is impregnated from bottom as small bubbles and intimately distributed throughout the li"uid usually resulting a chemical reaction. Generally curved vane impeller or multiple turbines are preferred with high speed. >ully baffled tanks should be tall and narrow in construction. Pressuri4ed chamber accelerates the process. - better way is by static mi!er employing a li"uid pump and a pressuri4ed semi permeable solid wall to impregnate gas under pressure.

Cr%st!lli/!tion It is opposite of dissolving and is accomplished by cooling a saturated solution or by heating to drive out the solvent. The heat transfer re"uires a good flow. 5atisfactory handling of crystals is of prime importance. Pilot plant data are desired. Generally crystals deposit at the bottom but if process deserves to be uniformly suspended, much study on the crystal structure % sensitivity is to be made for speed selection. >luid foil or aerofoil impellers with high flow and low shear are suggested.

No& let 's tr% to 'n#erst!n# b!si impeller #esi$n.

-s like fan 7for air handling8 or hydel power turbines, much research has been conducted towards agitator impeller design and it is a very wide sub&ect with much more further scope to research and improve. Impeller is designed mainly keeping in mind the purpose or application and sometimes custom built. The basic designs are as follows. m!rine propeller Aooks like a table fan blade. 5uitable for high flow and low shear e.g. blending, dissolving, heat transfer, etc. ;nsuitable for solid suspension, dispersion, e!traction, gas dispersion, etc. flow efficiency 2/ B/0. Getting outdated but manufacturers with their old proven designs are still sticking to that. 3 pit he# bl!#e t'rbine. ,onsisting + nos. +2 degree vertically inclined flat blades 7like ceiling fans8, has reasonable flow and shear compromising both. Mainly used for medium viscous li"uids and solid suspension. Most versatile in its mode of operation. , h%#rofoil is supposed to be a foil in water and looks like pitched blade turbine with an angled cut on the lower periphery. Its flow efficiency is better than marine propeller, replacing the later in most applications and is most desired for mi!ing purposes but unsuitable for high shear application. ( !erofoil is having a classic stand fan blade type look and its properties are almost like hydrofoil impellers. ?f interest for mining people for mineral washing and beneficiation for energy efficiency. . 'r*e# *!ne impeller looks like straight Pelton wheel designed to hold moving particles for some time e.g. for air absorption. > st!tor rotor ?ld outdated design supposed to bring highest shearing action and usually specified for oil water emulsion. G s!& tooth 'tter is reasonably good for handling medium to high viscous li"uids. It is most economic for emulsification. 3ad design for blending simple solutions as well as handling semi solids 7grease, honey etc.8. 5uggested for oil water emulsion, lubricants, paints, etc. 9 !n hor 7with its namely look8 is used for heat transfer from bottom or scraping viscous li"uids. I heli !l ribbon looking like screwed ladder or double heli! model of our gene. 6ith its diameter close to tank diameter, is used for viscosity above C/ poise. -nother very effective design for handling viscous fluid is to use pitched blade turbine placed at bottom of #r!ft t'be 7e"ualing D/0 of tank dia.8 at medium speed. I am very sorry for my weakness even in rough schematic drawing that could have helped in better understanding. Till date we very often encounter motor power selection much on higher side with no necessity. -gain lower speed was thought to be superior in terms of application. Eow the international trend is that if the process permits 7unless molecular chains break up or organic growth is hampered in biological processes8 lower speeds are only negotiated with motor power reduction without affecting the application parameters.

(!si po&er !l 'l!tion for t'rb'lent flo& is PF1GE5G 5.GGE*G(2H 'B//// 69.I. PF 3I.-1 9?I5. P?6.I 79.P.8 1F - ,?E5T-ET =-II.5 GI.-TAJ >I?M /.* ;PT? C -E( I5 (.P.E(.ET M-IEAJ ?E 3A-(. G.?M.TIJ, T-E1 (IM.E5I?E5, 3->>A.5, P9J5I,-A >A;I( ,9-I-,T.II5TI,5, .T,. T.IM.( -5 T9. IMP.AA.I E;M3.I. E5F E?. ?> IMP.AA.I5. 5.G. F5P.GI. ?> T9. AIK;I(. EF I?T-TI?E-A 5P..( IPM. (F IMP.AA.I (I-M.T.I IE M.T.I. ,onsidering gear efficiency and motor margin, motor power is determined. Power calculation in viscous fluid is cumbersome and then also is unreliable. 6e shamefully take motor margins as 2/0 minimum. >or basics, 39P varies with 'st. power of rpm and *rd. power of impeller diameter for viscous impellers. In fact for thumb rule at low speed, wattage e"uals the weight of total mass in grams transferred e!cept in thi!otropic conditions. >or both turbulent and viscous motion flow rate is determined by KF 1GEG(*. 69.I., KF >A?6 I-T. IE ,;3I, M.T.I P.I MIE;T.. 1F P;MPIEG E;M3.I M-L. /.D 7>?I 9IG9 >A?6 % A?6 59.-I8 -E( MIE. /./'7>?I A?6 >A?6 % 9IG9 59.-I8. EF IPM. (F IMP. (I- IE MTI5. The agitator price is somewhat very little in comparison to what a process would gain and deserves from a reasonably good design. Pilot plants do come and go but the commercial plant determines the profit percentage. It is always suggestable to go for much in depth of pilot plant studies before arriving at the big risk time. >urthermore, in case of any doubt, checks and cross checks from different agencies are likely to be obtained and it is available at reasonable cost. (esigner should have ade"uate e!perience in the proper application you are trying to achieve. In !se %o' h!*e !n% )'!rries0 s'$$estions- I &o'l# be $l!# to sh!re o'r 1no&le#$e.

DATA 2S2ALL3 RE42IRED FOR PROPER DESIGN. ' ) * + 2 B D Purpose of agitation. Mi!ing cycle. >oaming tendency Materials to be mi!ed with individual physical characters and their "uantities. Tank dimensions preferably with sketch. (uty hours. .lectrical@ ' ph. ?r * ph., flp or not etc.

There is no perfect design and I strive to provide you low cost agitator as per best of my knowledge to suit your purpose and to fetch gold both for you and me. 6ith the above notes, please do not get agitated if I ask for your valued order with little knowledge and no e!perience of my own as on ')H/CH)//M. 6ith due regards, P-IT9- PI-TIM (-5. -GIT-T?I5 -E( MILIEG 5?A;TI?E5, *', E?E-(-EG- I?-(, 59.?I-P9;AI, 9??G9AJ, 6.3. D')))*. /M+**)'M'/+ aginmsolNyahoo.co.in