UNIT-5

Mixing and Agitation

MIXING

 Mixing is a process in which at least two separate materials (which

may be present in the same or different phases) are taken and forced
them to be randomly distributed through one another by some
mechanical means.
 It is a physical process of reducing non-uniformities in fluids by
eliminating gradients of concentration, temperature and other
properties.
 The term mixing implies taking atleast two separate phases and
causing them to distribute randomly through one another.
 A substance which is uniform throughout in physical state and
chemical composition is called a homogeneous substance or a phase.
 Phases may be liquid, solid or gaseous. Therefore, mixing may
involve gases, liquids or solids in any possible combination of two
or more components - two different liquids, a liquid and a gas, a
liquid and a powdered solid or two different or same solids.
Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Mixtures

 A mixture in which its components/constituents are present in a

single phase is called a homogeneous mixture.
Ex: A liquid mixture of methanol and water,
A mixture containing CO2, N2 and O2 gas.

 A mixture in which its components/constituents are present in

distinct phases is called a heterogeneous mixture.
Ex: A liquid mixture of benzene and water forms a heterogeneous
mixture made up of two immiscible liquid phases.
AGITATION

 Agitation and mixing are not synonymous.

 Agitation refers to the induced motion of material in a
circulatory pattern inside a tank or vessel, while mixing is the
random distribution into and through one another, of two or
more initially separate phases.
Importance of Mixing and Agitation

 Mixing of liquids with liquids, gases with liquids, liquids with solids
and solids with solids.
 When the ratio of liquid to solid is large, mixing of solids with
liquids can be performed in the same fashion as mixing of liquids
with liquids.
 On the other hand, if the ratio of liquid to solid is small, solid-liquid
mixing becomes similar to mixing of solids with solids (solid-solid
mixing).
OBJECTIVES OF MIXING

 To promote a chemical reaction... since intimate contact between

reacting phases/substances is necessary for a reaction to proceed
properly.
 To produce simple physical mixtures - of two or more uniformly
divided solids, two or more miscible liquids, etc.
 To carry out physical change - formation of crystals from a
supersaturated solution.
 To accomplish dispersion in which a quasi-homogeneous material
is produced from two or more immiscible fluids and from one or
more fluids with finely divided solids.
PURPOSE OF AGITATION

 Blending miscible liquids

 Dispersing a gas in the liquid
 Suspending or dispersing relatively lighter solid particles in the
liquid to produce uniformity required for promoting mass transfer
and assisting chemical reactions.
 Dispersing or contacting immiscible liquids
 Promoting heat transfer between the liquid in the container and a
coil or jacket surrounding the container.
MIXING LIQUIDS WITH LIQUIDS

 A propeller or a turbine in a tank is the most commonly used

equipment for operations involving liquid-liquid and to some extent
liquid-solid mixing.
 In liquid-liquid mixing, a system may contain
liquids with or without solids that are not viscous (e.g., light oils)
liquids with or without solids that are viscous but pourable (e.g.
paints, heavy oils)
and liquids with solids that form stiff pastes (oil bound distempers).
AGITATED VESSEL

 A vertical cylindrical vessel fitted

with an agitator (impeller).
 The agitator is driven by an electrical
motor directly or through a speed
reducing gear box.
 The height of the vessel ranges from
1.5 to 2 times the diameter.
 The impeller diameter is usually one-
third of the tank diameter.
 It is provided with inlet and outlet connections, coil, jacket, etc.
 The impeller creates a flow pattern, causing the liquid to circulate
through the vessel and return ultimately to the impeller.
 An agitator is a combination of the impeller and shaft, i.e., impeller
attached to the shaft.
 There are various types of impellers and so the agitator types.
When we say turbine impeller, it is also termed as turbine agitator.
The terms Impeller and Agitator are used interchangeably.
 CONSTRUCTION AND FLOW PATTERNS OF IMPELLERS
There are two types of impellers :
Axial flow impellers Radial flow impellers.
Axial flow impellers make an angle of less Radial flow impellers have blades
than 90° with the shaft. They generate parallel to the axis of the shaft.
flow currents parallel to the axis of shaft. They generate flow currents in
tangential (tangential to the
circular path) or radial directions
(perpendicular to the shaft).

Axial impellers are used at high speeds to Radial flow impellers are used for large
promote rapid dispersion and used at low scale mixing of solid/liquid suspension.
speeds to keep solids in suspension.
Impellers are further classified into three sub-types:
1. Propellers,
2. Paddles and
3. Turbines.

 Propellers and pitched blade turbines are axial flow

impellers,

 Paddles, flat blade, curved blade, disc flat blade turbines are
radial flow impellers.
PROPELLERS

 A propeller is an axial-flow, high speed impeller commonly used for

low viscosity liquids.
 It may be mounted centrally, off-centre or at an angle to the vessel.
 It is simple and portable.
 The diameter of propeller usually lies between 15 to 30% of the
diameter of the vessel.

The most common propeller is a standard three bladed marine propeller.

A propeller is shaped with a tapering blade to minimize the effect of
centrifugal force and produce maximum axial flow.
Small propellers rotate at full motor speeds, whereas
large ones rotate at a speed of 400 to 800 r.p.m.
Propellers may also be mounted near the bottom of the
cylindrical wall of a vessel as shown in Fig. 6.4 for
blending low viscosity fluids or suspending slow settling
sediments in very large tanks.
 Propeller drives the liquid straight down to the bottom of the vessel, at
the bottom the stream spreads radially in all directions towards the
wall, then the liquid flows upward along the wall, and finally returns to
the suction of impeller from the shaft.

Flow pattern in a
baffled vessel with
centrally, mounted
propeller or axial flow
turbine

These agitators are used in situations where strong vertical

currents are desired, e.g., for suspending heavy particles.
TURBINES
 Pitched blade turbine is an axial
flow impeller while curved blade
and flat blade turbines are radial
flow impellers.

They are capable of creating a vigorous mixing action due to centrifugal and
rotational motions generated by them. A stator ring surrounding this impeller gives
an efficient mixing action.
The blades of the impeller may be attached to a central hub or to a
central disc. The diameter of the impeller is kept between one-third and
one-sixth of the vessel diameter. The blade length is one-fourth of the
impeller diameter. With a central disc, it is 1/8th of the impeller
diameter. The blade angle of curved blade turbine may be between 30 to
60o. The impeller speed usually ranges from 50 to 250 r.p.m. • Turbines
are very effective over a wide range of viscosities (upto 104 cP). •
Turbine impellers drive the liquid radially against the wall, where the
stream divides into two portions. One of the portions flows downward
to the bottom and then returns to the centre of impeller from below,
while other flows upward towards the surface and finally returns to the
impeller from the above (See Fig. 6.8).
Turbines are very effective in
developing radial currents, but with a
baffled vessel they also induce vertical
flow currents.
To avoid vortexing and swirling with
turbines, baffles or a diffuser ring can
be used
 PADDLES
 Paddle agitators with two or four flat blades are very common.
 The blades of these agitators are usually vertical and extend close to
the vessel wall.
 They are simply pushers and cause the mass to rotate in laminar
swirling motion with practically no radial flow along the paddle blades
or any axial flow (vertical motion).
The circulation is poor and the
mixing action is insufficient.
These rotate with a speed
ranging from 20 to 150 r.p.m.
The total length of this
impeller lies between 50 to
80% of the inside diameter of
the vessel (commonly 80% of
the diameter). The width of
the blade is 1/4 to 1/10th of
the paddle diameter.
Flow Patterns in Agitated Vessels

The factors on which the type of flow pattern in an agitated vessel

depends are :
i. Type of impeller
ii. Characteristics of the fluid and
iii. Size and proportions of the vessel, baffles and agitator.
The velocity of the fluid at any point in the agitated vessel has three
components, namely radial, longitudinal and tangential. The overall
flow pattern depends on the variations in these velocity components
from point to point.

The radial velocity component acts in a direction perpendicular to the

shaft of the impeller. The longitudinal velocity component acts in a
direction parallel to the shaft. The tangential or rotational component
acts in a direction tangent to the circular path around the shaft.
Concept of Swirling and Vortex (Unbaffled Tanks)

 If a low viscosity liquid is stirred in an unbaffled tank by a centrally

mounted agitator, there is a tendency for a swirling flow pattern to
develop, for the lighter fluid (usually air) to be drawn in to form a
vortex at the surface of the liquid. This reduces the degree of agitation
and mixing.
 In vortexing, the surface of the liquid takes roughly U-shape and
efficient mixing no longer takes place. A vortex is produced owing to
the centrifugal force acting on the rotating liquid.
Prevention of Swirling and Vortex Formation

There are three methods for the prevention of swirling and vortex
formation:
(i) Off-centre mounting of the impeller
(ii) Use of baffles
(iii) Use of diffuser ring with turbines
In large vessels with vertical agitators, the most common method of
reducing swirling is to install baffles along the side of the vessel, which
hinder rotational flow without disturbing radial or longitudinal flow.
BAFFLING

 Use of baffles in a vertical vessel is essential for the efficient mixing

action and minimization of vortex formation.

 Baffles are flat vertical strips that are mounted against the wall of
the vessel. It is common practice to use four baffles.
 They are mounted vertically on the vessel wall.
 The width of the baffle should be one-tenth to one-twelfth of the
tank/vessel diameter.
 The baffle height should be at least twice the diameter of the
impeller
Power Consumption of Impellers
An empirical correlation of the power (or power number) with other
variables of a system allows us to do fairly accurate prediction of the
power requirement of a given impeller to rotate at a given speed.
Such correlations can be obtained by using a method of dimensional
analysis.
The power requirement of the impeller is a function of geometrical
details of the impeller and vessel, the viscosity and the density of liquid,
and the rotation speed of impeller.
The power consumption is related to the density and
the viscosity of the liquid, the rotational speed, and the
impeller diameter by plotting power as a function of
Reynolds number.
NUMERICAL

A six-blade turbine agitator of diameter 60 cm is installed centrally in

tank with flat bottom of diameter 180 cm, at a height of 60 cm from
the bottom. The tank is filled with a solution of viscosity 10 Cp and of
1.45 g/ml density. The speed of agitation is 90 rpm. The tank is
baffled. Calculate the power required.
MIXING OF GASES WITH LIQUIDS

 The gas is sprayed (sparging) under a

turbine (flat blade) near the bottom of a
cylindrical vessel.
 The equipment which can be used for
the said purpose consists of a baffled
vertical vessel incorporating a flat
blade turbine agitator.

 The diameter of turbine is one-third of the tank diameter.

 The depth of a pool of liquid is equal to the tank diameter.
 A sparger (ring shaped) is mounted below the impeller with holes on the
top. The diameter of the sparger is equal to or less than the diameter of the
impeller.
 The gas is introduced from the top and injected in a pool of liquid in the
form of fine bubbles through the sparger.
MIXING OF SOLIDS WITH LIQUIDS

In situations, where the solids are not too coarse, the liquid is not
viscous, and the amount of solids per unit volume of liquid is not
too great, the solids can be suspended in liquids with the help of a
flat blade turbine type of agitator.
If any of the above cited conditions do not hold, then for carrying
out mixing, one has to look for a kneading machine or some
equipment primarily used for mixing solids with solids.
MIXING OF VISCOUS AND PLASTIC MASSES

In machines used for viscous and plastic masses, either the material
must be brought to the agitator or the agitator must visit all parts of
mix. The mixing action in these machines is described as a
combination of low-speed shear, smearing, wiping, folding,
stretching, and compressing. These machines must be ruggedly built
because the forces generated in these mixers are large. The power
consumption with these mixers is high. Mixers described in this part
are double arm kneaders, banbury mixers and mullers.
MIXING EQUIPMENT

Double-Arm Kneader

In kneading machines, the mixing

action is a combination of bulk
movement, smearing, stretching,
folding, dividing and recombining as
the material is pulled and squeezed
against the blades, saddle, and the
walls of trough.
Double-Arm Kneader

A sigma mixer consists of a short

rectangular trough with a saddle shaped
bottom [i.e., trough is curved at the bottom
to form two longitudinal half cylinders and
a saddle section]. Two counter rotating
blades (roughly z-shaped outline) are
incorporated in the trough.

 The blades are so placed and so shaped that the material turned up by one
blade is immediately turned under the adjacent one.
 The blades are driven through a gear mechanism provided at either or
both ends.
 The trough may be open or closed and may be jacketed for heating or
cooling.
 The machine is operated in a batchwise fashion.
 It is used for mixing very stiff masses.
RIBBON BLENDERS

Ribbon blenders mix solids by mechanical

shuffling and are used to handle dry
powders.
A ribbon blender consists of a horizontal
semi-cylindrical trough incorporating a
central shaft and a helical ribbon agitator.

 In this mixer, two counteracting ribbons are mounted on the same shaft.
 One of the ribbons moves the solids slowly in one direction, while the other
one moves the solids quickly in the other direction. The ribbons may be
continuous or discontinuous. Mixing takes place due to the turbulence
generated by counteracting ribbons and not only by motion of the solids
through the trough.
RIBBON BLENDERS

 Ribbon blenders are used for batch or continuous mixing.

 In batch operated ribbon blenders, the solids are charged and
mixed until satisfactory and discharged from the bottom.
 In continuously operated units, the solids are fed from one end of
the trough and discharged from the other end.
 In the path from the feed to discharge end, solids are mixed.
 For light duty, the trough may be open or lightly covered, while for
operation under pressure or vacuum, the trough is closed and
heavy-walled.
 Ribbon blenders are very effective for handling thin pastes and dry
powders that do not flow easily.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpt5VerLSsg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18ypfMT7Rvo
BANBURY MIXER

Most common internal mixer.

It is a heavy duty machine with two
blades each rotating in a cylindrical sheet,
but these cylinders partly intersect with
each other.
In this mixer, the blade is pear shaped, but
the projection is spiral along the axis and
the two spirals interlock.

The machine operates at a speed of 40 r.p.m. or lower. The clearance

between the blades and the walls is extremely small, and it is here that the
mixing action takes place.
MIXING

 The material is fed from above and

held in the trough during mixing by an
air-operated piston under a pressure of
1 to 10 kgf/cm2.
 Mixed material is discharged through
a heavy sliding door which is provided
at the bottom of the trough.
 The heat generated is taken out by
spraying cooling water on the walls of
the mixing chamber and circulating it
through the hollow agitator shafts
during operation.

The banbury mixer is used mainly in plastic and rubber industries.

Muller Mixers
Mulling is a smearing or rubbing similar
to that in a mortar and pestle.
A muller mixture consists of a pan
incorporating muller wheels.
In one of the designs of muller mixer, the
pan is stationary and wheels rotate; while
in the other design, the pan is rotated and
the axis of the wheels is held stationary.

In the stationary pan muller mixer, the central vertical shaft is driven,
causing the muller wheels to roll in a circular path over a layer of solids
on the pan floor. Plows direct the solids under the muller wheels during
mixing or to an opening in the pan floor for the discharge of the mixer at
the end of the cycle. The muller wheels crush the material, breaking down
lumps and agglomerates.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLgq8rR34FE
 Capacity of the muller mixer ranges
from a fraction of cubic meter to
more than 1.6 m3 and the
corresponding power requirement
ranges from 1/3 to 75 hp.
 Mullers are used for handling
batches of heavy solids and pastes.
 These are also effective in
uniformly coating the particles of
granular solids with a small amount
of liquid.
TUMBLING MIXERS / TUMBLERS

In tumbling mixers, the mixing results from

repeatedly lifting and dropping the material and
rolling it over.

A large number of materials are mixed by

tumbling them in a partly filled container that
rotates about a horizontal axis.
Tumbling mixers such as double cone mixer
and twin shell blender are suitable for free
flowing dry powders.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4SpP13CjP8
TUMBLING MIXERS / TUMBLERS

The double cone mixer consists of a container

made up of two cones, base to base with or
without a cylindrical section in between.
The mixer is mounted so that it can be rotated
about an axis perpendicular to the line joining
the points of the cones.
The material to be mixed is charged to the
mixer from above until it is 50 to 60% full.
The ends of the container are closed and the
solids are tumbled for a period of about 5 – 20
min. Finally, mixed material is dropped out
from the bottom of the container into a
conveyor or bin
TUMBLING MIXERS / TUMBLERS

 The twin shell blender is formed out of

two short cylinders.
 These cylinders are joined to form a V-
shaped container (their axes are about 90°
to each other) and rotated about a
horizontal axis.
 It may contain internal sprays to introduce
small amounts of liquid into the mix or
mechanically driven devices to brake
agglomerates of solids.
 Tumbling mixers are capable of handling
large volumes, easily cleaned, and require
a little less power than ribbon blenders.
END OF UNIT - 5