Chapter 6: Mixing Process; Mixers; Handling and Transport of

Solids

 Mixing Process and Mixers

 Handling and Transport of Solids

Experiment 8: Mixing, Rheology, Power consumption in Agitated Vessels.

Experiment 9: Pneumatic transport
  Mixing Process and Mixers
 Mixing is one of the most common operation carried out in the
chemical, processing industries.
 The term 'mixing' is applied to processes used to reduce the degree of
non- uniformity, or gradient of a property in a system such as:
 Concentration,
 Viscosity,
 Temperature and so on.
 Mixing is achieved by moving material from one region to another.
 Mixing may be of interest simply as a means to achieve a desired degree of
homogeneity, but it may be of interest simply to promote:
 Heat and
 Mass transfer
 …Cont.
 For example, the rotational speed of an impeller in a mixing
vessel is selected so as to achieve a required rate of heat
transfer.
 Excessive or over mixing should be avoided as it is not only
wasteful of energy but may detrimental/ unfavorable to
product quality.
 For instance, in biological applications, excessively high
impeller speeds may damage the structure of the polymer
molecules, thereby altering their properties.
 …Cont.
Liquid mixing

 The following factors must be taken into account when choosing equipment
for mixing liquids:
1. Batch or continuous operation
2. Nature of the process: miscible liquids, preparation of solutions, or
dispersion of immiscible liquids.
3. Degree of mixing required.
4. Physical properties of the liquids, particularly the viscosity
5. Whether the mixing is associated with other operations: reaction, heat
transfer.
 For the continuous mixing of low viscosity fluids inline mixers can be used.
 For other mixing operations stirred vessels or proprietary mixing equipment
will be required.
 Mixers
Inline mixing
 Static devices which promote turbulent mixing in pipelines provide an
inexpensive way of continuously mixing fluids.
 A simple mixing tee, followed by a length of pipe equal to 10 to 20 pipe
diameters, is suitable for mixing low viscosity fluids (<50 mN s/m2)
providing the flow is turbulent, and the densities and flow-rates of the
fluids are similar.
 …Cont.
Injection Mixers
 With injection mixers, one fluid is introduced into the flowing stream of
the other through a concentric pipe or an annular diffusion.
 Such devices should be used where one flow is much lower than the
other, and will give a satisfactory blend.
 The inclusion of baffles or other flow restrictions will reduce the
mixing length required.
 The static inline mixer is effective in both laminar and turbulent flow,
and can be used to mix viscous mixtures.
 …Cont.
Stirred tanks
 Mixing vessels fitted with some form of agitator
are the most commonly used type of
equipment for blending liquids and preparing
solutions.
 Mixing occurs through the bulk flow of the
liquid and, on a microscopic scale, by the
motion of the turbulent eddies created by the
agitator.
 Bulk flow is the predominant mixing
mechanism required for the blending of
miscible liquids and for solids suspension.

 Turbulent mixing is important in operations

involving mass and heat transfer.
 …Cont.
Impeller types
 …Cont.
 Paddle, anchor and helical ribbon agitators and other special shapes, are used
for more viscous fluids.
 Transportation and storage of solids in bulk
 Storage of solids
 Bulk storage
 When hundreds or thousands of tons of materials are involved (like
gravel and coal), storing outside in large piles is the most economical
method.
 But, this outside storage can lead to environmental problems, such as:-
 Dusting (can be controlled by covering).
 Leaching of soluble materials (can be controlled by covering
the pile or locating it in a shallow basin).
 …Cont.

 Solids that are too valuable or too soluble to expose in outdoor piles
are stored in bins, hoppers, or silos.
 These are cylindrical or rectangular vessels made out of concrete or
metal.
 Silo: tall and relatively small in diameter.
 Bin: not tall but wider
 Hopper: is a small vessel with a sloping bottom for temporary
storage before feeding solids to a process.
Cont’d
Hopper

Bin

Silo
 Transport Of Solids By Mechanical Conveyors
 Conveyors- a mechanized device used to move materials in relatively large
quantities between specific locations over a fixed path.
 Belt conveyors
 Belt conveyors: where the solids are conveyed horizontally, or at small angles to
the horizontal, on a continuous moving belt.
 Conveyor belts are used in a wide variety of material transport applications such
as manufacturing, food processing, and heavy industry.
 Commercial applications include:
– Agriculture
– Construction - heavy building materials
– Food and beverage processing
– Forestry - logging, pulp and paper , etc.
– Mining and quarrying
– Factory production line
Cont’d

Belt conveyors
 Cont’d
 Screw Conveyors
 Screw conveyors: in which the solids are moved along a pipe or channel by a
rotating helical impeller, as in a screw lift elevator.
 Spiral conveyors are used mainly for heating, cooling.
 Screw conveyors use a rotating screw in a channel or tube to move material.
 Primarily run on a continuous motor that is simply on or off
 Used in the pharmaceutical, food, and manufacturing industries
 Useful for accumulation, drying, or moving vertically in a small space

Screw conveyors
 Cont’d
 Bucket Elevators
 Bucket Elevators:- in which the particles are carried upwards in
buckets attached to a continuously moving vertical belt.
 Used where there is need of vertical conveying of materials.
 Used for conveying powdered, granular and lumpy materials.
 Extensively employed in building materials chemical industries plant etc.
 Cont’d
 Vibrating Conveyors
 Vibrating Conveyors:- in which the particles are subjected to an asymmetric
vibration and travel in a series of steps over a table.

 During the forward stroke of the table, the particles are carried forward in contact
with it.
 With fine powders, vibration of sufficient intensity results in a fluid-like
behavior.
 Used in pharmaceutical and mining industries.
 Cont’d

Vibrating Conveyors
 Cont’d
 Chain conveyors
 Chain conveyor on which material is transported along solid pans by the
scraping action of cross bars that are connected by chains.
 Chain conveyors use belts or rollers to move objects
 Can handle loads of up 9071Kg
 Speeds of up to 60 fpm (18.288m/min), but depend on size of object, for
safety reasons.
 Hydraulic and Pneumatic Transport
 Pneumatic/Hydraulic Conveying: in which the particles are transported in a
stream of air/water.
 One of the main advantages of pneumatic conveying is the complete enclosure of
the product.
 Done for a wide variety of solid particles, from wheat flour to wheat
grain, plastic chips or coal.
 Two different types:
 Dilute (or Lean) Phase Flow: dilute suspensions (less then 1% by volume) at
high gas velocities (>20 m/s) and low pressure drops per unit length (less than
5 mbar/m).
 Dense Phase Transport: not fully suspended particles at lower gas
fraction (solid concentration >30 % by volume) and lower gas velocities (1-
5 m/s) but high pressure drops (>20 mbar/m).
Cont’d
 Cont’d
 The advantage of dense phase conveying over dilute phase
include:-
 Considerably lower product degradation from particle-wall
collusions and much lower energy costs because the air velocities
are much less than during dilute phase flow.
 The blower might need to produce lower gas velocities, but provide
higher pressure.
 The lower velocities found in dense phase systems lead to lower
maintenance requirements for such systems.
Cont’d
 Cont’d
The advantages of pipes are:
Can easily alter the flow route
Have few moving parts
Low maintenance
Easy control and the ability to handle a range of products.
Suitable for most chemical and food processes
The main disadvantages of pipes are:
High power
Limited distance
Limited throughput
Expensive for low value products
…Cont.