Drawdown mechanism of light particles in baffled stirred tank for the KR desulphurization process

To improve the efficiency of the desulfurization process, the drawdown mechanism of light particles in stirred tank is studied in this paper. For both up and down pumping modes, the just drawdown speeds(Njd) of floating particles in transformative Kanbara Reactor(KR) are measured in one and four baffled stirred tanks experimentally. Then numerical simulations with standard k-ε model coupled with volume of fluid model(VOF) and discrete phase model(DPM) are conducted to analyze the flow field at the just drawdown speed Njd. The torques on the impeller obtained from experiments and simulations agree well with each other, which indicates the validity of our numerical simulations. Based on the simulations, three main drawdown mechanisms for floating particles, the axial circulation, turbulent fluctuation and largescale eddies, are analyzed. It's found that the axial circulation dominates the drawdown process at small submergence(S = 1/4 T and 1/3 T) and the large-scale eddies play a major role at large submergence(S = 2/3 T and 3/4 T). Besides, the turbulent fluctuation affects the drawdown process significantly for up pumping mode at small submergence(S = 1/4 T and 1/3 T) and for down pumping mode at large submergence(S = 2/3 T and 3/4 T). This paper helps to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the KR desulphurizer drawdown process in the baffled stirred tank.

Effects of geometrical and physical factors on light particles dispersion by agitation characteristic curve

In this study,the effects of geometrical and physical factors on light particles dispersion in stirred tank were investigated by agitation characteristic curve.The experiments and CFD simulations with discrete phase model(DPM)and volume of fluid model(VOF)were conducted in this paper.Five factors,which include four geometrical factors(submergence,impeller-to-tank ratio,number of impeller blades and baffling mode)and a physical factor(liquid viscosity)were considered.For each factor,the power consumption curve and agitation characteristic curve were drawn to compare the power consumption and mixing results in the stirred tank.Characteristics of the agitation characteristic curves were compared with the previous published literatures and theories.It is found that the agitation characteristic curves reflect the tendency of power consumption and particles distribution well in stirred tank.The good agreement indicates the applicability of the agitation characteristic curves for the study of light particles distribution in stirred tank.

Effects of surface vortex on the drawdown and dispersion of floating particles in stirred tanks

The effects of surface vortex on the drawdown and dispersion of floating particles in stirred tanks were investigated.Particle distribution and power consumption were analyzed by experiments and numerical simulations in both baffled and unbaffled tanks agitated by a Rushton impeller.In unbaffled tanks,a non-aggregation rule was applied and the average dispersion index was found to serve as a reasonable prediction of the full drawdown of floating particles.The critical impeller speeds in an unbaffled tank were higher than those in a tank with vertical baffles.At each immersion depth in a baffled tank,particles distributed more uniformly and more power was consumed.Comparison of snapshots of the baffled and unbaffled tanks shows that the surface vortex increases the drawdown speed while it decreases the particle distribution uniformity and power consumption.Therefore,the use of baffles to suppress the surface vortex provides for a more uniform particle distribution in stirred tanks.