Chemical Engineering Journal, Vol.84, No.3, 325-333, 2001
Suspension of floating solids with up-pumping pitched blade impellers; mixing time and power characteristics
Floating solids suspension in water has been studied using up-pumping pitched blade turbines (PTU). Studies were performed to determine optimum geometry and hydrodynamic characteristics of Agitated systems for floating solids suspension. The impact of floating solids concentrations and particle size on the mixing time, t(m), the just completely suspended impeller speeds, N-JS, and the power consumption were examined. The effects of impeller diameter and its off-bottom clearance as well as the impeller blade angle on mentioned parameters were also observed. The mixing time of suspended system was measured by a conductivity technique using the sodium chloride solution as tracer, whereas, power consumption was measured by the torque table. The efficiency of PTU impellers was compared to that of other, more conventional impellers. Obtained results point to the fact that the PTU may be a viable option if the floating slurry process requires the state of complete solids suspension and its longer time maintenance.