3.3. Mixing
When a two-impeller system is able to transfer oxygen at larger
rates from the dispersed gas phase into the continuous liquid phase
than the 3-impeller version,the immediate question arises whether
or not one must pay for this advantage by a decrease in the mixing
performance.
To answer the question, mixing time experiments were performed
with salt pulses and conductivity probe measurements.
The results, displayed in Fig. 8, clearly showed that the mixing
times, are shorter for the 2-impeller version. Hence, two impellers
are not only favorable with respect to mass transfer but also to
mixing.
These results appear to be plausible when remembering that
flow compartments are developing around each impeller in a
multistage impeller system and that top-to-bottom mixing proceeds
stepwise from compartment to compartment. The more
impellers are installed on the same stirrer shaft, the more the top-to-bottom-mixing
process is retarded by fluid recirculation within
the compartments.
The measurement results were qualitatively confirmed with the
iodine decolorization experiments in model media that start with
a nearly black solution of iodine–iodide which was then decolorized
by adding a pulse of thiosulfate to the top surface of the
liquid. With video cameras one can simply observe the transport
of thiosulfate through a transparent Plexiglas vessel and the most
important point to note is that the progress of the top to bottom
mixing appears stepwise from impeller to impeller.The flow compartments developing around each impeller
thus act as resistances to a direct flow of the reactant through the
vessel.This question was additionally investigated by CFD computations
of mixing time measurements using up-to-date CFD programs