Premium
Effect of impeller design and power consumption on crystal size distribution
Author(s) -
Rane Chinmay V.,
Ekambara Kalekudithi,
Joshi Jyeshtharaj B.,
Ramkrishna Doraiswami
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.14541
Subject(s) - impeller , computational fluid dynamics , mechanics , turbulence , rushton turbine , propeller , crystallization , turbine , flow (mathematics) , particle (ecology) , range (aeronautics) , particle size distribution , population , scaling , materials science , mechanical engineering , particle size , engineering , physics , mathematics , thermodynamics , marine engineering , geology , aerospace engineering , geometry , oceanography , demography , chemical engineering , sociology
Crystallization processes in a 500 mL stirred tank crystallizer with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and population balances toward estimating how crystal size distributions (CSDs) are influenced by flow inhomogeneities was explored. The flow pattern and CSD are presented here though extensive phase Doppler particle analyzer measurements and CFD predictions for three different impeller designs (disc turbine, pitched blade turbine, and Propeller) and each rotated at three different speeds (2.5, 5, and10 r/s). As crystallization processes in practice could involve break‐up and aggregation of crystals, some selected break‐up and aggregation kernels are incorporated. Extensive comparison of simulations with experimental data showed consistent trends in the proper quantitative range. An attempt has also been made to develop scaling laws: (a) mean particle size with average power consumption per unit mass and (b) particle‐size distribution with the turbulent energy dissipation distribution. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J , 60: 3596–3613, 2014