Effects of geometric parameters on volumetric mass transfer coefficient of non-Newtonian fluids in stirred tanks

Abstract Scaling up stirred tanks is a significant challenge because of the research gaps between laboratory and industrial-scale setups. It is necessary to understand the effects of scale-up on the mass transfer in stirred tanks, and this requires meticulous experimental analysis. The present study investigates the effects of tank size and aspect ratio ( H L T $\sfrac{{H}_{L}}{T}$ ) on the volumetric mass transfer coefficients of shear-thinning fluids. The experiments were conducted in three stirred tanks of different sizes (laboratory and pilot scale) and geometries (standard and nonstandard). H L T $\sfrac{{H}_{L}}{T}$ was 1 for the standard tanks and 3.5 for the nonstandard stirred tanks. Three sizes of stirred tanks were used: 11 L with H L T $\sfrac{{H}_{L}}{T}$ of 1, 40 L with H L T $\sfrac{{H}_{L}}{T}$ of 3.5, and 47 L with H L T $\sfrac{{H}_{L}}{T}$ of 1. Impeller stirring speeds and gas flow rates were in the range of 800–900 rev min−1 and 8–10 L min−1, respectively. The volumetric mass transfer coefficient was estimated based on the dissolved oxygen concentration in the fluids, and the effects of rheology and operating conditions on the volumetric mass transfer coefficient were observed. The volumetric mass transfer coefficient decreased as tank size increased and increased with an increase in operating conditions, but these effects were also clearly influenced by fluid rheology. The impacts of scale-up and operating conditions on the volumetric mass transfer coefficient decreased as liquid viscosity increased.

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