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Study of mixing behavior of cstr using CFD

Article  in  Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering · April 2014

DOI: 10.1590/S0104-66322014000100012

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 Brazilian Journal
of Chemical ISSN 0104-6632
Printed in Brazil
Engineering www.abeq.org.br/bjche

Vol. 31, No. 01, pp. 119 - 129, January - March, 2014

STUDY OF MIXING BEHAVIOR OF CSTR

USING CFD
D. Rajavathsavai, A. Khapre* and B. Munshi
Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology,
Phone: + 91 7894044869, Rourkela, 769008, Orissa, India.
E-mail: akhilesh_khapre@yahoo.co.in

(Submitted: July 8, 2012 ; Revised: March 13, 2013 ; Accepted: March 20, 2013)

Abstract - The continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) is a widely used equipment in chemical related
industries. The flow behaviour of fluid inside the reactor may either change from dispersion to ideal or ideal
to dispersion mixing state. It is studied using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation software
ANSYS Fluent. The mixing behaviour is predicted in terms of age distribution function, I ( θ). For the CSTR
without impeller and baffles, I ( θ) is found by the tracer injection method. It is measured and predicted by the
impeller swept volume method for the CSTR in the presence of impeller and baffles. The predicted results are
found to be in good agreement with the literature experimental data. Effect of rpm of the impeller, Reynolds
number and viscosity of the process fluid on the mixing characteristics has been investigated.
Keywords: Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD); CSTR; Age distribution function; Laminar flow.

INTRODUCTION The mixing performance of a CSTR can be

characterized by residence time distribution (RTD)
The efficiency of heat and mass transfer largely analysis. It provides information on how long the
depends on the extent of mixing. If the reactants are various fluid elements have been in the reactor. As
premixed, the reaction can start from the entry of the it gives a quantitative measure of the degree of
reactor. On the other hand, under non-premixed backmixing within a system, knowledge of the liquid
conditions, reactants must first come in contact and RTD is very important for designing a non-ideal
then undergo reaction. Physical phenomena/processes reactor (Fogler, 1999). Also, RTD represent a tool in
like diffusion, pumping of fluid in the reactor and successful process scale-up of chemical reactors.
mechanical agitation control the mixing (http://en. Many researchers have carried out experiments and
wikipidia.org/wiki/Continuous_reactor). Mixing due simulations (Arratia et al., 2004; Buflham, 1983;
to diffusion depends on concentration or temperature Danckwets, 1953 and 1958; Hocien et al., 2008;
gradients. This is commonly observed in micro reac- Levenspiel and Turner, 1970; Levenspiel et al., 1970;
tors. In larger reactors, mixing by diffusion is not Martin, 2000; Robinson and Tester, 1986; Trivedi
practically acceptable because of a low rate of and Vasudeva, 1974; Turner, 1982; Xiao-chang et al.,
mixing. In most cases, the continuous reactors use 2009; Yablonskya et al., 2009; Zwietering, 1959) on
mechanical agitation for mixing. Because of agita- RTD of CSTR.
tion, efficient mixing can occur irrespective of Lipowska (1974) found the RTD of the reactor
production capacity and viscosity of the fluid. The without and with baffles and moving stirrer. The
mechanical agitator provides better performance of purpose of his work was to find the tank Reynolds
CSTR, giving more conversion of reactant to number, which accounts for the inlet energy, suffi-
product. cient for ideal mixing conditions. He also found the

*To whom correspondence should be addressed

120 D. Rajavathsavai, A. Khapre and B. Munshi
 
minimum number of impeller rotations required to The foregoing discussion shows that Lipowska
reach ideal mixing in the moving stirrer case. For (1974) predicted experimentally and uniquely the
ideal mixing of the liquid solely by the inlet energy, mixing behaviour in terms of swept volume. This
the following relations must be obeyed (Burghardt demands a theoretical study so that the swept volume
and Lipowska, 1972): of impeller can be used as a design parameter to
calculate RTD of CSTR with different kinds of
4V *ρ impeller. In view of this, extensive results of a CFD
Re = ≥ 13.5 (1) study of RTD of CSTR are reported in the present
πDμ
communication for a range of swept volume due to
variation in speed of the impeller. The work covered
where Re is the tank Reynolds number based on the
here also includes a systematic study of the effect of
tank diameter D, and ρ and µ are the liquid density
impeller speed, viscosity of tank liquid and tank
and viscosities, respectively; V* is the inlet volumet-
Reynolds number on RTD of CSTR. The RTD of
ric flow rate. Eq. (1) was developed for fixed
CSTR without impeller is also studied numerically
diameters of the tank and inlet. Therefore, in terms
by observing the tracer (potassium chloride, KCl)
of inlet diameter, d, the inlet Reynolds number, Rein
concentration with time at the tank exit. The distribu-
can be written as: tion of KCl in the CSTR is obtained as a function of
tank Reynolds number for better understanding the
Re 4V *ρ nature of RTD of CSTR. Although the present study
Rein = = ≥ 347 (2)
d D π dμ focuses on mixing in terms of RTD of CSTR,
complementary evaluation of the hydrodynamic
Lipowska (1974) extended the work of Burghardt behaviour helps to understand it better.
and Lipowska (1972) to determine the dependency
of Re and Rein on the d/D ratio. The equations are:
CSTR GEOMETRY SPECIFICATION
1.09
⎛d⎞ A flat bottom baffled agitated vessel with a six
Re ≥ 569.1⎜ ⎟ (3)
⎝D⎠ bladed turbine disk impeller (Rushton turbine) used
in the experiments by Lipowska (1974) is shown
schematically in Figure 1. The CSTR is fitted with
0.09
⎛d⎞ four symmetric baffles at a 90o interval against the
Rein ≥ 569.1⎜ ⎟ (4)
⎝D⎠ tank wall. The dimensions of the tanks are given in
Table 1. The working fluid is a water-glycerin solu-
The above equation shows little effect of d/D tion and the properties of the solutions are given in
ratio on Rein . The equations allow us to calculate the Table 2 and Table 3.
minimum inlet volumetric flow necessary for the
ideal mixing of liquid without stirrer.
In the case of mixing with a mechanical stirrer,
the number of revolutions needed for ideal mixing
can be evaluated from:

0.088
⎛d⎞
N = 2428.2 Re −1.215 ⎜ ⎟ (5)
⎝D⎠

and the correlations for impeller Reynolds number,

Rem for ideal mixing is

0.088
N d m2 ρ ⎛d⎞
Rem = = 269.8 Re −0.215 ⎜ ⎟ (6) Figure 1: Schematic diagram of the CSTR: (1) Inlet;
μ ⎝D⎠ (2) Reactor Tank; (3) Baffles; (4) Impeller; (5) Outlet.

Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering

 Study of Mixing Behavior of CSTR Using CFD 121

Table 1: Dimensions of the CSTR.

Sr. No. Parameters Values

1 Tank diameter, D 0.099, 0.172, 0.250 m
2 Inlet diameter, d 0.002, 0.0072, 0.0088 m
3 No of baffles 4
4 Baffles width (bw) D/12
5 Type of stirrer Turbine disc impeller
6 Number of blades in the impeller 6
7 Ratio of impeller to the tank diameter (dm/D)=1/3
8 Length of the impeller blade, a (dm/4)
9 Height of the impeller blade, b dm/5
10 Clearance, C dm
11 Height of liquid, H D

Table 2: Parameters used for the CSTR without stirrer and baffles.

Sr. No. D (m) d (m) µ (cp) ρ (kg/m3) V* (l/hr) τ (min) Type of Flow
1 0.099 0.002 1 1000 0.621 72.6 Dispersion
2 0.099 0.002 1 1000 1.028 44.86 Dispersion
3 0.099 0.002 1 1000 1.563 29.33 Dispersion
4 0.099 0.002 1 1000 1.922 24.84 Ideal
5 0.250 0.002 7.75 1141 12.82 57.44 Dispersion
6 0.250 0.002 7.75 1141 12.30 61.07 Dispersion
7 0.250 0.002 7.75 1141 17.42 42.27 Ideal

Table 3: Parameters used for the CSTR with stirrer and baffles.

Sr. No. D (m) d (m) µ (cp) ρ (kg/m3) V* (l/hr) τ (min) N (rpm) Type of Flow
1 0.099 0.0072 9.2 1150 2.653 20.46 50 Dispersion
2 0.099 0.0072 9.2 1150 2.653 20.46 70 Dispersion
3 0.099 0.0072 9.2 1150 2.524 18.11 80 Ideal
4 0.099 0.0072 9.2 1150 2.524 18.11 90 Ideal
5 0.172 0.002 9.8 1183 12.24 19.58 20 Dispersion
6 0.172 0.002 9.8 1183 12.56 19.04 30 Dispersion
7 0.172 0.002 9.8 1183 12.56 19.04 35 Ideal
8 0.250 0.0088 19.7 1179 16.42 44.83 12 Dispersion
9 0.250 0.0088 19.7 1179 16.50 44.60 20 Dispersion
10 0.250 0.0088 19.7 1179 16.50 44.60 25 Ideal
11 0.250 0.0088 19.7 1179 16.50 44.60 40 Ideal

In ANSYS FLUENT, the default method of as the stirrer. The stationary zone includes the rest of
solution of the equations is in a stationary reference the control volume comprised of baffles, tank and
frame. However, some problems can be solved fluid inside the CSTR. The geometry and mesh are
advantageously in a moving reference frame where prepared in the ANSYS workbench and shown in
the whole computational domain moves, called a Figure 2 (a) and (b). The complicated CSTR geometry
single reference frame approach. But for more is meshed using an unstructured tetrahedral mesh.
complex problems, it is necessary to use Multiple There are three ways, namely coarse, medium and
Reference Frame (MRF) with the combination of fine mesh, to develop an unstructured mesh. The fine
stationary and moving reference frame. Here, the unstructured mesh is used finally to make sure of the
computational domain is divided into moving and stability and accuracy of the computed results. The
stationary zones with well defined interfaces be- unstructured tetrahedral mesh with 735231, 814782
tween the zones. The quantities such as velocity, and 874273 cells, covering the whole volume of the
pressure etc. are exchanged across the interface tanks with 0.099 m, 0.172 m and 0.250 m diameter,
between the zones. The transient behaviour of respectively, was used in the simulation work. As
moving part systems can be captured by a sliding expected, a dense mesh at the inlet, outlet of the tank
mesh approach under the MRF model. The moving and nearer to the stirrer surface are observed in
zone includes stirrer and rotates with the same speed Figure 2 (b).

Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol. 31, No. 01, pp. 119 - 129, January - March, 2014
122 D. Rajavathsavai, A. Khapre and B. Munshi
 

(a) (b)

Figure 2: (a) Computational domain; (b) Computational Mesh.

GOVERNING EQUATIONS AND SOLUTION from the solution of the species transport equation.
ALGORITHM This equation for a non-reacting mixture can be
expressed in the following form:
The flow prediction procedure is based on the
numerical solution of the three dimensional, time- ∂ ∂ ∂ ⎛ ∂ωk ⎞
dependent continuity and momentum equations. The
∂t
(ρωk ) +
∂x j
(
ρu j ωk = ) ⎜⎜ ρDeff
∂x j ⎝
⎟
∂x j ⎟⎠
(10)
general conservation of mass or continuity can be
written as follows (ANSYS FLUENT 12 Theory guide,
2009): where ωk is the mass fraction of the k th species and
Deff is the effective diffusivity of the species in the
∂ρ G
+ ∇. ( ρυ ) = 0 (7) mixture.
∂t
Lipowska (1974) used a step change of potassium
G chloride (KCl) concentration in the feed to find the
where υ is the velocity vector.
RTD of CSTR. But he did not specify the value of
The Navier Stokes equations is given as
concentration of KCl in the feed stream. Thus, it
becomes difficult to guess it exactly. Fortunately, the
∂ G GG G G
(ρυ ) + ∇. (ρυυ ) = −∇p + ∇. ( τ ) + ρg + F (8) expression for the RTD function, I ( θ ) (internal age
∂t
distribution function), for the moving impeller CSTR
is given as:
where p is the static pressure and τ is the stress
G G
tensor (Eq. (9)); g and F are the gravitational body ⎡ ⎛V* ⎞ ⎤
I ( θ ) = exp ⎢ − ⎜ + 1⎟ θ⎥ (11)
force and external body forces respectively. The ⎜ ⎟
⎣⎢ ⎝ Q ⎠ ⎥⎦
stress tensor τ is given by:
where θ = t τ , τ is the holdup time of liquid in the
(
⎡ G G
)
2 G ⎤
τ = μ ⎢ ∇υ + ∇υT − ∇.υI ⎥
⎣ 3 ⎦
(9) tank, V * is the inlet volumetric flow rate, Q is the im-
peller pumping capacity.
where μ is the molecular viscosity, I is the unit Q = 2.3Nd m2 b cm3/sec (12)
tensor, and the second term on the right hand side is
the effect of volume dilatation. where N is the rpm of the impeller. According to
Simulation of mixing was carried out by intro-
Eq. (11), mixing is ideal when V * Q → 0 .
ducing a secondary liquid as an inert tracer into the
primary liquid in the vessel. The temporal and spatial In general, the expression of Q for impeller is
distributions of the tracer concentration were obtained (Mishra et al., 1998):
Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering
 Study of Mixing Behavior of CSTR Using CFD 123

D /2 z2 Seidel iterative method (ANSYS FLUENT 12 Theory

Q = 2π ∫0 ( rν )
z ∫
dr + πD ν r
z1
dz (13) guide, 2009). The hydrodynamics equations of
CSTR without KCl species are solved first by steady
z1 D /2 state solver to achieve an initial hydrodynamic
condition for the transient solver. Under convergence
where D , νr and ν z are respectively impeller di- of hydrodynamics equations, KCl is introduced in
ameter, radial velocity, and axial velocity; z1 and z2 the tank by a step change. The mass fraction
are the boundaries of the impeller-swept volume in equations for KCl along with the hydrodynamic
the axial direction. equations are then solved by the unsteady state
The time constant or holdup time of the reactor, method using the previously calculated steady state
τ, is defined as initial condition. The time increment is taken as 10-3
second, and 30 iterations per time step, which is
V enough to achieve a converged solution at each time
τ= (14) step, are taken in the simulation. All dependent
V* variables are modified by the under relaxation
The above equation is used to find the liquid method, and used in the next iteration until the
volume, V , inside the reactor for a given τ. solutions converged. The values of under-relaxation
factors for pressure, momentum, density, body forces
The inlet volumetric flow rate is evaluated from
*
and KCl mass equations are 0.3, 0.7, 1.0, 1.0 and 1.0,
V = Ain uin , where Ain is the inlet normal cross sec- respectively. The convergence criteria, i.e., residual
tional area and uin is the net inlet velocity. of all the discretized equations, are satisfactorily
In CSTR without stirrer and baffles, the definition taken as 10-3, and no further change in the results
of Q is not valid. Hence, different KCl concentra- was observed with further reduction of the residual
value. An overall mass balance is checked at each
tions in the feed are taken in the simulation for
time step. In the computations, the inlet flow rates
finding I ( θ) using the following expression:
and rotation of the impeller are changed from lower
to higher values until the computed I ( θ) matches
C0+ − C ( t )
I ( θ) = (15) with the ideal mixing line, exp ( −θ ) .
C0+ − C0−

where the KCl concentration in the inlet changes

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
from C0− to C0+ , and C ( t ) is the concentration of KCl
in the outlet at any time, t. The molecular diffusivity Study on Mixing without Stirrer and Baffles
of KCl in the solution is taken as 1.95 x 10-9 m2/s
(Harned and Nuttall, 1949). The contours of tracer concentration throughout
In the simulation work, laminar flow with the the reservoir along time are very interesting because
MRF model is used. The governing equations for the they provide a good perspective on the evaluation of
axial, radial and tangential velocities; and the tracer the concentration fronts. The concentration of KCl at
concentration ( c ) are discretized using the finite- the outlet of the tank is measured for a range of its
volume method. The convective terms of the govern- mass fraction from 10-4 to 10-6 at the inlet.
ing equations are discretized using a first order Potassium chloride (KCl) is injected into the tank
upwind differencing scheme. The transient terms are as tracer and its concentration is noted with time at
discretized using a first order implicit scheme. A no- the outlet. Using the parameters given in Table 2, the
slip boundary condition is used for all the solid computations are carried out with very low inlet
surfaces. Velocity at the inlet is specified. At the exit concentration of KCl with mass fraction in the range
of the CSTR, the gauge pressure is taken as zero. of 10-4 to 10-6. For CSTR without impeller and
The rotation of the impeller is specified. The baffles, contours of mass fraction of KCl at different
operating condition of the system is 293 K and times are shown in Figure 3. The comparison reveals
101325 Pa. Finally, the discretized Navier–Stokes that KCl reaches closer to the outlet with an increase
equations coupled with a pressure correction in Re. This happens due to jet-like movement of KCl
equation are solved, together with the discretized with inlet fluid towards the opposite wall, and then
equations for tracer component balance equation, its movement up along the wall surface. Due to the
iteratively using the SIMPLE (Semi-Implicit Method increase in inlet energy with Re, the homogeneity of
for Pressure-Linked Equation) algorithm and Gauss- the liquid in CSTR increases.

Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol. 31, No. 01, pp. 119 - 129, January - March, 2014
124 D. Rajavathsavai, A. Khapre and B. Munshi
 

(i) at θ = 0.4 (ii) at θ = 1 (iii) at θ = 2

Figure 3: (a) The contours of KCl mass fraction for Re = 2.25, D = 0.099 m, d = 0.002 m, µ = 1 cP and
ρ = 1000 kg/m3 for the CSTR without impeller; (i) θ = 0.4, (ii) θ = 1, (iii) θ = 2

(i) at θ = 0.4 (ii) at θ =1 (iii) at θ = 2

Figure 3: (b) The contours of KCl mass fraction for Re = 5.57, D = 0.099 m, d = 0.002m, µ = 1 cP and
ρ = 1000 kg/m3 for the CSTR without impeller; (i) θ = 0.4, (ii) θ = 1, (iii) θ = 2.

The mixing behaviour is quantitatively predicted

by I ( θ). It is calculated by Eq. (15) using the
simulated exit concentration of KCl at the outlet of
the CSTR. The predicted I ( θ) are compared with
both the experimental data of Lipowska (1974) and
the ideal mixing line. These are depicted in Figure 4
and Figure 5, and also tabulated in Table 2. The
results show an excellent agreement with the
experimental results. The analysis reveals that, with
increasing tank Reynolds number (Re), the hydro-
dynamics of CSTR approaches dispersion flow to the
ideal mixing state. If KCl enters the tank through a
larger diameter inlet, it spreads more in the bulk
liquid inside the tank compared to the lower diameter Figure 4: Plot of I ( θ) vs. θ for a CSTR without
inlet. Therefore, the system approaches the ideal stirrer and baffles and with D = 0.099 m, d = 0.002
mixing state at a much lower value of the Reynolds m, µ = 1 cP and ρ = 1000 kg/m3. The KCl inlet mass
number as the inlet tube diameter increases from fraction, for Re = 2.25 and 3.64 is 10-4; for Re = 5.57
0.002 m to 0.0088 m. is 10-5; for Re = 6.85 is 10-6.

Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering

 Study of Mixing Behavior of CSTR Using CFD 125

At the bottom surface of the CSTR, Z is 0. The

velocities are normalized by the impeller tip velocity
(Vtip = πND ). The rotation of the impeller in the tank
forms a typical double loop circulation. An effect of
impeller speed on the velocity profiles at different
tank diameter is clearly visible. The inlet to the
CSTR is positioned closer to the stirrer and, hence,
more asymmetry in the flow field is observed closer
to the impeller surface. An increase in symmetry in
the velocity profile is observed at higher axial
position. This happens because of the mechanical
energy imparted by the impeller superseding the inlet
Figure 5: Plot of I (θ) vs. θ for a CSTR without flow energy. The interaction of inlet fluid energy
stirrer and baffles and with D = 0.250 m, d = 0.0088 m, with impeller energy results in more mixing of the
µ = 7.75 cP and ρ = 1000 kg/m3. The KCl inlet mass fluid. A maximum velocity is observed nearer the
fraction, for Re = 2.34 and 2.60 is 10-4; for Re = 3.18 right wall of the tank and just above the impeller.
is 10-6. This occurs due to the presence of the inlet on the
same side and also due to the appearance of stronger
Study on Mixing with Stirrer and Baffles recirculation above the impeller. The velocity profile
For the moving impeller case, the resulting veloc- ensures the proportionate variation of local velocities
with impeller speeds. Nearer to the top surface, the
ity distributions in the radial direction at different
maximum velocity is obtained nearer the rotating
axial positions are shown in Figure 6.
shaft surface.
A comparison of the Fluent predicted I ( θ) and
that measured experimentally by Lipowska (1974)
obtained by the tracer injection method is presented
graphically in Figures 7, 8 and 9 for different rpm.
Eq. (12) shows that the value of Q is constant for a
particular impeller with fixed angular motion. Thus,
the value of V * / Q is also constant for a particular run.
Therefore, the variation of I ( θ) with θ should be
linear on a semi-log graph. The linear variation is
also observed in the present work. At lower impeller
speed, the mismatch between the experimental data
and the present values is obvious. But a careful
(a)
observation shows that the computed values can
predict the nature of fluid mixing perfectly, as
mentioned in Table 3. According to Eq. (11), I ( θ)
becomes ideal mixing internal age distribution func-
tion as V * / Q tends to zero. This may be possible by
increasing the rpm of the impeller. Therefore, the
computed I ( θ) approaches the ideal mixing line with
the increase in impeller rotation ( N ) and the graphs
depict that, at higher values of N , the CFD results
are in excellent agreement with the experimental
data. In the figures it is also noticed that, at the initial
moment, there is a transient Q up to a certain θ, and
(b)
hence there is a relatively better agreement of the
Figure 6: Velocity profile with radial position at differ- computed I ( θ) with the experimental data. The study
ent axial positons for a CSTR with moving impeller also shows that the required rpm of the impeller
and baffles, for D = 0.099 m, d = 0.0072 m, µ = 9.2 cP decreases to reach the ideal mixing state with an
and ρ = 1145 kg/m3; (a) N = 50 rpm, (b) N = 90 rpm. increase in diameter of the vessel.

Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol. 31, No. 01, pp. 119 - 129, January - March, 2014
126 D. Rajavathsavai, A. Khapre and B. Munshi
 

Figure 7: Plot of I ( θ) vs. θ for a CSTR with stirrer Figure 8: Plot of I ( θ) vs. θ for a CSTR with stirrer
and baffles and with D = 0.099 m, d = 0.0072 m, and baffles and with D = 0.172 m, d = 0.002 m,
µ = 9.2 cP and ρ = 1145 kg/m3. µ = 9.8 cP and ρ = 1163 kg/m3.

Figure 9: Plot of I ( θ) vs. θ for a CSTR with stirrer and baffles and with D = 0.250 m, d = 0.0088 m,
µ = 19.7 cP and ρ = 1179 kg/m3.

Effect of Tank Reynolds Number, Impeller Rotation

and Viscosity of the Liquid on the Mixing

Simulations have been carried out to examine the

influence of parameters on I ( θ) and also to carry
out a qualitative comparison of the mixing behav-
iour. The effect of Re, N and fluid viscosity on the
mixing behavior of the liquid in a CSTR is studied.
Figure 10 represents the effect of Re on I ( θ) at
constant impeller rotation, N = 50 rpm. At Re 0.98,
dispersion flow occurs, at Re 1.03 the mixing line
goes relatively closer to ideal mixing line, and
further increase in Re to 1.5 and then to 2.03 results
in the mixing line following the ideal mixing line. Figure 10: Effect of tank Reynolds number, Re on
The energy of the inlet flow increases with an I ( θ) for a CSTR with stirrer and baffles and with
increase in V * , which increases proportionately with D = 0.099 m, d = 0.0066 m, N = 50 rpm, µ = 9.2 cP.
Re. This inlet energy helps to mix the liquid. There-
The effect of impeller rpm on the mixing
fore, I ( θ) approaches the ideal mixing line with an efficiency is demonstrated in Figure 11. It can be
increase in Re as observed in Figure 8. observed that the nature of the flow changes from
Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering
 Study of Mixing Behavior of CSTR Using CFD 127

dispersion to an ideal mixing state with the increase Viscosity of the fluid has a certain effect on the
in N . A distinct dispersion flow happens at N equal hydrodynamic and mixing behavior of the liquid.
to 30 and 40 (these two curves are superimposed), The effect of viscosity of the liquid on I ( θ) at
and also at 50, whereas at N = 80 the mixing is very different impeller speeds is shown in Figure 12. The
near to the ideal mixing condition. This happens effect of viscosity on I ( θ) at high N is just the re-
naturally as it is well known that the amount of
verse of the effect observed at lower values of N .
mechanical energy imparted to the fluid increases
with an increase in N , and hence more mixing. Figure 12 (c) and (d) show that the mixing of the liquid
moves towards the ideal mixing state with an in-
crease in viscosity at rpm 50 and 70, whereas it
moves away from the ideal mixing line for rpm 25
and 12 as observed in Figure 12 (a) and (b). For a
particular Re, V * increases with viscosity. In addition to
this, the impeller does more mechanical work at
higher values of N , and it makes the viscous force
negligible. Thus, the increase of V * results in more
mixing of the liquid in CSTR. The mixing of liquid
therefore moves towards the ideal mixing condition
at higher impeller rotation. But at lower values of
N , the amount of energy transferred by the impeller
to the liquid is relatively low, and it becomes insuffi-
Figure 11: Effect of N on I ( θ) for a CSTR with cient to overcome the viscous force. Due to domina-
stirrer and baffles and with D = 0.250 m, d = 0.0066 tion of the viscous force at lower N, the mixing line
m, µ = 9.2 cP, ρ = 1145 kg/m3 and Re = 1.03. moves away from the ideal mixing line.

(a) (b)

(c) (d)
Figure 12: Effect of viscosity of the liquid on I ( θ) for a CSTR with stirrer and baffles with D = 0.099 m,
d = 0.0066 m, Re = 1.03: (a) N = 10 rpm; (b) N = 25 rpm; (c) N = 50 rpm and (d) N = 70 rpm.
Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol. 31, No. 01, pp. 119 - 129, January - March, 2014
128 D. Rajavathsavai, A. Khapre and B. Munshi
 
CONCLUSION ρ Density kg/m3
θ Dimensionless time (-)
CFD simulations have been carried out success- σ Variance of the residence (-)
fully to predict the mixing behavior of liquid in a time distribution
CSTR. The conclusions may be summarized as follows:
1. The mixing predictions have been found to be
in good agreement with the experimental results REFERENCES
available in the open literature.
2. The simulation results prove that the swept ANSYS FLUENT 12.0 Theory Guide, ANSYS Inc.
volume of the impeller can be used to predict I (θ) of (2009).
the CSTR with impeller and baffles. Arratia, P. E., Lacombe, J. P., Shinbrot, T. and Muzzio,
3. Effects of rpm of the impeller, tank Reynolds F. J., Segregated regions in continuous laminar
number (Re) and viscosity of the liquid on I ( θ) stirred tank reactors. Chemical Engineering Sci-
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Brazilian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol. 31, No. 01, pp. 119 - 129, January - March, 2014

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