SUSPENSION OF SOLID PRTICLES

SUSPENSION- disperse system in which one substance is distributed

in particulate form to another
- dispherse phase, continuous phase
COARSE SUSPENSION
- mean diameter: > 1um
COLLOIDAL SUSPENSION - mean diameter: <1 um
SUSPENDED SOLIDS- small solid particles which remain
suspension in water
PURPOSE:
-produce homogeneous mixture for feeding to a process
unit
-dissolve the solids
-catalyze a chemical reaction
-promote growth of crystalline product from supersaturated
solution
*suspension of solids in an agitated vesel is somewhat like fluidization
of solids with liquids
* fluid flow pattern created by agitator, has regions of horizontal,
upward and downward flow
*HIGHER AVERAGE VELOCITIES-needed to keep the solids in
suspension in a tank
OPTIMIZED SOLIDS SUSPENSION
"Achieving a uniform dispersion of solids in a product is
critical to your products quality"
MIX SOLIDS IN FLUID: particulates that cannot dissolve in liquids
will either sink to the bottom of the tank or
stick together and agglomerate
MAIN OBJECTIVES OF SOLID AND LIQUID SUSPENSIONS
- avoiding solids accumulation in a stirred tank
-maximizing the contact area between solids in a liquid
-ensuring the solid particles are uniformly distributed
throughout the tank
*goal is to bring the mixture into specification and keep it there
GOOD MIXING BEGINS WITH THE IMPELLER
-impellers are designed to pump and create turbulence
PUMPING- produce fluid velocity
TURBULENCE-produce fluid shear
DEGREES OF SUSPENSION
-states of suspension (Kraume, 1992)
1. NEARLY COMPLETE SUSPENSION WITH FILLETING
-solid is suspended in the liquid with few % of stationary
fillets of solid
-for crystallization, presence of fillets would be undesirable
2. COMPLETER PARTICLE MOTION
-all the particles are either suspended or moving along
the bottom
-particles moving on the bottom have lower mass transfer
coefficient than suspended particles
3. COMPLETE SUSPENSION/ COMPLETE OFF-BOTTOM
SUSPENSION

-all the particles are suspended off the tank bottom or do not
stay at bottom for 1 or 2 seconds
-there will be concentration gradient in suspension and
region of clear liquid near the top of the tank
-mass transfer coefficient will not increase very much with
further increases in stirrer speed
4.UNIFORM SUSPENSION
-there is no longer any clear fluid near the top of the tank
-suspension appears uniform
-there still be vertical concentration gradients
*terminal velocity of free-settling particles can be calculated using
the drag coefficient curve
*it is more difficult to suspend particles that have high settling velocity
*limiting factor-is the liquid velocity near the bottom
*to get complete suspension, the velocity is many times the settling
velocity
ZWITTERINGS CORRELATIONSTUDIES MADE:
1. RAO ET AL
-nc varied with Da-0.85
-P/V varies with Da-0.55
-A six-blade turbine was used with W/Da = 0.30
2.CHUDACEK
-used narrower turbines (W/Da =0.20) but the
same suspension criterion
-P/V increases somewhat with Da
-for 98 percent complete suspension, P/V was
30 to 50 percent
3. BUURMAN ET AL
- tests were made in dished-bottom tanks using
four-blade stirrers with W/Da =0.25.
-ultrasound Doppler meter was used to measure
velocity near the bottom
-These tests showed that nc varied with Da-2/3
and P/V was independent of Da
4. CONNOLLY AND WINTER
-strongest dependence of P/V on Da and the
highest power consumptions
-recommended applying constant torque
per unit volume,
-nDa constant and P/V proportional to Da-1.
-did not measure the minimum stirrer speed