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# Institution of Chemical Engineers
www.ingentaselect.com=titles=02638762.htm Trans IChemE, Vol 81, Part A, August 2003
REVIEW PAPER
T
his paper summarizes the eld of static mixers including recent improvements and
applications to industrial processes. The most commonly used static mixers are
described and compared. Their respective advantages and limitations are emphasized.
Efciencies of static mixers are compared based both on theory and experimental results from
the literature. The operations, which can benet from the use of static mixers, are explored,
namely, mixing of miscible uids, liquidliquid and gasliquid interface generation, liquid
solid dispersion and heat transfer. Design parameters governing the performance of the various
mixers in these applications are reported. The key parameters needed for the selection of a
suitable mixer are highlighted.
Keywords: mixing; static mixers; inline mixing; process intensication; blending; interface
generation; heat transfer; radial mixing; axial mixing.
787
788 THAKUR et al.
Figure 1. Elements of different commercial static mixers: (a) Kenics (Chemineer Inc.); (b) low pressure drop (Ross Engineering Inc.); (c) SMV (Koch-Glitsch
Inc.); (d) SMX (Koch-Glitsch Inc.); (e) SMXL (Koch-Glitsch Inc.); (f) Interfacial Surface Generator-ISG (Ross Engineering Inc.); (g) HEV (Chemineer Inc.);
(h) Inliner series 50 (Lightnin Inc.); (i) Inliner series 45 (Lightnin Inc.); (j) Custody transfer mixer (Komax systems Inc.); (k) SMR (Koch-Glitsch, Inc.).
and the methodology for proper selection, evaluation and in the radial direction as illustrated in Figure 3(b). In
scale-up for various unit operations. Methods for estimating either case, heat transfer or reaction between the liquids
the performance of static mixers from experimental data, and heat transfer to the tube wall will be poor. Molecular
literature correlations and computational uid dynamics diffusion can provide mixing in capillary tubes, but the
(CFD) are discussed. The last part of the paper discusses effects of diffusion lessen upon scale-up and are rarely
ongoing and future developments in the eld. sufcient to provide adequate mixing in industrial-scale
equipment.
The low levels of mixing in undisturbed laminar ow
FUNDAMENTALS
have the obvious consequence of giving spatial inhomo-
This section deals with fundamental aspects and local geneities in composition. Conventional static mixers are
phenomena in static mixers. Groups 1 and 3 are discussed designed to homogenize the uid by redistributing it in the
together because similar phenomena are responsible for radial and tangential directions. Undisturbed laminar ow
mixing and heat transfer enhancement. However, laminar also gives temporal inhomogeneities in the sense that
and turbulent ows must be distinguished because the molecules leaving the tube at some instant will have
microscopic mechanisms of mixing differ widely between entered at different times. The same redistribution of uid
them. Later, fundamental aspects of interface generat- that gives spatial mixing also gives temporal mixing. In the
ion operations, group 2, are discussed. There are three ideal case of plug ow, which is also known as piston ow,
main families of applications for group 3 mixers, gas the black and white liquids will be uniformly gray when
liquid, liquidliquid and solidliquid, and two main objec- they leave the tube, and all the molecules leaving together
tives, to obtain stable dispersions and to increase interfacial
area for mass transfer.
Figure 7. Increase in surface area of uid elements under ideal laminar ow
conditions.
A more sophisticated characterization scheme was approximately homogeneous core turbulence. It is this
provided by Manas-Zlockzower (1994) using the second form of energy dissipation that is most important
extensional efciency parameter, a. The velocity gradient in distributive mixing. Consider an unmixed feed stream
tensor s_ is divided into its symmetric and anti-symmetric containing black and white liquid. Turbulence will quickly
parts. These are, respectively the rate of deformation tensor intermingle the initially unmixed feed and disperses it
g_ and the vorticity tensor o
_ . If v is the local velocity vector, s_ , down to the size of the smallest eddies. In concept, the
_ _ uid in these smallest eddies remains black or white before
g o and dened as: becoming gray due to molecular diffusion. The size of
the smallest eddies is proportional to the Kolmogoroff
s_ [(Hv HvT ) (Hv HvT )]
1 length scale:
2 (2) 1=4
s_ g_ o
_ m3
Z (4)
r 3 e0
The extensional efciency a is then expressed as the ratio:
where m is the viscosity, r is the density, and e0 is the power
dissipation per unit mass of uid.
g_ The weak dependence on power dissipation, i.e. to the
a (3)
g_ o _ 0.25 power, means that Z varies over a relatively narrow
range, from 5 to 50 mm for the great majority of industrial
processes. It happens that the constant of proportionalily
where g_ and
between the Kolomogoroff scale and the smallest eddy size
o_ are the norms of the tensors. For pure
is on the order of 1. Given typical diffussion coefcients for
rotational ow, g_ a 0; for pure extensional ow, low viscosity uids (i.e. those for which turbulence is
_
joj a 1; for a simple shear ow (for example, in an possible), complete mixing will occur in milliseconds.
empty pipe), o_ jg_ j and a 0:5. Except for very fast reactions, the reaction rate will be
The extensional efciency in static mixers ranges between governed by the intrinsic kinetics without regard for mixing
0.5 and 1, but can exhibit large variations along the length of effects.
an element (Rauline et al., 1998). The total energy disappation, e0, is divided between that in
For the process design engineer, the most useful statistic the boundary and core regions:
might be the reduction in maximum striation thickness
e0 e1 e2 (5)
as a function of the number of elements. The maximum
striation thickness at the inlet to the mixer is the
Only the second contribution, e2, enhances the rate of
tube diameter (see Figure 3) and decreases by a factor
fast chemical reactions. The objective is therefore to
of 2N according to simple theory. In practice, this prediction
achieve high e2 values at a low pressure drop level, which
is overly optimistic, particularly when the uids being
means that the ratio e2=e0 must be high. Bourne and
blended have different viscosities. Correlations based
his coworkers have devised a set of fast, competitive-
on CFD calculations would be helpful for design,
consecutive reactions, the selectrivity of which is very
optimization and scale-up of process equipment. Detailed
sensitive to mixing on the molecular scale. They used
CFD calculations are still too expensive for complex
these reactions (Bourne et al., 1992) to show that e0 in
optimization studies, but may be suitable for conrming a
an empty pipe is about 5 W kg1, while SMV and SMXL
nal design.
static mixers can generate respectively 793 and 509 W kg1
when the uid velocity is 2 m s1. For these mixers, e2
Static mixers in turbulent ow values calculated by Bourne et al. were 33 and 66% of the e0
When turbulence can be achieved, eddy diffusion gives values: e2 262 W kg1 for the SMV and e2 363 W kg1
sufcient mixing for most industrial processes. Conse- for the SMXL. This shows that the SMV mixer, which
quently, static mixers are less used and less studied in uses a corrugated-plate design and causes the highest
turbulent ow systems. Mixer vendors often claim that pressure drop, is less efcient for reaction enhancement
static mixers can signicantly reduce contact time or than the SMXL mixer, which uses a multilayer design.
increase heat transfer compared to an empty pipe. This is The SMXL reduces the Kolomoroff scale, Z, by a factor
true for laminar ow, but it is less certain for turbulent ow. of about 3. The characteristic time for diffusive mixing
It is true, however, that static mixers can increase the level of varies as Z2 and thus decreases by a factor of about
turbulence without changing pipe diameter and ow rate, 9. Baldyga et al. (1997) have characterized the inuence
albeit with a higher pressure drop. of static mixing elements on the characteristic times
Relatively few studies have been aimed at explaining for micromixing and mesomixing. A model to estimate
how mixing proceeds in static mixers under turbulent these times and to predict yields of fast complex reactions
conditions. We cite here the work of Goldschmid et al. was proposed, but has not yet been validated in other
(1986) and of Bourne and coworkers (Bourne and Maire, systems.
1991; Bourne et al., 1992; and Baldyga et al., 1997). We A difculty with using static mixer to enhance fast
distinguish two mechanisms by which energy is dissipated chemical reactions is that the resulting turbulence is
in turbulent ow: the energy dissipation, e1, due to boundary less homogeneous than in an empty tube. The Kolmogoroff
layers at the walls and surfaces of the inserts, and the energy scale depends on the local rate of turbulent energy
dissipation in the bulk uid, e2, i.e. in the region of dissipation and thus varies from point to point within
the bulk uid, leading to localized regions where the case-specic and difcult to generalize. For this reason, most
reaction occurs preferentially. published results have been conned to clean, binary
systems. Surface forces are also important in liquidsolid
Solids blending and gassolid systems where agglomeration or occulation
Static mixers fed by gravity are used for the blending of can occur. Colloidal forces predominate when liquid drops or
solid particles or drops are lower than 1 mm, for example in
particulate solids such as cereal grains, bread and cake
stable emulsions stabilized by surface-active agents (Peters,
mixes, and concrete components. A theoretical analysis of
homogeneity or the avoidance of segregation was conducted 1992). This is also the case in semi-dilute and concentrated
suspensions of small particles that exhibit complex behavior
by Wang and Fan (1977). As a practical matter, relatively
such as solgel transitions. Moreover, solid particles have
satisfactory mixing can usually be accomplished in a few
more complex shapes than small bubbles or drops that are
division and recombination steps (Bakker, 1949).
generally spherical. Steric and electrosteric stabilization can
play a role with solid particles (So et al., 2001). The behavior
Interface GenerationDispersive Mixing of solid suspensions is less well understood than that of gas
liquid and liquidliquid dispersions and is therefore more
Dispersing a secondary phase in a continuous phase is a difcult to predict. Applications of static mixers to liquid
common operation in the process industries. Static mixers solid and gassolid systems include solids blending in a
can produce locally high shear rates, and thus can be used as uid phase, the dispersion of additives in a suspension, e.g.
interface generators in multiphase ows. The objective is for clarication or sludge treatment, and solid dispersion by
generally to increase mass transfer in unit operations such as breaking agglomerates in a uid phase. The last application
gasliquid absorption, liquidliquid (liquidliquid) extrac- generates interfacial area. The others are blending operations
tion or formation of polymer dispersion. However, the two- similar to those described in the rst section, although they
phase mixture may be the actual end product, as many technically involve multiple phases.
emulsions are to be found in food, paint, dairy, cosmetic,
adhesive and detergent industries. The performance of a
static mixer for either objective is highly dependant on the Gasliquid and liquidliquid systems
physico-chemical properties of the phases. The volumetric Surface tension opposes drop break-up and favors coales-
ow rate ratio, f, the viscosity ratio Rm and the density ratio cence. In a clean, quiescent system, the equilibrium cong-
Rr for liquidliquid and gasliquid systems arise from uration is complete phase separation with minimal
dimensional analysis. These parameters are dened as: interfacial area. In a ow system, uid motion causes drop
Qd md rd break-up, and a dynamic equilibrium is possible. When
f ; Rm ; Rr (6) strong surface agents are present, particularly when they
Qc mc rc
are ionic surfactants that give rise to electrostatic forces,
The subscripts d and c represent the dispersed and the liquid drops can become thermodynamically stable even in
continuous phases and where Q is the volumetric ow rate quiescent systems. This is true for oil-in-water micro-
of a phase. For viscoelastic systems, an elasticity ratio, Re, is emulsions that have particle sizes less than 0.1 mm. Even
important as well. ordinary emulsions with sizes from about 0.2 to 0.5 mm have
The mechanisms of breakage and coalescence of gas long shelf lives. Motionless mixers are suitable for blending
bubbles and liquid drops are similar. They exhibit however such systems and may be used to create them in chemically
three main differences: favorable cases. However, most uses are to augment the
breakup of drops greater than about 1 mm. Even here,
(i) liquid drops can be far smaller than bubblesmini- surface tension, s, is a key parameter and may be bene-
mum diameter is around 10100 mm for bubbles and cially lowered using surface agents. Operation is dramati-
0.11 mm for drops; cally affected by the viscosity ratio, Rm, and by whether the
(ii) Rm and Rr are quite different for liquidliquid and gas continuous phase is in turbulent or laminar ow. Break-up in
liquid systems; Rr is in the range 10 310 2 when gas either ow regime becomes increasingly difcult as Rm
is the dispersed phase and about 1 when a liquid is exceeds 1. Non-Newtonian viscous behavior (e.g. shear
dispersed in another liquid (static mixers have been used thinning) in either phase is relatively unimportant, but
elasticity can seriously impede break-up. Its effects are
to achieve uniformity for liquid-in-gas systems, e.g. in
difcult to predict quantitatively. Fluids suitable for turbu-
carburetion, but not to generate new interfacial area); lent ow are typically Newtonian.
(iii) In gasliquid systems, it is generally easy to know Static mixers are used in multiphase systems to decrease
whether gas is the dispersed based on gas and liquid dispersed phase drop sizes and to increase interfacial mass
ow rates. In liquidliquid systems, phase inversion is transfer. Ideally, a more uniform distribution of drop size
possible, especially under shear conditions, and surface might also be possible, compared say to what is possible in
chemistry is more important than in gasliquid an agitated vessel. In practice, mixer performance is typi-
systems. Flow stability is an additional parameter that cally characterized by a single parameter such as the mass
must be considered. transfer coefcient, KLa, or the Sauter mean drop diameter,
Surface chemistry, and particularly the presence of strong d32. Peters (1992) summarized the phenomena that may
surfactants, often plays a dominant role in multiphase cause the disruption of a plane surface separating two phases
systems. Static mixers are commonly used to create emul- in order to create liquid drops. They include turbulent
sions and dispersions and emulsions that are partially stabi- eddies, surface ripples and the associated RayleighTaylor
lized by surfactants. However, system performance is very instabilities, gravitational instabilities arising from density
differences, and KelvinHelmholtz instabilities arising from are elastic, deformation decreases as the elasticity ratio
relative motion of the phases. Similar phenomena are increases and the drops resulting from break-up are more
reported for gas bubbles (Lin et al., 1998). uniform in size.
Figure 8 shows some drop deformation and breakup
patterns suggested by Peters (1992) for idealized laminar
Continuous phase in laminar ow ow. Either shear or extensional ows will elongate the
The RayleighTaylor instability, which governs the break- drops as a preliminary step to break-up by RayleighTaylor
up of elongated uid structures due to surface tension, is the instability. Grace (1982) and Rallison (1984) found that
most important in laminar ow. Elongated structures are simple shear ows (for example Couette ow) are less
metastable and will break into drops of a characteristic size, effective than extensional ows to break drops in liquid
although smaller satellite drops are often formed as well. liquid systems. The same conclusion is assumed to hold for
Drops that closely approach each other due to Brownian or gasliquid systems. Based on Figure 8, the deformation DF
convective motion will coalesce. A dynamic equilibrium is expressed as:
can be achieved in which the break-up and coalescence
rates are equal and the mean particle size becomes constant. Lp B
DF (11)
The key parameter regulating this equilibrium is the Weber Lp B
number:
Rupture occurs when DF is higher than a critical deforma-
tc d32 tion value. Figure 9 shows the stability diagram proposed by
We (7)
s Grace (1982) for drops in shear and extensional ows. The
where tc is the shear stress in the continuous phase. An lines in that gure dene the critical capillary numbers that
alternative to the Weber number is based on the tube separate breakage and coalescence, breakage occurring in
diameter, D, rather than the drop diameter, d32, and is the region above the lines. Grace (1982) dened a char-
called the capillary number acteristic time t of drop breakage as:
tD t
ts
Ca c (8a) mc d32
(12)
s
For a Newtonian uid, He concluded that t is approximately proportional to Rm .
mu Taylor (1932, 1934) used a four roller apparatus to
Ca c (8b) elongate drops. He found that very large deformations
s
could be achieved without break-up under steady-state
where u is the velocity of the continuous phase. The Sauter conditions, but that break-up occurred when the rolls
mean diameter is found from a correlation of the form were stopped. The experiments of Grace (1982) and
d32 Rallison (1984) studied only steady-state laminar ows.
f (Rec, We, f, Rm , Rr ) (9a) Stone and Leal (1989a,b) and Stone (1994) have shown
D
that drops can be broken at much lower values of the
or
capillary number if the ow is unsteady. This has been
d32 conrmed for a variety of unsteady ow systems by
f (Rec, Ca, f, Rm , Rr ) (9b)
D Khakar and Ottino (1986, 1987), Muzzio and Tjahjadi
(1991), Tjahjadi and Ottino (1991), Tjahjadi et al. (1992),
where Re is the Reynolds number based on the mean
drop diameter but on physical properties of the continuous and Jansen and Meijer (1993).
phase: The ow elds generated by a series of static mixing
elements are periodic and thus favor drop break-up
rc ud32 compared to ow in an empty pipe. High values of the
Rec (10)
mc extensional efciency, a, are preferred, but they must be
The directions in which physical properties and operating
conditions affect these correlations is reasonably well
known. An increase in ow rate or in the viscosity of the
continuous phase mc tends to decrease d32 while an increase
in the viscosity of the dispersed phase md tends to decrease
it. It is far easier to divide drops when Rm < 1 than when
Rm > 1. In some static mixers, drop breakup becomes
essentially impossible when Rm exceeds about 10 (Grace,
1982). Increasing Rr tends to decrease bubble size, as
stable gas bubbles are known to be larger than stable
liquid drops. The inuence of the dispersed phase volume
fraction is not always included in correlations for d32, but
coalescence is clearly favored by higher values of f. At
very high values, changes in the ow pattern or phase
inversion are possible. If the dispersed phase is a viscoelastic
liquid, deformation and breakup are more difcult. In
contrast, a viscoelasctic continuous phase induces higher Figure 8. Drop deformation under idealized ow conditions (adapted from
deformation (Mighri et al., 1997, 1998). When both phases Peters, 1992).
inuence of viscous forces and of internal attractive forces. ways. They increase the metal to uid surface area in
The surface tension in equations (8) is replaced by a a manner analogous to the use of externally nned
parameter s0 which in analogous to surface tension but is tubes. They also change the hydrodynamics, and the
more difcult to measure. It can be estimated using theore- combination of effects can signicantly increase heat
tical models, such as the Rumpfs model which was vali- transfer coefcients, albeit at the cost of higher pressure
dated by Lee et al. (1993) and Li et al. (1997b). However, drops compared to empty tubes. Inserts can be used to
the applicability of such models depends on the nature of the increase the intensity of turbulent systems, but the major
solid (Kendall, 1988). use of inserts is in systems that, at least in the absence of
There are two mechanisms for size reduction: breakage inserts, would be in laminar ow. Here, we consider
and erosion. Breakage requires a high shear stress and leads primarily the benet that comes from redistribution of the
to daughter particles far smaller than the initial occulates. ow within the tube cross-section and regard the increase in
Erosion gradually decreases the particle size, but the daugh- metal-to-uid contact area as a secondary benet, although
ter particles tend to occulate. The net effect is a modest it may be the dominant factor in designs where supplemental
reduction in average occulate size. Hydrodynamic forces mixing is not needed.
can also cause occulation so there is a continuous competi- The important factors for evaluating a motionless mixer
tion between occulation, erosion and breakage (Figure 11). as a heater exchanger are the Nusselt number, Nu, and the
The situation is also complicated by the complex rheological Fanning friction factor, f. Physical properties of the system
behavior of concentrated suspensions, which is only are incorporated into the Reynolds number, Re, the Prandtl
partially understood. Einsteins model ignores particle-to- number, Pr, the viscosity ratio, mwall =mbulk , and the L=D ratio
particle interactions and is limited to dilute suspensions. of the tube. The Reynolds number is based on the tube
Many empirical or theoretical models have been proposed diameter and the supercial velocity. The correlation has
(Barnes and Holbrook, 1993), but there is no general way to the form
predict the apparent viscosity of a suspension. It is generally
safe to assume that suspensions are Newtonian at low shear Nu f (Re, Pr, L=D, mwall =mbulk) (15)
rate, exhibit shear-thinning behavior and present a Newto-
nian plateau at high shear rates. Some of them become If viscous heating is important, the Brinkman number, Br,
shear-thickening at very high shear rates (Boersma et al., should be included. The indicated dependence on L=D is
1990). A better understanding of the rheological behavior of appropriate for laminar ow in an empty tube, but this
suspensions is the objective of recent research, but is dependence may disappear if mixing inserts are distributed
complicated by sensitivity to physico-chemical parameters, continuously down the tube. The friction factor will be a
such as pH, ionic strength, and the presence of surface active function of the Reynolds number and the correlation of data
agents (So et al., 2001). is usually done for isothermal ow. When cooling, the actual
The applicabilityof static mixers for dispersing a solid into a pressure drop will be lower than predicted for the isothermal
uid phase has been demonstrated (Isom, 1994), but such case because cool, viscous material near the wall is replaced
applications remain largely empirical. An increase in solid with warmer, less viscous material. The opposite is true for
concentration simultaneously increases the viscosity and the heating.
probability of collision between particles. There is a simulta- As a class, the commercial static mixers have marginal
neous increase in occulation rate and in the intensity of the benets for heat transfer enhance. Most of them are
hydrodynamic forces that are responsible for breakage. For designed for general mixing applications, and if the entering
static mixers, it seems that the effect of viscosity generally uid is homogeneous, tangential mixing has no benet
prevails. Dilute suspensions, which have a low apparent for enhancement of heat transfer. Optimal radial mixing
viscosity, are difcult to mix using static mixers. is not simple homogenization but is a selective interchange
of material between the wall and centerline in a process
known as ow inversion. Nauman (1979) dened the
Heat Transfer concept of complete ow inversion and gave a diagram of
Flow inserts have long been used to enhance heat transfer a device that could achieve it in principle. He also described
to uids owing inside tubes. These devices function in two a practical device called a two-zone, partial ow inverter
that can increase the Nusselt number by 30% with minimal
increase in pressure drop, the equivalent of about ve
tube diameters.
Axial Mixers
Axial mixers are intended to mix uid that entered the
system at different times. The goal is not a sharp distribution
of residence times since this would give to plug ow and is
approached in conventional static mixers. Instead, the goal is
to approximate the broad distribution of residence times in a
CSTR, with the purpose of damping input uctuations. A
CSTR acts as an exponential lter with time constant t. The
Figure 11. Schematic representation of erosion, breakage and occulation axial mixer will function in the same way if it has the same
mechanisms for liquidsolid systems. residence time distributionas a CSTR. Specically, the cumu-
lative distribution function should have a low value for trst beverages, milk drinks or sauces in food formulations.
and an overall form that is approximately exponential: Baker (1991) reported an application to melted chocolate.
sludge, and the dewatering process begins with the addition titanium static mixer is described by Junker et al. (1994).
of polymers, alum or ferric chloride as an aid to coagulation. Reaction applications suggested for static mixers include
Like the water clarication process, shear must be mini- cracking of heavy and crude oils (Jurkias, 1998) or for the
mized to avoid breaking the coagulated solids. Static mixers controlled hydrolysis of whey proteins by trypsin (Margot
are able to reduce additive requirements (Baker, 1991). et al., 1998). Koch-Sulzer has developed packed reactors
Procelli et al. (1993) report a decrease of 10% in ferric using inline mixers containing a catalyst and even using static
chloride consumption and a slight increase in solid content mixers made of a catalytic material.
using static mixers. They estimated the savings at approxi- Motionless mixers are not restricted to continuous ow
mately $35,000 from December 1989 to November 1990 in systems. Figure 12 illustrates how they can be used for
the wastewater treatment plant serving the city of Ann continuous ow, fed-batch and batch reactions. One semi-
Arbor, Michigan, USA. The process requires good pH batch process for phenol alkylation is similar to that shown
control because the active agent acts only in a limited in Figure 12(c) but has eliminated the agitator in the reaction
range of pH. Static mixers are able to produce homogenized vessel and uses a proprietary nozzlea type of motionless
ows with a short residence time. They are therefore mixerto mix fresh alkene into the recycle stream
reported to be useful tools for an adaptive control of (Nauman, 2002, p. 389). This is an example of a system
chemical addition in water treatment plants (Lee and Choi, that is misible at equilibrium but is two-phase at the point of
2000; Galey et al., 2000), but their applicability to improve introduction.
control is not limited to water treatment.
Static mixers have potential applications for continuous systems and by Akay (1998) for concentrated emulsions of
emulsication process. Emulsions are of utmost epoxy resins.
importance in many food products (Cybulski and Werner, A recent application of static mixers to liquidliquid
1986), cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Static mixers systems is the coating of very ne particles. In one process,
can produce a primary emulsion and homogenize supercritical carbon dioxide is used as a carrier for powder
the emulsier concentration simultaneously. A typical coatings. A high degree of mixing is required to produce
application is microencapsulation (Powell and Mahalingam, coated particles using a high-pressure spray process
1992; Maa and Hsu, 1997), but published information (Wagner and Eggers, 1996; Weidner, 1999; Weidner et al.,
is limited in these areas. Motionless mixers are known 2001). In the Unicarb spray process, the supercritical uid is
to have a complex behavior with liquidliquid systems mixed with polymer or paint solutions using static mixers
(Merchuk et al., 1980). It is sometimes difcult to predict (Lee et al., 1990).
whether a water-in-oil or an oil-in-water emulsion will At least two commercial processes use motionless mixers
be produced. Static mixers can exhibit multiple steady to disperse liquid water (under pressure) into molten poly-
states in this application, and both types of dispersion may styrene as an aid to ash devolatilization.
exist alternatively. Motionless mixers are also known to
promote phase inversion. Flow-induced phase inversion Gasliquid systems
during emulsication has been reported by Tidhar et al. Static mixers can be readily adapted to absorption and
(1986) for waterkerosene and watercarbon tetrachloride scrubbing. They are particularly useful for co-current
absorption of highly soluble gases like carbon dioxide, airlift loop reactor (Lu et al., 2000), directly in packed
ammonia and chlorine where only a few transfer stages bubble columns (Fan et al., 1975; Wang and Fan, 1977) and
are needed. Inline static mixers with either bubble ows in three-phase uidized beds (Potthoff and Bohnet, 1993).
or spray ows are used. They are also used in systems Industrial applications include the cultivation of a lamen-
involving absorption followed by chemical reaction, tous mold to produce cephalosporin C (Gavrilescu and
especially when the absorbed gas promptly reacts. Capital Roman, 1995) and for ethanol production in an airlift reactor
cost is lower than counter-current towers especially in (Vicente et al., 1999).
high-pressure applications. Static mixers can also enhance Structured packings for distillation and similar column
multistage counter-current towers, increasing performance operations are manufactured by many companies including
and throughput. Rader et al. (1989) reported many some manufacturers of conventional static mixers. Applica-
applications of static mixers to gasliquid systems, both as tions range from laboratory distillation columns to the
co-current and in counter-current devices. Distillation and immense columns used to separate styrene and ethylbenzene
other column operations now use structured packings at production rates in excess of 700,000 tons=year. Struc-
instead of trays or random packings. These packings are a tured packings have largely replaced trays and random
form of static mixer with the objective of creating a large packings for new column designs. Most design information
interface for mass transfer. is proprietary, but a study of Fitz et al. (1999) has shown
Natural gas processing plants make extensive use of static that such packings can improve capacity and performance
mixers. They are used to: efciency. Good column effectiveness can be maintained
even at extremely low liquid ow rates; that is, they reduce
(i) scrub hydrogen sulde from natural gas using sodium dewetting and thus provide good turn-down. Test systems
hydroxide solutions, amines or proprietary solvents; included p-xylene=o-xylene, cyclohexane=n-heptane and
(ii) scrub carbon dioxide using amines or proprietary i-butane=n-butane from 0.02 to 27.6 bars. However, distilla-
solvents; tion efciency was found to deteriorate at pressures above
10 bars.
(iii) selectively remove hydrogen sulde in the presence of
carbon dioxide;
(iv) dehydrate gases with glycols. Soliduid systems
One use of static mixers for solidliquid systems is the
Some applications of static mixers in chemical and dispersion of a particulate solid into a liquid, sometimes
petrochemical industry are: including breaking of aggregates that are bound van der
Waals interactions. Applications are found in the chemical
(i) purifying the efuent from an oxychlorination reactor industry, for example to disperse a catalyst in a uid phase,
with a sodium hydroxide solution in ethylene dichloride and in pulp and paper processes (Isom, 1984). Jean et al.
production; (1987) investigated the continuous production of narrow-
(ii) scrubbing ammonia, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen sized titanium dioxide particles using static mixers. Barresi
uoride or cyanides with water; et al. (1997) used a motionless mixer for the wet mixing of
ceramic powders. Similar applications are believed to
(iii) scrubbing chlorine gas and acid gases with sodium
exist in the food industry, but publications are scarce in
chloride solutions or solvents; this eld.
(iv) scrubbing noxious organic compounds with various Non-uniform contacting between a reactive gas and
solvents; solid catalyst particles is a notorious problem in uidized
(v) pre-quenching for acrylonitrile absorbers. beds. A variety of inserts have been used to mitigate this
problem. Krambeck et al. (1987) and Pustelnik and Nauman
Static mixers are reported to be more efcient than other (1991) described and analysed the use of horizontal bafes
contacting devices, such as spray nozzles, venturi scrubbers to improve contacting in a large, cold-ow model of a
and randomly packed columns. methanol-to-gasoline reactor. Metzdorf et al. (1991)
Static mixers as co-current devices are used in water suggested the use of motionless mixers to reduce axial
sterilization (Baker, 1991; Zhu, 1991; Martin and Galey, dispersion of the liquid phase in a liquidsolid uidized
1994; Clancy et al., 1996, De Traversay et al., 2001). Water bed reactor.
treatment with ozone has been reviewed by La Pauloue and
Langlais (1999). The oxidative absorption of hydrogen
sulde by a solution of the ferric chelate of nitrilotriacetic Solidsolid systems
acid in a co-current column packed with static mixers is Another operation that benets from the use of static
described by Demmink et al. (1994). Another gasliquid mixers is blending of solids including mixing of dry
example is the continuous hydrogenation of vegetable oils pigments and ink powders, blending detergent additives,
(Rusnac et al., 1992). mixing lubricants into powdered metals or polymer pellets,
Static mixers are known to increase mass transfer in blending dry clays and cements or dry clays with a catalyst
bubble columns. Inserts can be added in the riser section (Baker, 1991). When the mixers are fed by gravity, they
of airlift reactors (Chisti et al., 1990; Goto and Gaspillo, would function in a vacuum and thus deserve a separate
1992; Gavrilescu and Roman, 1995, 1996; Gavrilescu et al., category from the solidgas mixers in the previous section.
1997), in the draft tube of bubble columns (Goto and One common application is the blending of ne powders
Gaspillo, 1992), in the draft tube of a bubble slurry prior to a subsequent fabrication stem, but there are few
column (Gaspillo and Goto, 1991), in a mechanically stirred formal publications in this area.
Group 3: Heat Transfer section. Static mixers have a distinct advantage over empty
tubes for such applications because they provide a more
Applications of static mixers to improve heat transfer can
uniform distribution of residence times. If interest is limited
be divided into three types. The rst is thermal homogeniza-
to pure heat transfer, inserts specically designed for this
tion, often coupled with compositional homogenization. The
purpose seem better than the general purpose devices that
second is pure heat transfer in heat exchangers. The third
are the main topic of this review. The greatest interest has
type combines heat transfer with chemical reaction.
been in twisted tape and offset strip ns (Bergles, 1995).
These devices can be used for turbulent ow and boiling
Thermal homogenization heat transfer as well as for laminar ow.
In undisturbed laminar ow in an empty pipe, thermal
diffusion is the only mechanism for heat transfer in the
radial direction. A great variety of motionless inserts have Heat transfer with reaction
been used to promote radial ow and thus to reduce radial Single- and multitube heat exchanges are widely used as
temperature gradients in process uids. One common appli- reactors. Motionless inserts are doubly benecial in this
cation is the installations of a static mixer immediately application because they simultaneously improve heat trans-
downstream from a screw extruder in order to obtain a fer and narrow the residence time distribution. It is primarily
thermally homogeneous polymer melt. Myers et al. (1997) the second advantage that justies their use. However,
suggested using elements of the open type for this applica- published examples of industrial reactors using motionless
tion and reported that they reduced radial temperature mixers are quite rare. The major exceptions are for styrene
variations by a factor of 10. A typical application of thermal polymerization and reaction injection molding of polyur-
homogenization is for lm blowing or sheet extrusion eathanes. Ureathane polymerizations are two component
because thermoplastics require a uniform temperatures to reactions with low heats of reaction. The role of the static
eliminate position-dependent variations in the extrudate mixer is to intimately blend the reactive components rather
(Chen, 1975). Schott et al. (1975) suggested using motion- than to remove heat.
less mixers for polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene Vinyl polymerizations such as that for polystyrene have
and ABS resins processing. Such applications of motionless large heats of reaction and large changes in viscosity. These
mixers to extrusion have become standard practice. Their lead to two forms of instability in tubular reactors, the
main purpose is thermal homogenization but they will also classic thermal runaway and a hydrodynamic instability
alleviate composition differences resulting from polymer analogous to the viscous ngering problem in secondary
blending and coloring. The need is primarily for radial oil recovery (Nauman, 2002, p. 496). Both problems can be
mixing, but the complex ow patterns in extruders gives (largely) avoided by reacting to low conversion (ca. 15%) in
extrudates that lack tangential symmetry. Thus some tangen- a long, single tube. This is the approach used in the high
tial mixing is needed as well and is automatically provided pressure process for polyethylene. These reactors are
by most motionless mixers. literally kilometers long, and the employment of mixing
Myers et al. (1997) reported applications in the turbulent inserts would appear useful, although it is not clear that this
regime to enhance thermal homogenization. is actually done. Multitube reactors fed with a low viscosity
monomer are hydrodynamically unstable when operated in
the once-through mode because the feed cannot readily
Heat exchangers without reaction displace viscous polymer. Multitube reactors are used in
For reasons discussed in the next section, a single-tube recycle loops where the per-pass change in viscosity is
heat exchanger is often used for polymerizations. Conven- small. Recycle reactors using motionless mixers for
tional, multitube heat exchangers are used in the absence of a nonstyrenic polymerizations are known to be in commercial
reaction or when there is a reaction that causes little change operation, but details have not been published. The Sultzer
in viscosity. Static mixing elements can be used in either process for polystyrene uses several reactors in series, the
laminar or turbulent ow to improve heat transfer coef- rst of which is a recycle loop containing SMR elements
cients, but enthusiastic equipment vendors sometimes (Tein et al., 1985). On a once-through basis with monomer
oversell this application. Mixing inserts have several signi- feed, the SMR would be susceptible to the viscous ngering,
cant disadvantages compared to empty tubes: higher pressure but the SMR can be used after the recycle loop because the
drop, greater potential for fouling, relative difculty of partially converted (ca. 60%) reactant mixture is sufciently
cleaning and greater cost. Note that thermal diffusivities viscous to avoid hydrodynamic instabilities. Other polystyr-
are several orders of magnitude higher than molecular ene processes use one or more autorefrigerated (boiling)
diffusivities, so that most heat transfer operations are feasible stirred tank reactors or stirred tube reactors in series to
using tubes of reasonable diameter and length and with obtain conversions of about 70%. At this point, an ordinary
reasonable residence times. The use of mixing inserts is shell-and-tube reactor can be used for further conversion
justied when there is a strong need to minimize in-process and to preheat the reaction mass for a ash devolatilization
inventory. Examples include the need to suppress detrimental step. A single tube, operating approximately adiabatically
reactions, when the process material is particularly danger- with or without static mixers (Craig, 1987) can be used as a
ous, or when it is particularly expensive. The rst of these post reactor in some processes, but the nal preheating prior
reasons is common and is discussed in the next section. to devolatilization is done in a multitubular reactor. For
Mixing elements are most benecial in deep laminar ow some product grades, it is necessary to minimize conversion
(Ishikawa and Kamiya, 1994; Joshi et al., 1995), and most in this heat exchanger. Motionless mixers are used in the
applications have been to this area. Literature descriptions of Sulzer process and have been evaluated on the pilot scale for
their use are largely for the reactive ows covered in the next other processes. The Sulzer process also uses motionless
mixers to reheat the polymer prior to a second ash and to The basic equation appropriate to ow of a homogeneous,
mix in water as a foaming aid. isothermal, incompressible, Newtonian uid in a circular
Outside the area of polymerization, Lammers and tube is
Beenackers (1994) suggested using a continuous tubular
2f ru2 2f ru2
reactor containing static mixers to produce starch ethers for DP L NLe (17)
food and pulp. Static mixers can be used in turbulent ow D D
reactors, for example in the catalyst tubes of a reformer where N is the number of mixing elements, Le is the length
furnace. Static inserts are said to increase heat transfer of one element, and f is a function of Reynolds number that
coefcients, eliminate channeling within the catalyst bed, is determined experimentally for a particular mixer or by
avoid cocking, prevent catalyst deterioration due to hotspots CFD. Note that u is the supercial velocity and that Re is
and improve yield. Applications to condensation (Fan et al., calculated for the empty pipe. Equation (17) applies to an
1978) and boiling heat transfer (Azer and Lin, 1980) have empty pipe with f Re=16 for laminar ow and to turbulent
been reported. Another example is provided by Gough and ow with f 0.079Re0.25. For a given Re, the friction
Rogers (1987), who discussed the treatment of coal tar oil factor will be higher for a tube with inserts than for an
residues using static mixer heat exchangers. The residues empty tube, and the transition from laminar to turbulent ow
contain heat sensitive phenolic compounds that can readily will occur at a much lower Reynolds number than the classic
polymerize. Similar residues result from distillate bottoms value of 2100. For static mixers installed in non-circular
from naphta cracking and can eventually include carbon ducts, the functional form of equation (17) is still used, but
solids. These uids are preheated before being burned in a the tube diameter, D, is replaced with another characteristic
reducing atmosphere to produce carbon black. Gough and dimension. The hydraulic mean diameter is appropriate for
Rogers (1987) showed that static mixers could be used to turbulent ows.
improve pre-heater performance. Vendor correlations for pressure drops typically report the
Motionless mixers are a potential solution to many ratio, denoted here as Z, of friction factors for the mixer and
problems encountered in heat exchanger operation. In cool- the empty tube:
ing processes, skinning due to boundary-layer solidication
fmixer DPmixer
may be alleviated due to the better radial mixing (Baker, Z (18)
1991). Fouling in reactive systems is caused by long fempty DPempty
residence times at the wall and high temperature differences
This formulation is convenient for retrotting static
between the wall and the bulk uid. Crystallization, poly-
merization or biological growth may occur, and the results elements into existing tubes since it gives the ratio of
pressure drops directly. However, for an initial design, the
lms have low thermal conductivity and cause signicant
optimal diameter for a tube with inserts will generally be
resistance to heat transfer. Gough and Rogers (1987) have
shown that static mixers can reduce fouling, coking and different than the optimal design for an empty tube. When
density or viscosity varies appreciably as a function of axial
enhance heat transfer in oil tar residue treatment.
position, equation (17) can be applied to one element at a
time, using values for f, r and u appropriate to each element.
Axial Mixers The equivalent calculation for the empty tube replaces DP=L
with dP=dz and then integrates down the tube.
Industrial applications have not yet been reported for this Pandit and Joshi (1998) reviewed pressure drop correla-
new class of motionless mixer. tions for Newtonian uids in uidized beds, packed beds,
and static mixers. For non-Newtonian and especially viscoe-
lastic uids or for multiphase ows, experimentally based
KEY PARAMETERS FOR STATIC MIXER SELECTION correlations are seldom available for static mixers, but
This section denes and quanties the key parameters for reasonable approximations are sometimes possible using
proper selection of a static mixer. The pertinent parameters the same type of correction techniques that are used for
depend on the application, but one parameter is common to complex ows in empty tubes.
all applications of static mixers. Process intensication
using mixing inserts always gives a higher pressure drop Pressure drop in laminar ow
than an open pipe of the same diameter. As a rule of thumb, uids having viscosities higher than
0.1 Pa s will be in laminar ow under conditions typical of
the process industries and uids exhibiting pronounced non-
A General Parameter: Pressure Drop
Newtonian or viscoelastic behavior will almost always be in
Pressure drop estimation is the rst step for proper laminar ow. For ows in empty tubes, behavior for
selection of a static mixer. Correlations are available for Re < 100 is generally laminar with negligible contribution
isoviscometric ows in commercial units, but pilot plant from the momentum terms in the equations of motion. For
measurements may be necessary when dealing with systems Re < 2100, the ow is usually laminar but small distur-
of unknown or complex rheology, reacting systems and bances can lead to wake shedding and other oscillatory
multiphase systems. Measuring pressure drop is a relatively behavior. For Re > 2100, the ow is unstable. An assump-
easy task using the sensitive and low-cost piezoresistive or tion of turbulence is conservative for pressure drop calcula-
piezocapacitive sensors that are now available. Signal tions since pressured drops in turbulent ow are higher than
processing techniques can even be used to gain insight those for laminar ow. An assumption of turbluence is non-
into ow characteristics through the analysis of pressure conservative for 2100 < Re < 5000 when mixing or heat
uctuations (Vial et al., 2000). transfer are involved.
The same general concepts apply to ows in static mixers correlating variables should be introduced. These include
of the open type except that the transition values for Re are the aspect ratio and the void fraction. Small Kenic-type
lower by a factor of about 2. Flows are generally laminar for mixers, and particularly those molded from plastic, have
Re < 50 and turbulent for Re > 1000. The inserts cause smaller void fractions than large mixers fabricated from
systematic disturbances to the ow eld so that complex but metal. A possible way to account for this is to use a modied
fairly reproducible ow behavior can be expected in the Reynolds number based on the average velocity, u=e, where
intermediate range 50 < Re < 1000. More exact numbers e is the void fraction rather than the supercial velocity, u.
depend on the design of the elements including their aspect Another way of representing pressure drop data is to
ratio, Le=De. For helical, Kenics KM elements, the inter- directly correlate the friction factor, f, rather than the ratio of
mediate region begins when Re is about 43 when Le=De is friction factors, Z. The results are equivalent and subject to
0.8, but is delayed to Re 55 when Le=De is 1 (Jaffer and the same limitations, but a direct correlation for f can avoid
Wood, 1998). The inuence of aspect ratio has been confusion when comparing mixers to empty tubes of differ-
conrmed by Joshi et al. (1995). They also concluded that ent diameter. In laminar ows, the classic relationship
low aspect ratios were better for heat transfer. However, between f and Re is usually obtained:
most experimental data in the literature are for a typical
C1
commercial design that has an aspect ratio of 1.5 (Rauline f (20)
et al., 1998). For Sulzer SMX elements, Li et al. (1997a) Re
reported that the laminar regime prevails up to Re 15, where C1 is a constant greater than 16. Specically,
while the turbulent regime begins when Re 1000. C1 16Z. This relation is sometimes written in a different
The simplest method for predicting pressure drop is to use way:
the factor Z in equation (18). Some vendors provide data in
this form, and Z values are available in the reviewed Ne Re Kp (21)
literature for several commercial designs (Pahl and
Muschelknautz, 1982; Cybulski and Werner, 1986; Rauline where Kp is the power constant and Ne is the Newton
et al., 1998). Values are widely available for the open, number, dened as twice the friction factor.
helical inserts sold by Kenics (Bor, 1971; Grace, 1971; DP D
Alloca, 1982; Pahl and Muschelknautz, 1982; Cybulski and Ne 2f (22)
ru2 L
Werner, 1986; Joshi et al., 1995), and Z ranges from 5 to 8
in the laminar regime. To a rst approximation, Z is constant Table 7 gives Kp values for the SMX, Inliner, LPD, KM and
in the laminar regime. Sir and Lecjaks (1982) and Cybulski ISG static mixers. One vendor prefers this method for
and Werner (1986) found it to be a weak function of Re in correlating pressure drop data on the grounds that it
the laminar regime: allows comparison between static mixers and agitated
0
tanks. However, the direct way of comparing powers is by
Z a0 b0 Rem (19) the ratio of average power inputs per mass of owing uid.
Assuming the comparison is made at the same ow rate and
The exponent m0 is about 1 when Re < 0.1 and tends to density, this is just the ratio of the pumping power for the
0.5 as Re > 100. Joshi et al. (1995) used m0 0.5 for Le=De mixer, QDP, to the power consumption of the impeller,
ratios between 1.5 and 2.5. Pimpeller .
The multilayered SMX design from Koch-Sulzer has been
also the subject of literature studies, but reported Z values Power for static mixing QDP
(23)
are not accurate enough for proper estimation: Pahl and Power for mechanical agitation Pimpeller
Muschelknautz (1982) reported Z values between 10 and 60,
while Cybulski and Werner (1986) reported values from 10 where Q is the volumetric ow rate. Presumably, this ratio
to 100. The corrugated-plate SMV elements give Z values will be less than one at equivalent performance.
between 60 and 300 (Cybulski and Werner, 1986). Published correlations for f are summarized in Table 8.
Other static mixers have been less studied but similar Some of them take the aspect ratio into account (e.g.
conclusions are reached. Open designs give low Z values, Lecjaks et al., 1987). Shah and Kale (1991, 1992) use a
e.g. Z 6 for the LPD mixers (Heywood et al., 1984) and more accurate form for correlating pressure drop data for
Z 9 for Lightnin mixers (Pahl and Muschelknautz 1982). single-phase laminar ows:
The corrugated-plate (SMV) and multilayer (SMX, SMXL) C1 C
designs cause much greater pressure losses that are difcult f 2m (24)
to quantify accurately. Closed designs with holes or chan- Re Re
nels cause the greatest pressure drops. Z is 284 for ISG
elements according to Heywood et al. (1984), while Pahl
Table 7. Comparison of Kp from vendor data,
and Muschelknautz (1982) reported Z values between 250 published experimental data and CFD studies.
and 300 for this mixer design. As a conclusion, the para-
meter Z is simple and useful, as it indicates directly the Kp Vendor Literature CFD
additional pressure drop compared to an empty pipe. In Kenics 170 195 255
theory, Z should be a function only of the Reynolds number Cleveland 190 190
and the mixer design, and should be directly scaleable with LPD 195 220 225
respect to tube diameter and number of elements provided Inliner 240 270 300
SMX 1200 1140 1120
the small and large mixers maintain geometric similarity. If ISG 7210 8140 8460
there are departures from geometric similarity, additional
85:5
Helical elements f 0:34 Sir and Lecjaks (1982)
Re
77:76 10:88
f 0:5 Grace (1971)
Re Re
115:2
f 0:5 (Re 50) Cybulski and Werner (1986)
Re
6:592
f (100 Re 1000) Cybulski and Werner (1986)
Re0:5
368
Sulzer SMX f (Reg 15) Li et al. (1997a)
Reg
220
f 0:8 (15 Reg 1000) Li et al. (1997a)
Re0:8
g
12
f 0:25 fReg > 1000 Li et al. (1997a)
Reg
160 1600
f to Cybulski and Werner (1986)
Re Re
160 960
f to Rauline et al. (1998)
Re Re
78:4
Sulzer SMV f 0:148 (20 Re 1000) Cavatorta et al. (1999)
Re
1040 4800
f to Cybulski and Werner (1986)
Re Re
144
Inliner Lightnin f Cybulski and Werner (1986)
Re
118:4
f 11:2 Cybulski and Werner (1986)
Re
240 272
N form f to Cybulski and Werner (1986)
Re Re
400
Komax f Cybulski and Werner (1986)
Re
608
Hi-Toray f Cybulski and Werner (1986)
Re
4000 4800
ISG f to Cybulski and Werner (1986)
Re Re
D 1
f 5407:5 Rauline et al. (1998)
L Re
D 1
LPD f 146:08 Rauline et al. (1998)
L Re
139:5
f
Re
With improvements in CFD codes and particularly with subset of the applications for static mixers in industry.
much faster computers, it is now possible to obtain reason- Even where the calculations are feasible, there remains
ably accurate estimates of laminar ow pressure drops in an intellectual issue in that the internal workings of most
motionless mixtures. Results have been published on the CFD codes are unpublished so that independent verication
LPD mixer (Tanguy et al., 1990), the SMRX (Mickaily- is impossible.
Huber et al., 1996), the Kenics mixer (Hobbs et al., 1998)
and the SMX mixer (Rauline et al., 2000) on three-dimen-
Key Parameters for Assessing Mixing Homogeneity
sional grids. Rauline et al. (1998) demonstrated the applic-
ability of CFD to predict pressure drop for six commercially Mixing homogeneity in nonreacting ows
available static mixers (Kenics, Inliner, LPD, Cleveland, There are a great variety of parameters that can be used
SMX and ISG). A comparison of Kp values obtained from to assess mixing homogeneity. Grosz-Roll (1980) tabulates
the vendor, from published experimental results and from more than 50. Unfortunately, these parameters are not
CFD calculations is given in Table 7. Quite good agreement always clearly dened and nor easy to compare to each
is achieved for each type of mixer. CFD methods have other. There is no single criterion suitable for all applica-
reached a reasonable state of maturity with respect tions, and all the criteria have advantages and disadvan-
to pressure calculations in single-phase, isoviscometric, tages. The rst analysis of mixing effectiveness in static
laminar ows. However, CFD is still restricted to a small mixers used the striation model illustrated in Figure 5. This
mixer. The geometric parameters of the mixing elements 1982; Pahl and Muschelknautz, 1982). A functional form
have been excluded from the correlation variables and the used to t COV data is:
number of mixing elements is reected by the L=D ratio The
Schmidt number contains the molecule diffusivity: Z0 L
COV b exp (44)
D
m
Sc (41)
r where b and Z 0 are adjustable constants. This relation is
useful in for both laminar and turbulent ow. The para-
where is the binary diffusion coefcient for the mixture. meter Z 0 represents the rate of decrease in COV per unit of
An alternative to the Schmidt number is the dimensionless mixer length. Table 9 summarizes experimental result of
diffusion number, dened as Pahl and Muschelkautz (1982), Alloca (1982), Grosz-Roll
(1980) and Cybulski and Werner (1986). The data in Table
t 9 are for m1 =m2 1 and laminar ow. Results for turbulent
Di (42)
D2 ow are given by Grosz-Roll (1980) for the corrugated-
plate Sulzer SMV that is primarily used in the turbulent
where t is the mean residence time in the mixer. Di com- regime.
bines operating and phsyical variables in a manner similar to As a rst approximation, b depends only on c 1 or,
that for the Reynolds number. Di is used in reaction equivalently the volumetric ow ratio, Q1=Q2, in laminar
engineering, and Merill and Hamrin (1970) concluded that ows, while Z0 depends only on mixer geometry. Grosz-Roll
molecular diffusion could be ignored in undisturbed laminar (1980) observed that the COV decreases when c 1 is
ow. increased. Indeed, the COV should have a minimum at
Grosz-Roll (1980) noted that the dependence on c 1 0:5 and be symmetric about this point, at least for
Reynolds number can be neglected for laminar ow, that the case of m1 =m2 1, because the components are concep-
the density ratio has little inuence in most applications, and tually interchangeable when they have the same physical
that molecular diffusion is typically negligible. Furthermore, properties. Grosz-Roll (1980) specied component 1 to be
the ratio of ow rates can be replaced by the average the high viscosity component so m1 =m2 1. Symmetry is
concentration of component 1 without loss of generality. lost when m1 =m2 > 1 because it is easier to mix a low
Thus, the coefcient of variation becomes a function of viscosity uid into a high viscosity than conversely.
three dimensionless variables: The following methodology for choosing a distributive
mixer is suggested:
m1 L
COV f ; c ; (43) (i) select a mixer type and diameter;
m2 1 D
(ii) specify the desired value of c1 ;
We ignore for the moment the effect of viscosity ratio. Then (iii) calculate Re to determine the ow regime;
a plot of COV vs L=D for xed values of c 1 shows the (iv) estimate b and Z using Table 9 or data from manu-
approach to homogeneity in a motionless mixer (Alloca, facturers;
Figure 16. Number of helical elements necessary to achieve homogeneity (adapted from Sir and Lecjaks, 1982).
(v) use equation (44) to determine L and of the number of affect ows at very low Re values that are not included in
elements necessary to achieve the desired COV value. Figure 16. In contrast, there is an effect of viscosity ratio.
The continuous curves for m1 =m2 3 and m1 =m2 5 in
Some special cases may require more attention:
Figure 16 suggests that achieving homogeneity is actually
(i) when Re is in the transition range; easier when m1 =m2 is increased, but this conclusion cannot
(ii) when m1 =m2 > 1; be generalized to very high values of m1 =m2 . Cybulski and
(iii) when c1 < 0:01 or c1 > 0:99; Werner (1986) studied the inuence of viscosity ratio on N
(iv) when the components are only partially miscible even for several commercial static mixers, and their results are
though the homogenized mixture would be single presented in Table 10. See also Rauline et al. (2000). When
phase. m1 =m2 is around 103, N may be twice the value required
when viscosity ratio is around 1. Finally, when m1 =m2 is
Situations (i) and (ii) are addressed in Figure 16. This gure higher than 100,000, N becomes so high that it is more cost
shows the number of mixing elements needed to achieve effective to use dynamic mixers than motionless inserts
homogeneity (COV 0.05) using Kenics-type helical (Myers et al., 1997). Similar results are obtained for volu-
inserts. for several values of m1 =m2 and Sc (Cybulski and metric ow rate ratio. This parameter becomes quite impor-
Werner, 1986). It is seen that N increases with increasing Re tant when Q1=Q2 is outside the range of 0.01 to 100
up to about Re 50. N then passes through a maximum and (0:01 < c 1 < 0:99). Special injection devices may be
decreases for higher Re, becoming approximately constant required for the minor component or else dynamic mixers
in the turbulent regime. This agrees with the observations of may be necessary (Baker, 1991).
Grosz-Roll (1980) and indicates that homogeneity is more Sir and Lecjaks (1982) recommended the following
difcult to achieve in the transition region than in the equation to estimate the optimal number of Kenics helical
laminar or turbulent regions. Similar behavior is expected elements:
with other types of static mixer and has been explained
using CFD studies as discussed in the next section. Figure a3 a4
16 also shows that molecular diffusion is relatively unim- 0 Q1 m
N a Re Sc
a1 a2
1 (45)
portant in the transition and turbulent regimes. Sc does Q2 m2
Number of elements, N
Mixer type Re < 10 10 < Re < 103 103 < Re < 2103 Re > 2103
Kenics Le=De 1.7 10 20 31 41
Sulzer SMV Le=De 1 2
Sulzer SMX Le=De 1.5 8 11 14
N form Le=De 1.2 7 1319 1925 25
The values of the empirical parameters a0 , a1, a2, a3 and a4 Predicting mixing using CFD
depend on the ow regime. For example, Sir and Lecjaks Owing to the complex geometry of static mixers,
(1982) showed that a2 reaches a minimum value for analytic solutions for the velocity eld are infeasible.
Re > 400. The functional form of equation (45) should be However, numerical solutions can provide a starting point
useful for mixers other than the Kenics. for understanding mixing performance. In particular,
simulations can provide qualitative insights that can be
Mixing in reactive ows used to improve mixer designs. For example, alternate
When static mixers are used as reactors, the residence congurations of the Kenics mixer can be generated by
varying the geometric factors such as the aspect ratio and
time distribution becomes an important parameter. The
twist angle. The velocity elds for these alternate cong-
approach to piston ow with increasing N has been
urations obtained from CFD computations can then be
the subject of many studies (Bor, 1971; Nigam and Vasu-
analyzed in a number of ways to characterize performance.
deva, 1980; Nauman, 1982). A variety of models have been
Lagrangian tracking of particles is a standard tool for this
proposed, generally for the Kenics helical mixer, using
analysis. The results can be used to determine the residence
Newtonian and non-Newtonian uids (Wen and Fan,
time distribution, and various inlet-to-outlet mappings
1975; Nigam and Naumann, 1985; Pustelnik, 1986;
including Poincare sections and stretching histories.
Kemblowski and Pustelnik, 1988). More recently, RTD
Conceptually at least, these measurements can be used to
measurements and modeling with SMX static mixers have
understand the action of the mixer for applications such as
been published (Li et al., 1996; Fradette et al., 1998; Yoon
heat or mass transfer, coalescence and break-up of drops,
and Choi, 1996). Manufacturers data are also available,
and chemical reactions. The coefcient of variation can be
sometimes expressed as the Peclet number that is the key
calculated subject to the caveats above. Recall also that
parameter in the well-known axial dispersion model:
static mixers are ow devices and that particle tracking
uL experiments should be weighted by ow rate rather than
Pe (46) area, a fact sometimes forgotten by otherwise sophisticated
Dax
researchers.
where Dax is the axial dispersion coefcient. Dax has the CFD studies on helical inserts of the Kenics type are
same units as molecular diffusion but is intended to reect fairly extensive. Early approaches were mentioned above. A
the combined effects of convection, molecular diffusion and, commercial nite element, FLUENT, was used by Bakker
for turbulent ow, eddy diffusion. The yield of an isother- and LaRoche (1993) and Bakker et al. (1994) to study the
mal, rst-order reaction depends only on the residence time Kenics KM and HEV mixers. Gyenis and Blickle (1992)
distribution, and any model is adequate for predicting the performed stochastic simulations of unsteady-state particle
yield of such reactions provided it adequately the residence ows. Hobbs and Muzzio (1997a,b) did signicant work in
time distribution function. The axial dispersion model will numerically characterizing the Kenics static mixer using a
do this when N is large and the residence time distribution commercially available CFD, FLUENT=UNSTM. The
approaches piston ow, but the axial dispersion model is numerical approach accounts for transitions between mixer
unsuited for use with complex reactions in the laminar elements and the nite thickness of the mixer elements,
transitional regimes. It is also unsuited for reactions with factors that were neglected in earlier studies. Flow transi-
unmixed feeds. tions at the entrance and exit of each element affect the
The necessary approach for laminar ows is a rigorous velocity eld for about 25% of the element length under
solution of the convective diffusion equations for mass and creeping ow conditions. The magnitude of the rate of strain
heat, combined with the equations of motions that are tensor was roughly uniform over the central 75% of a
coupled due to the dependence of viscosity on temperature mixing element, but shifted toward higher values in the
and composition. Such calculations are feasible for undis- end regions where the element-to-element transition occurs.
turbed laminar ow in tubes with premixed feed. See for Particle tracking simulations were used to compute resi-
example Nauman (2002, Chapter 8). They remain infea- dence time distributions, striation evolution and the coef-
sible for motionless mixers. Modern CFD codes are cient of variation as a function of the number of mixer
accurate for pressure and velocity calculations but are elements for low Reynolds number ows (Hobbs and
notoriously inaccurate for diffusion. The difculty is Muzzio, 1998). The average stretching of material elements
partly due to numerical diffusion induced by the conver- increased exponentially with the number of elements, which
gence acceleration techniques used in most codes and the is a signature of chaotic ows. The logarithm of stretching
difculty in accurate material balance closure using the intensity had a Gaussian distribution over the central spec-
nite element or nite volume techniques that are now trum of stretching intensities, with no deviation from the
preferred for CFD. Work is in progress, but a new Gaussian prole at low stretching intensities, suggesting a
generation of CFD codes will be necessary to enable globally chaotic ow. For creeping ow conditions (Re < 1),
accurate reaction calculations. the ow in Kenics elements is globally chaotic, and mixing
The use of static mixers for fast chemical reactions with performance is independent of Re. For Re 100, signicant
unmixed feed streams has received substantial literature islands of regular motion develop. These islands do not
attention. Readers will nd details in the contributions of exchange material with the remainder of the ow and act as
Bourne and Maire (1991), Bourne et al. (1992), Penney et al. barriers to uniform mixing. For Re 1000, the ow is again
(1995) and Baldyga et al. (1997), but none of the methods predominantly chaotic but small islands still lead to less
proposed have yet received general acceptance. Fast reac- effective mixing than under creeping ow conditions. This
tions with unmixed feed streams pose a currently insur- nding is broadly consistent with the experimental results
mountable problem for CFD codes. shown in Figure 16.
Hobbs et al. (1998) used CFD to study variations on the Turbulent mixing in a Sulzer SMV static mixer was
standard Kenics mixer geometry. They investigated the twist studied by Lang et al. (1995). A nite volume scheme
direction of the adjacent elements, the length to diameter was used to solve the continuity, momentum and energy
ratio of an element and the amount of twist per element. equations. The application was an industrial denitrication
While ow in a mixer with the standard conguration process. The simulation showed that maldistributions of
where elements have alternating twist directionis generally concentration and temperature were reduced by the SMV
chaotic; the ow in a mixer where all elements have the same mixers, but that a considerable part of the mixing occurs in
twist direction displays large segregated areas that prevent the wake of the SMV mixer. The mixer induces vortices that
homogenization. The extent of mixing per element was continue the mixing downstream of the SMV.
found to be independent of aspect ratio, suggesting the use Tanguy et al. (1990, 1993) produced a preliminary
of shorter elements. This nding is also consistent with analysis of ow in SMRX static mixer. Mickaily-Huber
experimental results (Joshi et al., 1995). In creeping ow, et al. (1996) also studied the ow in SMRX with the aim of
a substantial increase in mixer efciency can be achieved optimizing the design. A nite element method was used,
using elements with less twist than the standard 180 design. but commercial grid generators were unable to create a grid
Thus agrees with the suggestions by Dackson and Nauman for the complex geometry of the SMRX, and a special grid
(1987) who also studied the creeping ow regime. Variations generator had to be developed. The effect of twist angle
on element twist angle y were investigated over a range between elements, which is generally neglected in experi-
y 30 to y 210 . These variations affected the nature of mental investigations, on pressure drop, mixing and inten-
the ow, and a distinct maximum in mixer efciency was sity of segregation was studied numerically. A 90 inner
found near 120 of twist per element. The mixer was 44% element twist angle was found to provide the most efcient
more energy efcient than the standard mixer with a 180 mixing.
twist. Fradette et al. (1998) performed a three-dimensional nite
Hobbs and Muzzio (1997b) investigated the performance element simulation of uid ow through a SMX static
of the Kenics static mixer for adding small streams of mixer. Calculated pressure drops for both Newtonian and
an inert tracer into the bulk ow. Flow ratios of 1=99 and non-Newtonian uids were compared to the experimental
10=90 were simulated at nine different injection points. Two measurements of Li et al. (1996). Good agreement between
alternative geometries are considered in addition to the simulations and experiments showed that nite element
standard Kenics geometry. The spread of the tracer was simulation can properly represent the very complex velocity
visually evaluated by examining the cross-sectional slices eld generated by the SMX mixer. The energy levels at
at various axial positions. The coefcient of variation was various points in the mixer and axial elongation rates were
also computed as a function of axial position. For the also calculated. Visser et al. (1999) used CFD to calculate
standard Kenics geometry, the extent of mixing depends ow velocities and residence time distributions in a
on the location of the injection for the rst few elements, three dimensional model of the SMX. The residence time
but subsequently becomes independent of injection location. calculations determined by particle tracking gave Peclet
In a sufciently long mixer, material injected at any location numbers of 4.2 per SMX element in good agreement with
spreads to the entire ow, but the least effective injection experimental values.
locations require up to four elements more than the The mixing performance of the helical Kenics mixer and
most effective locations to achieve the same COV value. the SMX mixer were compared in the creeping ow regime
The COV decreases more rapidly for a ow ratio of by Rauline et al. (2000) using three-dimensional numerical
1=99 than 10=90. An alternative geometry in which the simulations. Several criteria were used: mixer length,
elements have a 120 of twist instead of the standard 180 of Lyapunov exponent, mean shear rate and intensity of segre-
twist shows a similar dependence on injection location and gation. The SMX mixer was found to be more efcient than
ow ratio, but is more energy-efcient than the standard the Kenics when the mixing task is difcult or when
Kenics geometry. When all elements have the same direc- installation space is restricted.
tion of twist, segregated islands exist in the ow. If the
injection into these segregated zones, there is virtually no
mixing. For injection outside of the segregated zones, the
Key Parameters for Interface Generation
tracer spreads to the remaining ow, but does not penetrate
the zones. Interface generation and mass transfer enhancement using
Byrde and Sawley (1999) studied the optimization of a static mixers is much more difcult to predict than mixing
Kenics static mixer for Re above the noncreeping ow effectiveness for miscible uids. Key parameters for gas
region. Contrary to the previous investigations for creeping liquid systems such as gas hold-up and average bubble size
ow, it was found that the standard twist angle of 180 is are difcult to predict even in empty pipes or in conven-
indeed optimal. It is clear that the Kenics geometry behaves tional gasliquid contactors like bubble columns due to the
differently (and generally worse) in transitional ows than in large number variables that affect performance: two densi-
deep laminar ows. ties, two viscosities, surface tension, two ow rates, co- or
Turning to other types of mixers, Bertrand et al. (1994) counter-current operation and device geometry. As a
used a commercial code, POLY3DTM from Rheotek Inc., to consequence, parameters are easy to put into evidence, but
investigate the residence time distribution in LPD and ISG only a few correlations are available for their prediction. In
mixers. They set N 2 so the distribution was little changed this section, we review the parameters important for char-
from undisturbed laminar ow. The ISG mixer was found to acterizing interface generation in static mixers for multi-
be more efcient than the LPD mixer in shifting the phase systems and the methods available for design
residence time distribution toward that of piston ow. purposes.
Gasliquid systems (Goto and Gaspillo, 1992). This could in turn decrease KL,
In gasliquid systems, static mixers can be used in but an increase in KLa is the usual result from using static
bubble, spray and stratied annular ows. A key parameter mixing elements. For loop reactors, uL is not an independent
to be estimated is the liquid-side mass transfer coefcient, variable, and with a xed reactor size, equation (48)
KLa. General methods for measuring KLa in gasliquid becomes a function of uG alone:
systems can be found in Marquez et al. (1994). Some 0
correlations of experimental data have been published for KL a a0 ubG (b0 > 0) (50)
commercial motionless mixers, but their range of applic- For an external loop airlift reactor, the performance of a
ability is limited. As a result, using motionless inserts for helical corrugated sheet with a 90 twist angle (Goto and
multiphase mass transfer requires either experimental inves- Gaspillo, 1992) and SMV elements (Chisti et al., 1990) has
tigations or proprietary data from vendors or other sources. been compared to that of conventional loop reactors (see
Wang and Fan (1978) used the following correlating equa- Figure 17). Chisti et al. (1990) also studied also the
tion for a xed length bubble column equipped with inuence of the rheological properties of the continuous
motionless mixers: phase for shear-thinning uids. They found that KLa
0 0 increased more for uids with high consistency indices.
KL a a0 ubL ecG (47) This effect decreases however at high gas ow rate, as
Here, uL is the liquid supercial velocity, eG is the gas highly viscous liquids are known to favor coalescence.
hold-up, and a0 , b0, c0 are adjustable constants. The authors Results are shown in Figure 17.
showed that the static mixers increase both the interfacial Interfacial area is generally easy to estimate for annular
area, a, and the liquid-side mass transfer coefcient, KL. The ows. In this case, only the mass transfer coefcient has to
increase in interfacial area is due to an increase in gas hold- be predicted. For Kenics helical elements, Morris et al.
up due to the lower relative velocity and the higher residence (cited by Joshi et al., 1995) proposed expressions for the
time of small bubbles. A strong inuence of uL on KL was Sherwood number Sh.
also reported, contrary to conventional bubble columns. This
KL dh dh 0:88
is mainly due to the positive inuence on mixing of Sh 1:86 (1 0:32 N ) Reh Sc
motionless elements in the continuous liquid phase L
A more general correlating equation for a given gas and 500 < Re < 1600
liquid replaces the gas holdup with the gas supercial Sc0:4 ]
Sh Sh0 [1 0:06 N 0:283
Re0:32
velocities, uG, and adds dependence on the L=D ratio for h
rst contribution to the prediction of d32 was that of properties such as density, viscosity and volume fraction.
Middleman (1974) who studied the Kenics static mixer. Water was used as the continuous phase in all or nearly all
He proposed the following relation: of the studies, so considerable care is recommended if
another continuous phase is used.
d32 When the operational goal is mass transfer, e.g. for co-
A Wea1 Rea2 (53)
D current liquidliquid extraction, the key parameter is the
liquidliquid transfer coefcient, KDa. Literature studies
Since his pioneering work, many other correlations have include extractions in systems of benzenewateracetic acid,
been published that include a variety of commercial static toluenewateracetic acid systems, butanolwatersuccinic
mixers. Results are summarized in Table 11. Most show an acid, toluenewateracetone and carbon tetrachloridewater
explicit dependence on the Weber number with an exponent propionic acid systems (Jancic et al., 1983; Streiff and Jancic,
that ranges from 0.74 to 0.4. The negative exponent 1984). A relation equivalent to equation (48) for KLa can be
means that increasing the ow rate of the continuous phase used for KDa (Cybulski and Werner, 1986):
or decreasing the surface tension leads to smaller drops. The
exponent on Reynolds number is slightly positive so that an d 0
0 0 0 D
increase in viscosity of the continuous phase favors drop KD a a ubc ucd (54)
size reduction. Only a few of the studies varied the mixer L
geometry, so most results are restricted to the specic device
that was used. For the three studies in which N was varied, where uc and ud are the supercial velocities of the contin-
the exponent ranged from 0.825 to 0.436 so that uous and the dispersed phases, respectively. Experimental
increasing the number of mixing elements can signicantly results on toluenewater and benzenewater systems
lower the drop size. Figure 18(a) shows the inuence of We showed that d0 has only a slight dependence on the physical
on d32 for these studies, and Figure 18(b) shows how the properties of the uids. As a result, KD and Sherwood
ratio of dispersed to continuous phase viscosity affects d32. number can be assumed to be independent of aspect ratio
The published correlations in Table 11 and cover a variety of L=D when the number of elements is higher than 4 (Joshi
liquidliquid systems. The dispersed phases were typical et al., 1995). In contrast, b0 and c0 are quite different for
organics including kerosene, benzene, toluene and oil. The toluenewater and benzenewater systems and cannot be
various correlations include the effects of dispersed phase predicted from measurements made on different uids. An
Table 11. Correlations for Sauter-mean diameter for drops in liquidliquid systems.
buoyancy correction is occasionally needed as well. A Kenics mixers compared to open tubes and conclude that,
general relation to predict Nu when static mixers are for the same duty, pressure drop and in-process inventory,
inserted in pipes has been proposed by Cybulski and the Kenics should be installed in a tube about 40% larger
Werner (1986): than would be used for an empty tube.
d 0 Fan et al. (1978) proposed a surface renewal model for
0 b0 c0 D condensation or vaporization inside a tube equipped with
Nu Nu0 a Re Pr (58)
L static mixers:
1=2
In this expression, Nu0 represents pure conductive, and Pr is m D rm
the Prandtl number, dened as: Nu a0 [Pr][ReL ] L
mm L rL
mcp " #1=2
Pr (59) 0
(1 x )Hfg Hsp
k (60)
Cpm (Tb Tw )
where cp is the specic heat of the process uid.
Table 13 gives published correlations for the Nusselt In equation (60) the subscript m represents the gasliquid
number for ow inside tubes that contain static mixers. mixture, Hfg is the latent heat, Hsp is the sensible heat, the
The correlations are assumed to be independent the ratio of subscript w represents properties at the wall and x0 is the
wall viscosity to bulk viscosity, presumably on the grounds mass fraction of vapor at the condenser exit, namely vapor
that there is good renewal of liquid at the walls. However, Li quality. Azer and Lin (1980) showed that helical elements
et al. (1996) found this assumption to be incorrect of SMX could increase heat transfer up to a factor of 10. These
mixers in laminar ow and it is probably incorrect for other authors dened a new key parameter H which takes both
mixers given a large enough temperature difference. For heat transfer enhancement and pressure drop increase into
laminar ow, all but one of the correlations in Table 13 show account:
a dependence on L=D, indicating that renewal of liquid at
the wall is limited and that a thermal boundary layer does (Qheat =Aq DP)with mixer
H (61)
develop in static mixers. As a rule of thumb, heat transfer (Qheat =Aq DP)without mixer
coefcient can be increased by a factor of 23 using helical
elements and by a factor of 5 using Sulzer SMX elements. A In this expression, Qheat is the heat ux while Aq is the heat
comparison of heat transfer enhancement using commer- transfer area. The experimental results of Azer and Lin
cially available motionless mixers is presented in Figure 20. (1980) showed that H decreases when Reynolds number is
Joshi et al. (1995) give a detailed design comparison of increased, as pressure drop increases dramatically with Re in
Table 13. Correlations for Nusselt number in tubes containing static mixers.
Figure 20. Nusselt numbers for commercial static mixers. GUIDELINES FOR SELECTING A STATIC MIXER
Selecting a static mixer for a specic operation is not an
easy task. Perhaps more difcult is deciding whether a static
the turbulent regime (see Figure 21). Static mixers are mixer should be used at all. Much of the literature on static
highly effective during the transition between forced convec- mixers has been written by enthusiasts who advocate their
tion, single-phase ow and subcooled, nucleate boiling use, sometimes to excess. There is no doubt that static mixers
because heat transfer enhancement is high without an have been sold into applications where they do not belong.
excessive increase in pressure drop. The heat ux per unit Some engineers have specied their use on the imsy
pressure drop can be improved by increasing the number of grounds that they will do no harm and might do some
element at low Re. good. Having said that, we also say that sound design practice
The use of static mixers to improve heat transfer in is to at least consider the use of static mixers whenever
chemical reactors was discussed above. Quantitative mechanical agitation appears necessary or when heat or mass
generalizations are difcult. transfer imposes limits on process performance.
Visser et al. (1999) used CFD to predict pressures, There are relatively few applications that demand the use
velocities and temperatures in SMX elements. The calcu- of static mixers. There is usually a traditional method for
lated pressure drop agrees with experimental results. Calcu- solving the same problem. Proper specication of a static
lated heat transfer coefcients for cooling through the wall mixer requires a comparison between the solution that uses
were lower than experimental values. This is attributed to conventional technology and the solution that uses a static
the fact that heat conduction in the plates was neglected. mixer. Operating conditions that favor the use of motionless
Simulations with innite conductivity of the plates resulted mixers include continuous ow with constant ow rates, the
in higher heat transfer coefcients than observed experi- desire for a low residence time, and the desire to avoid back-
mentally. CFD is a promising tool for optimizing heat mixing, but there are many exceptions to these genera-
transfer enhancement using static mixers. lizations. Comparisons must also be made within the class
of motionless mixers because there are many commercial
types, and once in a while, a special, new design is justied.
Key Parameters for Axial Mixing General guidelines for choosing a particular type of the
One key parameter for an axial mixer is the rst appear- static mixers can be summarized as follows:
ance time of an inert tracer. The device tested by Nauman
(i) Mixing inserts with blades and large sections available
for ow (e.g. HEV, LPD, LLPD, Komax) are suitable
for simple turbulent ow applications such as mixing,
heat transfer or thermal homogenization. They can also
be used for solids blending and dispersion when the
uid phase viscosity is low. These designs tend to
remain relatively clean in operation and, by enhancing
wall turbulence, may prevent plugging and fouling.
(ii) An open design with helical elements is optimal for
laminar ow, inline mixing and thermal homogeniza-
tion (e.g. helical Kenics elements), as the helices
redistribute and mix the ow without creating vortices.
(iii) Static mixers with inserts of the corrugated plate type
(e.g. the SMV mixer) are ideal for creating very homo-
geneous blends and for achieving co-current gasliquid
and liquidliquid mass transfer because they induce an
Figure 21. Key parameter H for heat transfer in condensation and evaporation intense radial mixing. Corrugated-plate static mixers
processes. may also be used for heat transfer enhance.
(iv) The multilayer design (e.g. SMX, SMXL) is used for units can the dominant factor in facilities that make multiple
highly viscous uids in the laminar regime, but also products.
seem suitable in multiphase liquidliquid, liquidsolid
and gasliquid ows when the continuous phase is SCALE-UP CONSIDERATIONS
viscous or viscoelastic.
There are three conceptually different ways of increasing
(v) The KochSulzer SMR is a specialized design for heat
the capacity of a production facility that uses motionless
transfer during a polymerization. mixers:
(vi) Specialized types of static mixers are optimal for
packing and ow redistribution in distillation columns. (i) add identical mixers in parallelthe shell-and-tube
They are generally superior to the general purpose designs used for heat exchangers are common and
mixers that are the primary topic of this paper. A similar inexpensive ways of increasing capacity;
remark can be made regarding inserts for heat exchan- (ii) make the mixer longeradding tube length and addi-
ger tubes. tional mixing inserts to a single-tube will increase capa-
city in approximate proportion to the increase in length;
Figure 22 (adapted from Myers et al., 1997) presents some
(iii) increase the tube diameter, either to maintain a constant
of these guidelines in the form of a logic diagram. Note
pressure drop or to scale with (approximate) geometric
however, that contrary to the diagram, static mixers are used
similaritygeometric similarity for a tube means keep-
in batch and fed batch systems.
ing the same length-to-diameter ratio, L=D, upon scale-
Once a particular type of static mixer has been selected, its
up. Scaling with a constant pressure drop will lower the
more detailed evaluation is based on the following factors:
length-to-diameter ratio if the ow is turbulent.
(i) pressure drop and power requirements; The throughput scale-up factor, S, is dened as
(ii) specic key parameters for operation;
(iii) miscellaneous practical considerations. throughput for full-scale unit
S (62)
throughput of pilot unit
Predictions of pressure drop and the other key parameters
are discussed above. The most important practical consi- A scale-up with S 10 is considered moderate while a
deration is probably capital cost. Operating costs including scale-up with S 100 is aggressive but reects a modern
utilities and maintenance may differ from those of the trend made possible by our increasing understanding of
traditional solution. Process latitude, especially for turn- process fundamentals.
down, can be an important factor in evaluating a design.
The ease of retrotting can be important in process Scaling in Parallel
upgrades. The ease of cleaning or of quickly interchanging
Scaling tube ows in parallel gives an exact duplication
of process conditions. The number of tubes, Ntubes , increases
in direct proportion to the desired increase in throughput:
(Ntubes)full-scale
S (63)
(Ntubes)pilot
All other process variables including t, DP, Re and Nu are
independent of S. The only worry about scaling static mixers
in parallel is the possibility of tube-to-tube instabilities and
maldistributions that can arise when the tubes are fed from a
common pressure source. The viscous ngering problem
already discussed can occur between tubes just as it can
within a tube when there is a large change in viscosity due to
reaction. Sound practice is to use three or more tubes in
parallel in the pilot unit, but this may force undesirably high
ow rates at the pilot scale. A publication by Hoftyzer and
Zwietering (1961) discusses stability of a tubular polyme-
rization reactor and provides some guidance, but there is still
no satisfactory means for predicting tube-to-tube instabi-
lities. Of course, using a separate pump for each tube will
eliminate any concerns about tube-to-tube interactions.
Multiphase columns are often scaled by increasing the
column diameter while keeping the same size of packing,
the same supercial velocity, and the same column length or
at least the same pressure drop. This form of scaling in
parallel is generally satisfactory for gasliquid contacting
operations. It is assumed that heat transfer through the
column walls is unimportant. Depending on the type of
Figure 22. Logic diagram for static mixer selection (adapted from Myers packing, the voidage near the wall may be higher than in the
et al., 1997). center of the column, but such wall effects can usually be
ignored. Flow distribution across the column can be a heat generation or heat exchanger dury. Thus, if S is large,
problem, and redistribution plates are usually needed at geometrically similar scale-ups are limited to systems that
periodic axial positions in a large diameter column. are adiabatic or nearly adiabatic. A second problem is that
the increase in Re may drive the system into the transition
region with a consequent less in mixing efciency. With a
Scaling in Series geometric similar scale-up, the number of mixing elements
Scaling in series is usually a conservative way of scaling is constant, and thus the COV could rise unacceptably. A
when the process uids are incompressible. The key limita- similar but smaller problem arises when the striation thick-
tion is, of course, pressure drop. The Reynolds number ness model is used to characterize mixing. If the tube
increases proportionately to the ow rate: diameter is increased, more elements are needed to maintain
the same quality product. The extra number of elements is
(Re)full-scale
S (64) given by
(Re)pilot
log S
as does the ratio of tube lengths and the number of mixing Nextra (66)
3log 2
elements. Existing correlations show that the increase in Re
will improve heat and mass transfer coefcients. The pres- assuming the 2N model for striations. This is a slowly
sure drop will increase as S2 in the laminar regime and as increasing function of S, e.g. a factor of 512 increase in
S2.75 in fully turbulent ows. Depending on the process throughput requires only three extra elements. Note that the
objectives, it might be possible to increase tube length log 2 term in equation (66) is replaced by log 4 for mixers
somewhat less than proportionately to ow rate. Reactions, governed by the 4N model.
however, will require the same residence time and thus a A nal problem associated with geometric scale-ups is
proportionate increase in ow rate. due to the diminishing effects of molecular diffusion upon
Other than the marked increase in pressured drop, the scale-up. The diffusion number, Di, will decrease with any
major concern with scaling static mixers in series is repre- form of scale-up that increases tube diameter while keeping
sented by the rather anomalous mixing behavior at inter- a constant value for t. Molecular diffusion has a generally
mediate Reynolds. As shown by the experimental results in benecial effect on performance that will decrease on scale-
Figure 16 and conrmed by CFD studies, mixing perfor- up. The conservative approach is to use a large enough
mance, as measured by the number of elements needed to diameter tube that molecular diffusion is negligible in the
achieve a given COV, can decrease with an increase in Re. pilot plant, e.g. Di < 8 104 . Using a large-diameter tube
However, the total number of elements will increase propor- has the added advantage of giving a low Re that will remain
tionately to ow rate, and this increase should be adequate relatively low upon scale-up. The disadvantage of using a
to retain desirable mixing characteristics. large diameter mixer in the pilot plants is that the number of
It is concluded that scaling in series will be satisfactory mixing elements may be too small or the in-process inven-
from the viewpoint of product quality in liquid and liquid tory too large.
liquid systems. It is generally inappropriate for gas and gas For geometrically similar scale-ups in highly turbulent
liquid systems due to the large increase in in-process ows inside tubes, with or without mixing inserts, the
inventory that will accompany the higher pressures needed pressure drop will increase approximately as S 1=2 :
for a series scale-up.
DPfull-scale
S 1=2 (67)
DPpilot
Scaling with a Change in Diameter
The extra pumping energy results in greater eddy diffusion,
The most common way of changing the tube diameter contributing to mixing and heat transfer, but not enough to
upon scale-up is scaling with geometric symmetry. The overcome the relative loss in surface area. The reaction will
aspect ratios of the tube, L=D, and of the mixing elements, become adiabatic if S is large.
Le =De are held constant upon scale-up. All linear dimen- Scale-ups with geometric similarity give equation (67) for
sions such as L and D scale as S 1=3 so that a factor of 2 both turbulent gas and liquid ows provided equation (65) is
increase in diameter gives a factor of 8 increase in through- satised. However, the compressibility of the gas means that
put. Specically, the in-process inventory of the gas will increase faster than
Lfull-scale Dfull-scale S, and thus the mean residence time will increase upon
S 1=3 (65) scale-up. A scale-up using geometric similarity is possible
Lpilot Dpilot
for gas ows, but the exponent in equation (65) must be
The volume scales as S so that the in-process inventory also replaced by a value lower than 1=3 to reect the change in
scales as S and the mean residence time is constant if the average density between the pilot plant and full-scale plant.
=
uid is incompressible. The Reynolds number scales as S2 3. Constant-pressure scale-ups are generally preferred for gas
For laminar ows with f given by equation (20), the pressure ows, and these depart from geometric similarity.
drop is constant upon scale-up. This means that a geome- In laminar ow, scaling with constant pressure drop is
trically similar scale-up works as well for gas ows as for identical to scaling with geometric similarity. In turbulent
liquid ows. ow, they are different. The following analysis assumes that
There are several problems associated with geometrically the friction factors varies as Re0.25. This is a good
similar scale-ups. The most important limitation is that the approximation for turbulent ows in empty tubes and in
wall surface area scales as S 2=3 so that this design has the SMX mixers at high Reynolds numbers (Li et al., 1997a). It
common problem of surface area rising more slowly than is likely to be a reasonable approximation for other mixers
in the fully turbulent region. Under this assumption, a scale- subject to a constraint on pressure drop. A more general
up with constant DP will result when question begins with a tube of diameter D and length L and
asks what internal alterations should be made to optimize
Dfull-scale Lfull-scale
S 11=22 and S 5=22 (68) heat transfer given a maximum allowable pressure drop.
Dpilot Lpilot Similar questions can be asked for thermal or compositional
homogenization. For example, suppose the in-process inven-
This form of scale-up gives volume and in-process inven- tory and the pressure drop are limited to some maximum
tory proportional to S so that t is constant. The external values. Subject to these constraints, what static geometry
surface area scales as S 16=27 compared to S 2=3 for geometric will minimize the (maximum) striation thickness? It is clear
similarity. The Reynolds number also scales as S 16=27. The from the results in Figure 16 that motionless mixers do not
aspect ratio scales as S 6=22 and thus decreases upon scale- perform as well as predicted by the simple 2N or 4N
up. The aspect ratio of the mixing inserts will presumably models for striation thickness even when blending physi-
not be changed upon scale-up so the number of inserts will cally identical uids since N 30 should reduce the striation
decrease. As a numerical example, suppose a pilot-scale thickness to molecular dimensions. There is still substantial
mixer contains 24 elements with Le =De 1:5. For a scale- room for improvements both in mixing characterization
up of S 100, equation (68) gives a relative diameter of 10 techniques and physical designs. Given a specic applica-
and a length of 102. Assuming Le =De is unchanged upon tion, the third generation of static mixers will represent
scaleup, only seven mixing elements will t into the large global design optimization rather than local optimization of
tube. This result typies the difculty in scale-up for gas rst generation designs.
phase static mixers. Computer speeds continue to increase and and memory
sizes grow. The hardware has or soon will become powerful
enough to simulate third generation designs for simple
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
applications such as striation thick minimization and heat
Static mixers manipulate ow elds by cleverly designed transfer. In the near future, software inprovements to will
geometries of bounding surfaces. Until the 1980s, the clever give CFD codes that can treat heat transfer and molecular or
designs were based on physical insight and intuition. These eddy diffusion with sufcient accuracy for reaction engi-
designs became the rst generation of static mixers. They neering calculations. Longer term, the codes will become
were immensely successful, stimulating a host of industry useful for multiphase ows, and these improvements will
applications and academic investigations, not all of which have tremendous impact on the design and utilization of
have survived the test of time. Most of the current review motionless mixers both as self-contained devices and as
paper has dealt with these rst generation motionless packings and ow distributors in columns and beds.
mixers. The basic concept of motionless mixersthat is, of
The second generation retains the conceptual designs of manipulating ow elds through cleverly designed geome-
the rst generation but renes the geometries and their tries of bounding surfaceswill nd applications beyond
applications. The emergence of computational uid those traditionally associated with motionless mixers. For
dynamics has allowed this to occur at a much faster rate example, a recent design promotes axial rather than radial
than would have been possible using physical (as opposed to mixing by approximating the residence time distribution of a
numerical) experiments. For the specic example of helices CSTR (Nauman et al., 2002). For two-phase ows, lters
of the Kenics type: what is the optimal angle of twist for an with random congurations of bers or particles have long
element; what Le=De ratio should be used to achieve this been used to promote coalescence. Operational improve-
twist, what should be the offset angle for the next element in ments should be possible with more structured designs.
series, and should a sequence of elements all have the same These and other two-phase contacting devices will also
geometric parameters or should they be varied as a function benet from using non-metallic or coated elements that
of position in the sequence? Some of these questions have have favorable uid-to-surface interactions.
already been answered. All are feasible to answer, at least As a general conclusion, computational uid dynamics
for a specic application in single-phase, laminar ow, given has already become an essential tool for understanding static
modern CFD codes and computers. We anticipate that the mixer performance. Experiments cannot provide the precise,
answers will be forthcoming both in the open literature and local measurements that are needed to understand the effects
as vendor-supplied responses to customer queries. of complex geometries. Clever people will continue to be
The third generation of motionless mixers will use CFD needed to pose the right questions, and experiments will be
to explore new conceptual designs, and particularly designs needed to conrm truly novel designs and applications.
that are optimal, in some sense, for a given application. However, the future truly lies with CFD. Current codes are
Consider for example heat transfer to a uid in laminar ow complicated both in terms of their mathematical formulation
in a tube of some xed length. Suppose that one motionless and the user interface. The trend for some years has been to
insert can be installed within the tube. What inlet-to-outlet nite elements and nite volume codes; but as mentioned
transformation should the insert perform in order to maxi- above, these techniques are not particularly well suited to
mize heat transfer? Complete mixing within the cross- solving convective diffusion problems. As hardware
section of the tube is not the right answer. It has been becomes faster, there may be movement back to nite
conjectured but not proven that the optimal transformation is difference codes due to their inherent simplicity for large
complete ow inversion (Nauman, 1979). The proof can sets of coupled, partial differential equations for which
presumably be answered using functional optimization, but material and energy balance closure is important. There
the answer will beg the question as to what specic mixer will certainly be movement toward massively parallel
geometry will best approach the optimal transformation computing systems.
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