SOLID DISPERSION IN AN AGITATED VESSEL

The distribution of glass beads in suspension in a stirred tank was examined as a function of the stirrer type, and the size and concentration of the solid particles. The axial and radial profiles of the solid concentration were ascertained by sampling the suspension. The radial profiles were generally flat; this allowed the description of the suspension by a mono dimensional model, based on turbulent dispersion. A dimensionless number was theoretically derived, and was able to correlate the variation in the quality of the suspension, for a given geometric system, as a function of stirrer speed, particle size and concentration. The same correlation was verified successfully with data obtained by other authors.