Circulation time prediction in the scale-up of polymerization reactors with helical ribbon agitators
✍ Scribed by D.F. Ryan; L.P.B.M. Janssen; L.L. van Dierendonck
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 1988
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 522 KB
- Volume
- 43
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0009-2509
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
A fundamental model of fluid circulation in polymerization reactors agitated by helical ribbon impellers is presented. An expression is developed for the circulatory flow generated by a double helical impeller in a reactor with a draught tube. The product of circulation time and ribbon rotational speed is predicted to be a function only of geometric variables for Newtonian fluids in the viscous flow regime. The circulation of Newtonian fluids in an experimental reactor is investigated to verify the model. There is good agreement between the model and experimental results for Reynolds numbers less than 500. At higher Reynolds numbers, inertial effects increase fluid circulation times. Preliminary data are also presented for non-Newtonian fluids. The implications of these results in the scale-up of polymerization reactors are discussed.