Speaker
Mr
Ishmael Mumuni
(Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Ghana)
Description
Radiotracer Investigation Of The Effect Of Impeller Type On Mixing In Industrial Process Simulator
S.Y. Adzaklo,* C.P.K. Dagadu, I.I. Mumuni, P.S. Adu, H.A. Affum, G.K. Appiah,
A. Coleman
National Nuclear Research Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, P. O. Box LG 80, Legon-Accra
*s.yadzaklo@gaecgh.org
Abstract
Radiotracer technology has been applied in the industry for the
investigation of process performance, online monitoring of conditions
of process plants, troubleshooting and diagnosing anomalies including
mixing conditions in continuous stirred tank reactors.
In this study, radiotracer methodology was used to carry out
investigation on a laboratory water flow rig which serves as simulator
of industrial processes. The aims of the investigation were to
assess: i) the effect of impeller type on mixing, and ii) the fluid
dynamics of the water in the vessels since both the vessels and the
impellers were redesigned and reconstructed. Four similar vessels in
series circuit with different impeller configurations were
investigated. Tank 1 has 1 axial impeller, tank 2 has 2 axial
impellers, tank 3 has 2 radial impellers and tank 4 has no impeller.
The data was collected by introducing $8$ mCi liquid $^{99m}$Tc
at the inlet stream of the vessels and the $\gamma$-signal was
collected with thallium activated NaI detector placed at the outlet of
the vessels. Residence time distribution (RTD) curves for the outlet
tracer concentration were generated from which the mean residence time
(MRT) and variance were calculated by the method of moments. The
extent of material mixing in the vessels was inferred from the
variances and the fluid dynamics was obtained by modelling.
The extent of mixing was highest in tank 3 followed by tank 1, and
tank 4 gave the poorest mixing. The outlet response curves were
fitted with mathematical models using DTS pro and RTD Software. The
best fit for tanks 2, 3 and 4 was perfect mixers in series with
exchange (PMSE) model while perfect mixers in series with recycle
(PMSR) model best described the fluid dynamics of the material in
tank 1.
| Country/Organization invited to participate | Ghana |
|---|
Primary author
Mr
Simon Yao Adzaklo
(Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Ghana)
Co-authors
Mr
Christian P. K. Dagadu
(Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Ghana)
Mr
Ishmael Mumuni
(Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Ghana)
