Optimization of Integrated Impeller Mixer via Radiotracer Experiments

Radiotracer experiments are carried out in order to determine the mean residence time (MRT) as well as percentage of dead zone, Vdead (%), in an integrated mixer consisting of Rushton and pitched blade turbine (PBT). Conventionally, optimization was performed by varying one parameter and others were...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: N. Othman, S. K. Kamarudin, M. S. Takriff, M. I. Rosli, E. M. F. Engku Chik, M. A. K. Adnan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2014-01-01
Series:The Scientific World Journal
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/242658
Description
Summary:Radiotracer experiments are carried out in order to determine the mean residence time (MRT) as well as percentage of dead zone, Vdead (%), in an integrated mixer consisting of Rushton and pitched blade turbine (PBT). Conventionally, optimization was performed by varying one parameter and others were held constant (OFAT) which lead to enormous number of experiments. Thus, in this study, a 4-factor 3-level Taguchi L9 orthogonal array was introduced to obtain an accurate optimization of mixing efficiency with minimal number of experiments. This paper describes the optimal conditions of four process parameters, namely, impeller speed, impeller clearance, type of impeller, and sampling time, in obtaining MRT and Vdead (%) using radiotracer experiments. The optimum conditions for the experiments were 100 rpm impeller speed, 50 mm impeller clearance, Type A mixer, and 900 s sampling time to reach optimization.
ISSN:2356-6140
1537-744X