Study of mixing behavior of cstr using cfd

Abstract

The continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) is a widely used equipment in chemical relatedindustries. The flow behaviour of fluid inside the reactor may either change from dispersion to ideal or ideal to dispersion mixing state. It is studied using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation software ANSYS Fluent. The mixing behaviour is predicted in terms of age distribution function, I (Θ). For the CSTRwithout impeller and baffles, I (Θ) is found by the tracer injection method. It is measured and predicted by the impeller swept volume method for the CSTR in the presence of impeller and baffles. The predicted results are found to be in good agreement with the literature experimental data. Effect of rpm of the impeller, Reynolds number and viscosity of the process fluid on the mixing characteristics has been investigated.