LAPSE:2021.0512v1
Published Article
LAPSE:2021.0512v1
Digital Twinning Process for Stirred Tank Reactors/Separation Unit Operations through Tandem Experimental/Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Simulations
Blaž Oblak, Simon Babnik, Vivian Erklavec-Zajec, Blaž Likozar, Andrej Pohar
June 10, 2021
Computational fluid dynamics simulations (CFD) were used to evaluate mixing in baffled and unbaffled vessels. The Reynolds-averaged Navier−Stokes k−ε model was implemented in OpenFOAM for obtaining the fluid flow field. The 95% homogenization times were determined by tracer tests. Experimental tests were conducted by injecting sodium chloride into the vessel and measuring the conductivity with two conductivity probes, while the simulations replicated the experimental conditions with the calculation of the transport of species. It was found that the geometry of the system had a great effect on the mixing time, since the irregular flow distribution, which can be obtained with baffles, can lead to local stagnation zones, which will increase the time needed to achieve the homogenization of the solute. It was also found that measuring local, pointwise concentrations can lead to a high underestimation of the global mixing time required for the homogenization of the entire vessel. Dissolution of sucrose was also studied experimentally and by mathematical modeling. The dissolution of sucrose was found to be kinetically limited and a very good agreement was found between the experiments and the modeling approach. The extent of the applicability of CFD simulations was evaluated for enabling rapid process design via simulations.
Keywords
Computational Fluid Dynamics, dissolution modelling, mixing simulation, reactor design
Suggested Citation
Oblak B, Babnik S, Erklavec-Zajec V, Likozar B, Pohar A. Digital Twinning Process for Stirred Tank Reactors/Separation Unit Operations through Tandem Experimental/Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Simulations. (2021). LAPSE:2021.0512v1
Author Affiliations
Oblak B: Department of Catalysis and Chemical Reaction Engineering, National Institute of Chemistry, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Babnik S: Department of Catalysis and Chemical Reaction Engineering, National Institute of Chemistry, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Erklavec-Zajec V: Department of Catalysis and Chemical Reaction Engineering, National Institute of Chemistry, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Likozar B: Department of Catalysis and Chemical Reaction Engineering, National Institute of Chemistry, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia [ORCID]
Pohar A: Department of Catalysis and Chemical Reaction Engineering, National Institute of Chemistry, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Journal Name
Processes
Volume
8
Issue
11
Article Number
E1511
Year
2020
Publication Date
2020-11-21
Published Version
ISSN
2227-9717
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Original Submission
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PII: pr8111511, Publication Type: Journal Article
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LAPSE:2021.0512v1
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doi:10.3390/pr8111511
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Jun 10, 2021
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CC BY 4.0
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Jun 10, 2021
 
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Jun 10, 2021
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Calvin Tsay
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