Gas-liquid mass transfer rates in unbaffled tanks stirred by PBT: scale-up effects and pumping direction

Abstract Unbaffled stirred tanks are increasingly recognized as a viable alternative to common baffled tanks for a range of applications such as biochemical, food or pharmaceutical processes where the presence of baffles is undesirable for some reason. In this work, the mass transfer performance of unbaffled stirred tanks with pitched blade turbine, operating either in up-pumping or down-pumping mode, was investigated. The influence of impeller size and liquid viscosity were also investigated. The mass transfer intensity was measured by means of the Simplified Dynamic Pressure. Method The measurements concerned both coalescent and non-coalescent (viscous) batches. Results confirm that incre…