Study of fluid dynamic conditions in the selected static mixers part III—research of mixture homogeneity

This paper contains the analysis of mixture homogeneity in two types of static mixers, Koflo and Kenics, based on both experimental and CFD study. The research was also expanded to the recognition of the pipe that was used as a background. The scope of work includes the analysis of the CoV coefficients (as a measure of mixing degree) obtained for the mentioned devices and their comparison. The research showing the impact of such parameters, i.e., pressure drop or L/d ratio on the mentioned mixture homogeneity was also presented. What is more, the axial dispersion model was introduced to describe the devices as non-ideal reactors. According to this, new relations for the CoV predictions (taking into consideration the turbulence intensity, the deviations from well-known ideal states, and the mixing elements’ shape) were developed. As a result, it was proven that static mixers are highly efficient devices because the obtained CoVs were at around 2 % in the laminar flow and even less than that in the turbulent regime. When the pipe was used, the satisfactory value of the CoV was obtained when the Reynolds number was increased to 2600.