Light-based tomography for mixing in bio-reactors

Presented works describe a novel approach to assess mixing in a stirred vessel using light-based tomography. The study is driven by key research questions: What are the obstacles in three-dimensional dynamic tracer distribution reconstruction? How should the experimental equipment be constructed to obtain the best possible data from three...

Characterising the two-phase flow and mixing performance in a gas-mixed anaerobic digester: Importance for scaled-up applications

This study aimed to characterise the gas-liquid flow and mixing behaviour in a gas-mixed anaerobic digester by improving phase interaction modelling using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). A 2D axisymmetric model validated with experimental data was set up using an Eulerian-Eulerian method. Uncertainty factors, including bubble size, phase...

Inter-compartment interaction in multi-impeller mixing: Part II. Experiments, sliding mesh and large Eddy simulations

Steady state multiple reference frame-RANS (MRF-RANS) simulations frequently show strong over-predictions of the mixing time in single-phase, multi-impeller mixing tanks, which is sometimes patched by ad hoc tuning of the turbulent Schmidt-number. In Part I of this work, we experimentally revealed the presence of macro-instabilities in the...

Inter-compartment interaction in multi-impeller mixing: Part I. Experiments and multiple reference frame CFD

CFD simulations of mixing in single-phase multi-Rushton stirred tanks based on the RANS methodology frequently show an over-prediction of the mixing time. This hints at an under-prediction of the mass exchange between the compartments formed around the individual impellers. Some studies recommend tuning the turbulent Schmidt number to address...