Performance Characterization of a Kenics Static Mixer Using Slotted Elements

Abstract

The pharmaceutical, biomedical, bioenergy, and consumer products industries rely heavily on the mixing of fluids. The bulk of the processes that are undergone in these industries are laminar flowing fluids with the attendant need for low-pressure losses which the Kenics static mixers are better suited for. The mixing of fluids is achieved through the splitting and shearing at successive element junctions and stretching and folding along the length of the elements. The performance of Kenics static mixers can be enhanced by optimizing the total blade twist angle, however, the blade pitch has little or no impactful effect. The device geometry optimization is a criterion for its performance enhancement. This study investigates the output mixture strength of the Kenics static mixer using slotted mixer elements solved numerically with Finite Element Method code; COMSOL Multiphysics. The Kenics static mixer performance was optimized with the use of slotted mixer elements as it was observed that the slot width size and a varying number of slots on the mixer elements had an impact on its performance.