A mechanistic model to estimate power consumption and mixing time in aluminium industries

An attempt to produce simple equations for evaluating gas hold-up power consumption and mixing time in stirred tank reactors used in aluminium industries have been made. This simplified model, based on mass balances and continuity equations and taking into account both geometrical parameters and physical properties of the working fluids, allows the reduction of the number of adjustable parameters necessary to predict the effect of the gas flow-rate on power consumption and mixing time. Notwithstanding the simplified form of the model, it allows the prediction of, with good accuracy and few adjustable parameters, both the power consumption and the mixing time of non-standard stirred tank reactors.