Successful Liquid Mixing Scale-up Methods

In this course, you will:

• Focus on methods to scale-up liquid mixing processes from the lab to pilot plant to production 
• Examine geometric and non-geometric scale-up
• Develop and evaluate successful industrial mixing processes
• Measure successful scale-up criteria

This course will benefit and be especially valuable to engineers and chemists who are:

• New to process development
• Setting up experimental mixing equipment
• Managing or operating process development projects
• Responsible for transitioning projects from the laboratory to development to production

Staff from the chemical, petrochemical, agrichemical, specialty chemical, biotechnology, biochemical, fermentation, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and food processing industries will benefit by attending.

The course will focus on liquid mixing in stirred tanks but may suggest methods for broader application. You should have a basic familiarity with process terms and equipment.

Please bring a scientific calculator capable of doing powers, roots, and grouped calculations for your use during the course's problem solving sessions.

Scale-Up Objectives

• New products and operations
• Existing processes

Scale-Up Concepts

• Objectives of scale-up
• Scale-up and scale-down
• Concept of models
  
  • physical models
  • mathematical models
• Similarity
• Dimensional analysis
• Scale-up

Principles of Liquid Mixing

• Mixing variables
• Fluid properties
  
  • density
  • viscosity
• Rheology
• Viscosity measurement
• Turbulent and laminar mixing
• Impeller flow and shear
• Power and torque
• Impeller power
• Power distribution
• Other power contributions
• Pumping capacity
• Blend times
• Flow patterns
• Baffles

Mixing Processes

• Mixing problems
• Liquid-liquid dispersion
• Solids suspension
• Gas dispersion
• Heat transfer
• Mass transfer
• Dry solids addition

General Scale-Up

• Geometric scale-up
• Subtle geometry changes
• Scale-up ratios
• Fixed ratios, variable results
• Inherent changes
• Non-geometric scale-up
• Measuring scale-up criteria
• Applying the Mixing Intensity index

Process Specific Scale-Up

• Liquid blending
• Surface motion
• Liquid-liquid dispersion
• Solids suspension
• Gas dispersion

Development Studies

• What to study
• How to study
• Mixing procedures
• batch processes
• continuous processes
• Value of visual observation
• Dealing with failures
• Improving on success
• Pre-processing
• Post-processing

Process Development Equipment

• Available equipment
• Reactor vessels
• Special features
• Impeller selection
• Mixer drives and motors
• Peripheral equipment
• Basic measurements

Static Mixers

• Types and applications
• Scale-up

Mixing Equipment

• Basic components
• Elements of design
• Practical limitations

Summary

Elaine Andrysick

Elaine M. Andrysick, AIChE, joined Engineering Professional Development, University of Wisconsin-Madison, as a continuing engineering education specialist in 1988.  She is responsible for the development and delivery of high-value continuing engineering education short courses for practicing professionals in the areas of chemical and process engineering and laser material processing.  Also, she manages the University’s Laser Welding Certificate program.

David Dickey

David S. Dickey, Ph.D., is an independent consultant with MixTech, Inc., in Coppell, Texas. His experience is unique in the field of mixing and scale-up since he has had exposure to both the theoretical and practical aspects of real problems, having learned about successes and failures. During more than 23 years with process equipment manufacturers, he has engineered liquid mixing equipment, powder blending equipment, viscous mixing equipment, static mixers, and other industrial process equipment. He has published numerous technical articles and book chapters and was one of the contributing editors of the handbook, Advances in Industrial Mixing (Wiley, 2015).

His diverse equipment background developed out of a technical background with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois, followed by master’s and PhD degrees in chemical engineering from Purdue University. In 2005, Dickey received the North American Mixing Forum Award for Excellence and Sustained Contributions to Mixing Research and Practice.