Impeller system for mixing and enhanced-flow pumping of liquids

• Main Authors: HOWK; RICHARD A, WEETMAN; RONALD J, POST; THOMAS A
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 26.03.1996
• Edition: 6
• Subjects: MIXING, e.g. DISSOLVING, EMULSIFYING, DISPERSING; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL; TRANSPORTING

A rotatably driveable enhanced-flow impeller system has a radial flow impeller with a first impeller face disposed proximate the bottom of the tank and proximate or extending into an inlet port for liquids in the tank bottom. The radial flow impeller has a plurality of blades with radially outermost blade tips terminating along a blade terminating circle. The blades and inlet port are contoured to reduce shear stress on the liquids. Disposed adjacent a second opposing face of the radial flow impeller is a radial flow extension plate which preferably extends radially outwardly along the second face by a radial distance beyond the blade terminating circle. The radial flow extension plate may be fixedly attached to the second impeller face. The enhanced-flow impeller system can be used advantageously to form efficiently and with enhanced effectiveness a liquid - liquid dispersion as droplets of at least one liquid in at least one other immiscible liquid and to distribute the dispersion uniformly through the tank volume during a dispersion residence time in the tank, while avoiding, because of minimization of shear stress on the liquids, the formation of fine (smaller) of droplets of one of the liquids that do no readily separate from the other liquid upon settling.