Stirred tank reactors (STRs) are widely adopted in the polymer industry due to operational flexibility, ease of scale-up, and adaptability to bulk, solution, suspension, and emulsion polymerization. The impeller configuration in reactor governs energy input, flow topology, and mixing efficiency. Industrial practice uses multi-impeller systems for improved axial mixing, enhanced heat removal, and reduction of dead zones, improved energy efficiency and micro-mixing vs macro-mixing performance.
However, experimental evaluation of these effects is time-consuming, costly, and often limited in the level of insight it can provide. By leveraging state-of-the-art Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with the Discrete Phase Model (DPM), we can reconstruct realistic stirred tank reactor with different impeller configuration at high geometric fidelity. This integrated approach enables detailed, visualization of flow, transport phenomena, and particle distribution - revealing mechanisms that are extremely difficult or impossible to access through experiments alone.
In this case study we demonstrated how advanced simulation-based analysis helps to visualizing the flow, shear rates and particle distributions due to different impeller configurations. The results are improved reactor efficiency, and increased operational reliability - delivering measurable value to chemical manufacturers.
