Mass transfer in agitated dissolution systems with high solids loadings

Suspension of solids in mechanically agitated vessels is important industrially for many solid-liquid processes such as dissolution and leaching. This becomes especially important for process intensification in agitated vessels which involves processing high solids concentration slurry for the purpose of increased throughput per unit volume without major changes in the geometry of the existing infrastructure. To achieve the off-bottom suspension of high concentration slurry, impeller speed and power draw need to be increased substantially but there is no guarantee this will lead to improved solid-liquid mass transfer. Solid-liquid mass transfer in an agitated vessel has been studied extensively during the last few decades but the knowledge is limited to low solids concentration systems. Mass transfer in systems with high solids loading is not fully understood yet. Also, there have been very few attempts to investigate the effects of active particles mass fraction on solid-liquid mass transfer in agitated vessels. This study investigates the effects of solids loading and the concentration of active particles on solid-liquid mass transfer in an agitated dissolution system.