Film Formation and Mass Transfer Characteristics in a Horizontal Self-Cleaning Twin-Shaft Kneader with Highly Viscous Newtonian Fluids

Abstract

The visual experimental technique was used to investigate the film formation process in a horizontal self-cleaning twin-shaft kneader with highly viscous Newtonian fluids. The absorption of CO2 in syrup solution was adopted to study the mass transfer characteristics. There exist a radial unbounded film and bounded film on the disk element, while an axial unbounded film and bounded film are generated on the kneading bar. The minimum rotating speed for the axial unbounded film formation on the kneading bar is higher than that for the radial unbound film formation on the disk element. The twin-shaft kneader possesses much better mass transfer performance than the twin-shaft wheel reactor.

Numerical Simulation of Hydrodynamics and Mixing Characteristics of High-Viscosity Non-Newtonian Fluid in Twin-Shaft Kneaders

“…In contrast, the area far away from the swept area by blades displays a lower mixing ability, and the presence of shear thinning makes the mixing worse. Cheng et al ,, also used MST to model the mixing process in twin-shaft kneaders, and the mass transfer characteristics were investigated by the absorption of CO 2 in syrup solution. The strong intermeshing interaction between the kneading rods in the overlapping zone can crush the cluster and promote material exchange in the angular position.…”