Agitator Design Principles for Biofuels and Chemicals from Renewable Feedstocks

In Agitator Design Principles for Biofuels and Chemicals from Renewable Feedstocks, you'll learn ...

• General agitator design principles
• The principles and limitations of agitation scale-up
• Basic non-Newtonian rheology
• Guidance on the selection of agitator equipment suppliers

Overview

Preview a portion of this course before purchasing it.

Credit: 8 PDH

Length: 114 pages

This course presents a rather intense introduction to the major principles of agitator process design, as applied to liquid, solid-liquid and fibrous slurries as commonly found in the Biofuel/Biomass processing industries.

The course is intended for engineers who must specify, purchase or optimize fluid agitation equipment used for biofuels or chemicals from renewable feedstock applications. Such applications include, for example, simple tanks containing solutions, broth and slurry tanks, compounding tanks and fermenters/bioreactors. The application technology ranges from simple to complex. A basic introduction to general agitator design principles is given, but the focus is specifically on applications found in the Biofuel/Biomass/Renewable Chemical processing industries. Considerable time is spent on scale-up, non-Newtonian rheology and the special characteristics of cellulose hydrolysis reactors and fermenters. The same principles can be used for such applications as chemical cotton-to-soluble-gum and other non-fuel applications that use fibrous materials as reactive feedstock.

The course also provides guidance on the selection of agitator equipment suppliers. Having a working knowledge of the terminology and technology used by agitator designers enables the engineer to assume a more active role in the purchase and operation of such equipment, instead of leaving everything in the hands of the vendors. The result can be a lower capital cost by specifying clearly what is needed, while avoiding undersized or poorly designed equipment that can drive up life cycle costs due to lost productivity and higher energy usage.

Specific Knowledge or Skill Obtained

This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:

• How to choose the right impellers for the job
• How power and pumping are calculated
• The basics of heat transfer
• Biofuel/biomass agitator sizing guidelines
• The principles and limitations of agitation scale-up
• Basic non-Newtonian rheology
• How to use an agitator as a viscometer
• How cellulosic hydrolysis reactor agitators are designed
• How CFD may be used to aid in process visualization
• The differences between top tier and lower tier agitator suppliers
• Method for performing economic analysis associated with power correction measures
• Past mistakes that have been made in agitator specifications

Certificate of Completion

You will be able to immediately print a certificate of completion after passing a multiple-choice quiz consisting of 55 questions. PDH credits are not awarded until the course is completed and quiz is passed.