Agitated vessel for producing a suspension of solids

Abstract

The invention provides an agitated vessel for producing a suspension of solids in liquid with uniform concentration. The vessel comprises a vertical cylindrical tank having sidewalls and a bottom with inclined surfaces forming an interior for holding a suspension of solids in liquid; means for feeding solids and liquid to the tank; a plurality of stationary baffles disposed in the interior of the tank and vertically extending the length of the tank; a rotating shaft vertically installed at the center of the interior of the vertical cylindrical tank; a single turbine impeller with vertical blades radiating from the rotating shaft, the lower edges of the blades being contoured to match the slope of the inclined surfaces of the bottom and positioned so that the lower edge of the impeller is close to the bottom; and an exit port. The agitated vessel achieves uniform concentration of suspensions at lower power requirements than traditional designs and in a low shear environment. The vessel is particularly good for handling floating solids and minimizing damage to friable products.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.