Mud
Slurry Mixing System
A
20,000 gallon tank is typical for mud mixing processing. The key question
to consider is what might be the optimal configuration for this application and
does that tank configuration influence the bottom line.
Overland
transport is generally limited to 12' diameter tanks. For a vertical
cylindrical tank, to achieve 20,000 gallons, the resultant straight wall would
need to be 25' tall. If a single mixer is used for this application, a
rough estimate for this mixer would be about $32,000. This make no mention
of the related design costs required for the tank structure that would need to
support the design loads (weight, torque and bending moment) of a top mounted
mixer for a vertical-on-tank-centerline mounting arrangement.
In
consideration of numerous other mixing applications, such as flocculation for
example, it is quite common to use multiple mixers in the floc basin rather than
to use either one or two large mixers. This concept can prove to be quite
useful in handling slurries or slurry mixing for the purpose of waste oil recovery. There are numerous reason for the
use of multiple mixers.
In
this instance the initial cost of four or five (4-5) smaller mixers to handle the 20,000 gallon
capacity is significantly less expensive than the use of one (1) large
mixer. It also evident that the performance of multiple mixers in a rectangular tank design
for slurry suspension is vastly superior. From a common sense view,
covering the overall rectangular area with smaller circles (diameter of the
impellers) is just better than a few or even one large one. There are
still even more advantage and considerations such as reduced continual energy
demand (horsepower).
Using
this simple concept, in conjunction with mixer optimums, it is quite
possible to drive down costs as well as to gain system efficiencies. What
is meant by a mixer optimums is that mixer costs are directly tied to
torque levels, or more simply stated, the size of applied mixer, where the
related cost of a larger mixer is significant versus multiple smaller
ones. In other words, the efficiencies of building 40 or 100 mixers of a
smaller size compares favorably to a larger mixer that is produced in quantities
between 1 and 10 per year. For numerous applications a large mixer is the
only option, however that may not be the case when considering mud or slurry
mixing.
If we were to consider an 8.5' wide x 9'
tall x 38' long rectangular tank, to achieve the 20,000 gallon requirement,
where it is assumed that the floor footprint is available to accommodate such a
tank, there may be numerous advantages to consider. In this particular
case, due to the above stated mixer efficiencies, we considered using five (5)
mixers, subdividing the overall volume into five equal rectangular
sections. The following advantages resulted:
-
The first is related to the tank itself where the mixer design loads are
distributed over the length of the tank. In short a 9' tall wall with
an 8.5' span is a much less stressful and therefore more economical as
compared to the single mixer tank design.
-
The continual energy consumed by the multiple mixer design is 1/2 that of
the single mixer design. In this case, the laws of physics govern the
solid suspension requirement. Obviously, this may not be intuitive,
however the result is apart of mixer process design optimization.
Always remember that mixer gearboxes transform horsepower into torque (the magic
black box). Torque optimums result from the mixer optimums
stated above.
-
The initial cost of five (5) mixers was 73% of the cost of one (1) single
large mixer. This resulted directly from the consideration of mixer
optimums.
-
Although there are five separate simple beam arrangements to span the
8.5' wide span, the cost of the simple rectangular tank is vastly less
expensive than the construction of a 12' x 25' tall tank (in carbon steel),
which may have to be built on site. Remember to consider the applied
design loads (torque, weight & bending moment) of the one (1) large
complex mixer design.
04.11.11