Simple model to evaluate loading/flooding transition in aerated vessels stirred by Rushton disc turbines

Prediction of the flooding/loading transition in an aerated stirred tank is crucial for the correct design of aerated stirred tank reactors. Despite the importance of this problem, only semiempirical equations are available at the moment. This work provides a simple mechanistic model for predicting the flooding/loading transition in stirred tank reactors equipped with Rushton turbines. This model could be a useful one, since it allows the user to scale-up agitated vessels easily. It has only been tested for Rushton turbines, but because the model is based simply on mass balances, energy balances and continuity equations, it could also be used with other impellers after a few modifications.