(434b) Improving on a Good Thing: The Chemineer Xe-3 High-Efficiency Impeller

The introduction of low-power number axial-flow impellers revolutionized the design of agitators for flow-controlled processes such as blending, heat transfer, and solids suspension. These impellers were capable of meeting process objectives at lower torque and power levels than traditional pitched-blade turbines. The Chemineer HE-3 is an example of a first generation high-efficiency impeller that has found numerous applications in the chemical processing and allied industries. Building upon the success of the HE-3, a new high-efficiency impeller, the XE-3, has been designed to further improve impeller performance, both in terms of mechanical characteristics and process performance. By virtue of their shape, the blades of the XE-3 are stronger than those of the HE-3, thus reducing the weight of the impeller. This provides a number of benefits, including lower material costs and the possibility of using higher speeds, and thus lower torques, and/or longer shafts. Although these mechanical improvements are quite positive, obtaining them at the cost of reduced process performance would not be acceptable. Thus, the XE-3 is designed to provide higher pumping efficiencies and improved solids suspension performance than other high-efficiency impellers. This presentation will describe how the XE-3 simultaneously improves mechanical and process performance, including comparisons of the pumping efficiency and solids suspension performance of the XE-3, HE-3, and pitched-blade impellers.