Developing flow system of fluid inside Nata De Coco leaching tank

Abstract

In the production of Nata De Coco, leaching is a process of neutralizing the initially acidic Nata De Coco. The present study investigates the effect of leaching tank configurations on the flow inside the tank using Computational Fluid Dynamics. Based on the simulations results, the most optimum tank design is identified. A commercial code ANSYS CFX was employed to solve the flow governing equations. The standard k-c turbulent model was adopted. For a cylindrical leaching tank, two inlets situated at the sides of the tank 200 mm below the free surface with an outlet at the bottom center provided highest tank velocity as compared to if only one inlet is used or if the inlet and outlet position is placed the other way round. When double inlet is used, their distance should be keep to maximum for optimum flow in the tank. For the same flow rate, higher inlet speed combine with smaller inlet area is preferred over the lower inlet speed and larger inlet area option.