Improving the Performance of Mixers Used in Humic Acid Production with Chaotic Systems

Abstract

In this study; it is aimed to increase the efficiency of the mixers in terms of important criteria such as product quality, homogeneity, time and energy saving by using chaotic systems instead of traditional mixing methods in the production of humic acid, which is one of the most widely used plant nutrition and soil conditioning products in our country and in the world. Based on these properties of chaotic systems: For experimental studies; by designing A PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) controlled mixer, whose all functions can be controlled by the HMI (Human Machine Interface) operator panel, was manufactured. In this mixer, liquid humic acid was obtained by mixing water, leonardite and potassium hydroxide (KOH). For chaotic mixing process; chaotic systems with different dynamic properties had been selected from the literature. The differential equations of these chaotic systems were solved according to the Runge Kutta 45 (RK45) numerical solution algorithm in an interface program developed in the Labview program, and the chaotic time series results of each chaotic system were obtained. By transforming those results into frequency datas with the program written on the PLC device, the mixer motor connected to the frequency inverter was provided to rotate in variable speeds according to the selected chaotic systems. By means of obtaining same mixture also with traditional methods (constant speed), the comparison was done in terms of product quality, solute ratio, pH values and total energy consumption. With respect to the derived results; it has been observed that mixing done by using chaotic systems is more efficient than traditional mixing methods in terms of criterion such as product quality, homogeneity, time and energy savings.