APPARATUS FOR AERATING AND/OR ANAEROBICALLY MIXING LIQUIDS

摘要

An apparatus for selectively aerating or anaerobically mixing a liquid in a container includes a hollow, star-shaped, multi-vaned rotor (6) arranged in the bottom region of the container (1) for rotation about a vertical axis. The hollow interior of the rotor at one of the two opposite faces thereof is in communication with a gas feed line (15), and each of the vanes (10) at its trailing flank (11), as viewed in the direction of rotation of the rotor, is provided with a respective gas exit opening (12). The inter-vane spaces of the rotor are open at one of its two opposite faces for admitting liquid from the container into those spaces. The rotor is surrounded by a stator (7) providing a plurality of circumferentially spaced flow channels (9) for receiving and guiding away either liquid with admixed gas when gas flows through the gas feed line or liquid without admixed gas when no gas flows through the gas feed line. The rotor is provided in its inter-vane spaces with respective guide plates (18) interposed between the gas exit openings and the liquid entry locations for shielding the gas exit openings and for preventing liquid in the intervane spaces from being sucked into the rotor through the gas exit openings when no gas is flowing through the gas feed line.