The investigation of mass transfer coefficients in a pulsed regular packed column applying SiO2 nanoparticles

Mass transfer coefficient is one of the major parameters for liquid-liquid extraction phenomenon in a pulsed packed column. A small scale of pulsed regular packed column used in this study. The effect of nanoparticles on mass transfer coefficient was investigated. For this purpose, kerosene saturated with water, water saturated with kerosene and acetic acid were used as the dispersed phase, continuous phase, and solute, respectively. The nanofluids used were prepared by dispersing SiO2 nanoparticles of 0.01, 0.05 and 0.1 vol% in dispersed phase as base fluid employing ultrasonic technic. The experimental mass transfer coefficient was compared with three basic mass transfer coefficient equations of Newman (for stagnant drops), Kronig-Brink (for laminar circulation inside drops), and Handlos-Baron (for turbulent circulation inside drops). A new correlation is derived for the prediction of effective diffusivity coefficient as a function of Reynolds number. Good agreement was found between prediction values and experimental data. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.