Mass transfer and axial mixing characteristics in a coalescence-dispersion pulsed-sieve-plate extraction column

A new configuration of coalescence-dispersed pulsed-sieve-plate extraction Column (CDPSEC) was developed, and the mass transfer and axial mixing characteristics were evaluated with the two-point dynamic method. The influence of operation conditions was discussed with experimental results, showing that the mass transfer performance of CDPSEC mainly depends on the energy input and the holdup of dispersed phase. Higher energy input, results in higher holdup of the dispersed phase, the axial mixing of the continuous phase is suppressed.. and the true height of mass transfer unit decreases markedly. On the other hand.. higher energy input leads to more serious forward mixing of the dispersed phase, so the energy input should be limited. Accordingly the operation conditions were divided into two regions,. and empirical correlations for predicting the mass transfer and axial mixing characteristics in different regions with a satisfactory accuracy were suggested.