Fluid flow-mass transfer interaction in perforated plate extractive reactors
A. O. Ghallab, A. K. Abo El Ata, R. S. Ettouney, and M. A. El-Rifai
Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
Abstract
A steady state model is developed for un-agitated perforated plate liquid-liquid counter current extraction columns conducting a very fast chemical reaction taking place at the interface between a solute in the raffinate phase and an excess of reactant in the extract phase. The model parameters reflect the interaction between mass transfer and hydrodynamic flow pattern and depend on the transport properties of the species involved, the relative phase mass velocities, and the available interfacial area. Transport property and fluid mechanics correlations are integrated into the mass transfer performance computations. Results of application of the developed models demonstrate vividly the effect of phase flow rates on the hydrodynamic and mass transfer parameters and on the separation obtainable in perforated plate extractive reactors.