Liquid-liquid mass transfer in cocurrent pipe flow

• Main Author: Watkinson, Alan Paul
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2011
• Subjects: Mass transfer; Pipe > Fluid dynamics
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/37939

Mass transfer between n-butanol and water has been studied in cocurrent pipeline flow. The apparatus consisted of a feed nozzle, a glass pipe contactor and a gravity settler. Compositions were determined by refractive index measurements. The variables studied were mass input ratio, total flow rate and contactor length. Pressure drop and holdup ratio also have been determined as a function of input ratio and total flow rate. Phase NTU's, determined directly by a method proposed by Colburn and Welsh (10), were found to correlate with individual phase velocities and also were dependent on the input ratio and the contactor length. Mass transfer stage efficiencies varied from near zero to nearly one-hundred per cent. The magnitude of the end effects was estimated by measuring the amount of mass transfer that occurred with virtually zero contactor length before settling. End effects were large. The pipeline contactor was compared to other experimental liquid-liquid extraction devices described in the literature, and was found to be superior in terms of "contactor effectiveness" and energy requirements. === Applied Science, Faculty of === Chemical and Biological Engineering, Department of === Graduate