The Effect of Solute Concentration on Mean Drop Size in a Mixer-Settler and Propose a Correlation

The present work examines the influence of solute (acetone) on mean drop sizein a mixer settler. For this purpose, two series of experiments were performed in a single stage horizontal mixer-settler with toluene-in-water emulsions. At first, the effects of the impeller speed and hold-up on the mean drop size were examined without acetone. Afterward the same investigation was performed in the presence of acetone. The results show that in
the presence of acetone, D32 decreases and the decreasing rate of D32 with impeller speed diminishes. Moreover, the increasing rate of D32 diminishes with the increase in the hold-up. For various acetone concentrations, an empirical model for mean drop size have been proposed. This correlation has a good agreement with experimental data.