Experimental Investigation of Flooding and Drop Size in a Kuhni Extraction Column Article in Press

In this research, Sauter-mean drop diameters and the flooding behavior have been investigated experimentally in a pilot scale Kühni extraction column. The experiments were carried out in the absence of mass transfer for two different standard chemical systems. In the experiments operating parameters including agitation speed, flow rate of both liquid phases and interfacial tension have been studied. The results showed that Sauter-mean diameter are strongly affected by agitation speed and interfacial tension but the effects of continuous phase and dispersed phase flow rates are negligible. An empirical correlation for prediction of mean drop size as a function of column geometry, operating conditions and physical properties of liquid systems is suggested with a mean deviation of 9.54 %. Flooding rate is also influenced mainly by rotor speed and interfacial tension. An empirical correlation for predicting flooding velocities is also proposed with a mean deviation of 11.54 %.