TAYLOR VORTEX COLUMN: LARGE SHEAR FOR LIQUID–LIQUID EXTRACTION

Abstract

A Taylor vortex column provides a large shear in the absence of form drag in contrast to other common mixing devices. In particular, the power per unit mass for a column is expressed in terms of a torque coefficient and compared with similar expressions for both, a stirred tank (power number) and a static mixer (friction factor). Results of computational fluid dynamic computations provide a picture of essential features of the flowfield. Moreover, experiments with a prototype Taylor column are presented for the continuous liquid–liquid extraction of benzoic acid from toluene to water. Arguments are presented for the observed increase in stage efficiency with larger volume fractions of dispersed toluene.

Keywords:

• Liquid–liquid extraction
• Taylor vortex

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions from Dow Corning Corp., Fluent Inc., and Holl Technologies Inc.