http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2060-9369
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ABSTRACT
The dispersed phase holdup and droplet size are important parameters for understanding the hydrodynamic performance of pulsed solvent extraction columns. This study provides a comparison of the hydrodynamic performance between a Tenova Pulsed Column with Kinetics Internals (TPC-KI) and a pulsed column with standard disc and doughnut internals. The TPC-KIs are designed to improve the performance of systems with slow reaction kinetics, such as copper extraction with LIX 84, which was the focus of the current study. Holdup and drop size have been measured as a function of pulsation intensity and phase velocities for both types of column internals. Lower holdup and larger drop sizes were obtained with the TPC-KI, which indicates a higher flood point and a higher throughput. Correlations have been developed to predict the performance of these internals over a range of operating conditions.
Acknowledgments
The authors would also like to thank the Particulate Fluids Processing Centre for the resources provided for this project.
Funding
The authors would like to acknowledge the funding provided by the Australian Research Council through Linkage grant LP130100305 and BHP Billiton, Olympic Dam, for this project.
Nomenclature
| a | = | interfacial area, m2 |
| A | = | pulsation amplitude, m |
| c | = | solute concentration in liquid phase, M |
| d | = | drop equivalent sphere diameter, m |
| d32 | = | Sauter-mean drop diameter, m |
| de | = | equivalent drop diameter for elliptical drops, m |
| f | = | pulsation frequency, Hz |
| g | = | gravity acceleration, m/s2 |
| h | = | column height, m |
| L | = | flow ratio, viz. velocity ratio of the dispersed phase to the continuous phase, dimensionless |
| V | = | volume of the column, m3 |
| V | = | disp dispersed phase volume in column, L |
| V | = | active active section volume in column, L |
| vd/vc | = | dispersed phase velocity/continuous phase velocity, m/s |
| vs | = | slip velocity, m/s |
| v0 | = | characteristic velocity, m/s |
| xd | = | volume fraction holdup of the dispersed phase, dimensionless |
| xd,f | = | volume fraction holdup of the dispersed phase at flooding, dimensionless |
| ε | = | fractional free area, dimensionless |
| ϵ | = | drop distortion parameter, dimensionless |
| γ | = | interfacial tension, N/m |
| µd/µc | = | viscosity of the dispersed phase/continuous phase, Pa·s |
| ρd/ρc | = | density of the dispersed phase/continuous phase, kg/m3 |
| ∆ | = | ρ density difference between phases, kg/m3 |
| ψ | = | mechanical power dissipation per unit mass, W/kg |
Subscripts or superscripts
| c | = | continuous phase |
| d | = | dispersed phase |
| in | = | an inlet to column |
| outlet | = | an outlet from column |
| * | = | equilibrium value |