ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Time evolution of the drop size distribution for liquid–liquid dispersion in an agitated tank

Radek Šulc, Bohuš Kysela, and Pavel Ditl

Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

E-mail: radek.sulc@fs.cvut.cz

Abstract: Agitating two immiscible liquids or a solid–liquid suspension is an operation frequently performed in the chemical and metallurgical industries, for example, in suspension/emulsion polymerization, heterogeneous/phase-transfer catalytic chemical reactions, and hydrometallurgical solvent extraction. For emulsification, suspension polymerization, solid particle dispersion, and crystallization, it is essential to be able to predict the mean drop/particle size and the drop/particle size distribution. A simple model was proposed for predicting the time evolution of drop size distribution during drop breaking, and was successfully tested on data published by Ruiz and Padilla (Hydrometallurgy 72:245–258, 2004) and by Sathyagal et al. (Chem Eng Sci 51: 1377–1391, 1996) and on our own data. The time evolution of DSD was investigated in a baffled tank agitated by a Rushton turbine for a liquid–liquid dispersion. The tests were carried out on a silicone oil–water dispersion (oil in water) with a dispersed-phase fraction of 0.00047. The drop sizes were determined by image analysis.

Keywords: Liquid–liquid dispersion ; Drop breakup ; Drop size distribution ; Time evolution 

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-017-0327-0

Chemical Papers 72 (3) 543–553 (2018)