Breakage functions for droplets in agitated liquid‐liquid dispersions

Abstract

AbstractPhotographic measurements of transient drop‐size distributions from stirred liquid‐liquid systems of low dispersed phase fraction in a batch vessel confirm consistency with a similarity behavior from population balance established earlier by Narsimhan et al. (1980). Moreover, breakage functions are presented in generalized dimensionless form accounting for dependence on physical properties of the system and power input through stirring. This information is essential for predicting drop‐size distributions in stirred liquid‐liquid systems. Experimental measurements of steady‐state drip‐size distributions obtained from stirred, continuous flow systems with known inlet drop sizes compare very favorably with theoretical predictions based on population balance analysis using the breakage functions obtained from batch experiments.