Holdup and flooding measurements in an asymmetric rotating disc column

Abstract

Dispersed phase holdup and flooding rates have been measured in a 113mm diameter asymmetric rotating disc contactor (ARDC) of pilot plant scale for three different liquid–liquid systems. The effects of operating variables including mass transfer conditions, rotor speed and continuous and dispersed phase velocities on hydrodynamic parameters are investigated. The results showed that the maximum capacity of the column decreases with increase in the rotor speed and flow ratio, while it increases with increase in interfacial tension. There was a significant increase in the holdup at the flooding points with an increase in the rotor speed because of the smaller drops formation. The dispersed phase holdup was influenced mainly by mass transfer direction, agitation speed and velocity of the dispersed phase. The new unified correlations were proposed in this study to prediction for the flooding velocities, holdup at flooding and holdup data of the ARDC column used in this study.