Mass Transfer from Nanofluid Single Drops in Liquid–Liquid Extraction Process

Abstract

This investigation is focused on the behavior of nanofluid single drops in the liquid–liquid extraction process. The chemical system of toluene–acetic acid–water was used, and the drops were organic nanofluids containing magnetite or alumina nanoparticles. Synthesized nanoparticles were modified with fatty acids for hydrophobicity and ease of dispersion in the organic phase and were then characterized using different methods. Maximum enhancements in the rate of mass transfer of 157% and 121% were achieved using about 0.002 wt % magnetite and alumina nanoparticles, respectively; however, a decreasing variation was observed at higher concentrations. The microconvection and particle aggregation due to the interpenetration layers can provide this kind of variation. For the aim of modeling, the determined enhancement factors were correlated with an empirical expression that can be used, together with the Newman equation, for the prediction of the overall mass-transfer coefficient.