The volumetric overall mass transfer coefficients have been measured in a pulsed packed extraction column using diffusion model for two different liquid-liquid systems. The effects of operational variables such as pulsation intensity and dispersed and continuous phase flow rates on volumetric overall mass transfer coefficients have been investigated. Effective diffusivity is substituted for molecular diffusivity in the Gröber equation for prediction of dispersed phase overall mass transfer coefficients. The enhancement factor is determined experimentally and therefrom an empirical correlation is derived for prediction of effective diffusivity as a function of Reynolds number, Schmidt number and viscosity ratio. Good agreement between prediction and experiments was found for all operating conditions that were investigated.
Pulsed packed column; Mass transfer coefficient; Axial diffusion model; Enhancement factor; Effective diffusivity
