Axial mixing and extraction in a mechanically agitated liquid extraction tower

Axial mixing was measured in both phases for a countercurrently operated, mechanically agitated extractor of the Oldshue-Rushton design for water continuous and toluene and kerosene dispersed. Results in terms of an eddy axial diffusivity were correlated in terms of the variables studied. These correlations were then applied to column performance during extraction of n-butyl amine from kerosene into water, and the true mass transfer coefficients, corrected for axial mixing, were determined. These are shown to be predictable for droplets of dispersed phase considered to be rigid spheres.