Experimental and Simulation Study on the Extraction of p-Cresol Using Centrifugal Extractors

In this study, extraction of p-cresol from the simulated wastewater has been studied using centrifugal extractors and QH-1 extractant. The distribution ratio of p-cresol was approximately 308.5 in the QH-1-p-cresol (pH=2.0) system. The extraction stage efficiency of the single-stage centrifugal extractor was higher than 92%, and the extraction rate of the three-stage cascade was higher than 99%. When 15% NaOH was used for the stripping of p-cresol in QH-1 solution, the stripping rate of the three-stage cascade reached 100%. A mathematical model of multistage countercurrent extraction process that considers the phase volume change, extraction stage efficiency, and phase entrainment was used to simulate the extraction of p-cresol using centrifugal extractors. The calculated results using this model were in good agreement with the experimental results.