Prediction of dispersed phase holdup in pulsed disc and doughnut solvent extraction columns under different mass transfer conditions

Using experimental data from a number of pulsed disc and doughnut solvent extraction columns, a unified correlation for the prediction of dispersed phase holdup that considers the effects of mass transfer is presented. Pulsed disc and doughnut solvent extraction columns (PDDC) have been used for a range of important applications such as uranium extraction and nuclear fuel recycling. Although the dispersed phase holdup in a PDDC has been presented by some researchers, there is still the need to develop a robust correlation that can predict the experimental dispersed phase holdup over a range of operating conditions including the effects of mass transfer direction. In this study, dispersed phase holdup data from different literature sources for a PDDC were used to refit constants for the correlation presented by Kumar and Hartland [Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.,27 (1988),131–138] which did not consider the effect of column geometry. In order to incorporate the characteristic length of the PDDC (i.e. the plate spacing), the unified correlation for holdup proposed by Kumar and Hartland based on data from eight different types of columns [Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.,34 (1995) 3925–3940] was refitted to the PDDC data. New constants have been presented for each holdup correlation for a PDDC based on regression analysis using published holdup data from PDDCs that cover a range of operating conditions and physical properties and consider the direction of mass transfer.