Effect of sieve tray hole diameter on the efficiency of a vibrating plate extractor

The acetone-toluene-water system was studied in a 4.77 cm ID vibrating plate liquid-liquid extraction column (VPE) with a total number of 31 sieve trays. The effect of agitation level (product of frequency and amplitude of vibration) and sieve tray hole diameter on the dispersed phase holdup, drop size distribution and Sauter mean diameter was studied. Normally, the mean drop diameter decreases more rapidly with an increase in the agitation levels and as the sieve tray hole diameter decreases. The dispersed phase holdup in a mixer settler decreased as the agitation level increased until a minimum dispersed phase holdup was reached at the agitation level of 3.75 mm/s. During the dispersion regime, as the agitation level increased the dispersed phase holdup was increased. The drop size and Sauter mean diameter were correlated to the agitation level, whereas, the dispersed phase holdup was correlated to the operating regimes (mixer settler regime and dispersion regime) of the VPE. Sieve trays with a hole diameter of 3.00 mm was the most effective from the ones studied.