AXIAL MIXING OF DISPERSED PHASE IN ROTATING-DISK EXTRACTORS (RDE).

Experimental investigations of axial mixing of dispersed phase are associated with certain methodological difficulties. The sparseness and contradictory nature of data on characteristics of axial mixing of dispersed phase in available RDE's caused the authors to investigate this problem. Experiments were carried out on different RDE's whose geometric characteristics and operating regimes are given. The parameters of the axial mixing model were determined from the response curves of the system representing the response to perturbing signals. Experimental results show that in calculating axial mixing of dispersed phase in a RDE, we need to take into account the fact that over a broad range of operating regimes for commercial columns with B less than equivalent to 9-10, its predominant component is mixing induced by the difference in droplet velocities and the nonuniformity of their motion over the cross section. The turbulent component for axial mixing becomes the major component only in intensive mixing regimes or for low delivery rates of the dispersed phase (B greater than equivalent to 9-10).