Experimental Investigation of Phase Inversion in a Hanson Mixer-Settler

The phase inversion behavior of a pilot scale Hanson mixer-settler extraction column with seven stages has been investigated experimentally. The effects of agitation speed, interfacial tension and aqueous phase viscosity on phase inversion have been investigated. The results show that the organic phase holdup decreases with an increase in agitation speed. It was found that the width of ambivalent range increases with an increase in interfacial tension. The ambivalent range also shifted downward with an increase in aqueous phase viscosity. An empirical correlation is derived for prediction of ambivalent range in terms of operating conditions and physical properties of the systems. The predictions agree well with experimental data of the ambivalent range.

Keywords:

phase inversion , holdup , Hanson mixer-settler , ambivalent region