The Effect of Nanoparticles on the Mass Transfer in Liquid-Liquid Extraction

• Published in: Chemical engineering communications Vol. 202; no. 5; pp. 600 - 605
• Main Authors: Mirzazadeh Ghanadi, Asghar, Heydari Nasab, Amir, Bastani, Dariush, Seife Kordi, Ali Akbar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Taylor & Francis 04.05.2015; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Effects; Extraction; Extraction processes; Fluid dynamics; Fluid flow; Fluids; Hydrodynamics; Liquid-liquid extraction; Mass transfer; Mass transfer enhancement; Nanoparticles; Titanium dioxide; Water; Zinc oxide
• ISSN: 0098-6445; 1563-5201
• DOI: 10.1080/00986445.2013.858037

This article investigates the effect of nanoparticles on mass transfer in the liquid-liquid extraction for the chemical system of n-butanol-succinic acid-water. For this purpose, nanofluids containing various concentrations of ZnO, carbon nanotubes (CNT), and TiO 2 nanoparticles in water, as base fluid, were prepared. To examine the flow mode effect on mass transfer rate, different fluid modes including dropping and jetting were employed in the process. Results show that mass transfer rate enhancement depends on the kinds and the concentration of nanoparticles and the modes of flow. It was observed that after adding nanoparticles, the mass transfer rate significantly increases up to two-fold for ZnO nanoparticles. Furthermore, the results indicate that under the circumstances in which the mass flow rate is high enough, the effect of nanoparticles on the mass transfer phenomenon is too slight.