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The mixer-settlers are a kind of equipments using in extracts like liquidliquid and can vary since a simple tank

with stirrer in which the phases are mixed and run into a horizontal or vertical compartment, where they are separated, even to complex systems in which the mixture is done in system of jet, streams simultaneously in centrifugal pumps or mixing online for accessories. Mixer-settlers have huge importance in the industry because of their benefits: strong operational loads, easy operation and maintenance relatively simple. This kind of equipment is useful because of their high efficiency (90100% when the mixture is complete), wide range of operation and its use in a variety of shapes and sizes. The settlers can be characterized by three different regions: the entrance region, dispersion zone and the exit region. The mixer-settlers use mechanical devices to increase the dispersion of the phases. After of a constant phases mixing, this goes to a settling tank where the phases are separated by gravity. If happens a hard turbulence, its possible to form the emulsion, that cant be separated by gravity. The gravity separation doesnt work if small drops (between 10 -100 x10-3). To solve this problem, its necessary the use of solvent extraction, in which a droplet separation is improved by injection of the solvent in the initial dispersion. To small droplets, theres a increase in mass transfer, but its necessary more coalescence time, conducting to a excessive size of the settling chamber. Extraction columns typically operate in counterflow, which is a liquid extract and a stream of pure solvent, to cause the extraction. The maximum efficiency of the extraction columns is very important because it is directly related to the mass transfer between liquid phases. To do the coumns optimization, its necessary a reviw about the columns hidrodynamic behavior. The extraction columns may have or not mechanical stirring, increasing the contact between the phases. They may have perforated plates, flanges or contain filling. May be of the pulsed column or packed column. In columns where the stages are separated by fixed plates, stirring the mixture is achieved only through the turbulence of the fluids passing through the column, and by contact between the two phases within the column. The Settlers: Parameters that affect the separation: size and size distribution of drops in the continuous phase; drop motion in the dispersion;drop coalescence, into their own phase and binary coalescence between drops; existence of differente

dispersion types;geometry of the settling tube, height of the initial dispersion band, and insertions in the separation volume; existence of solid or gas phase in the dispersion. Parameters that depend on prior conditions and may influence partially the parameters listed earlier: physical properties of the phases involved, that is, viscosity, density difference, surface tension; mass transfer in the mixer and its influence on drop sizes and size distribution; volume ratio of the two phases, or concentrations of the phases involved; mixing characteristics, such as mixer geometry, mixer type, impellers, impeller relative position to interface before mixing started; intensity and residence time of mixing. A short distance between plates in settlers, both vertical and horizontal (solids accumulate less, and tend to precipitate in case industrial) tends to decrease the turbulences effects. The sedimentation front moves faster in the beginning , and then decelerates, whilst the coalescence front controls the separation time, that depends tightly of the initial dispersion height, the batch seller diameter and the kind of generated dispersion. The sedimentation front of water in oil is according to:

. The coalescence front may be written as

, in which u is the velocity of a single drop with its phase. The final separation time can be obtained by , tf

represents the final separation time, t0 represents the mentioned wall effect, H0 is the initial dispersion height and Va has a value of about 0.41cm/s. According to Ostad, Shabani and Mazahery, there are studies been desenvolved to verify the influence of mixer settler baffles number, width blade, entrance in the separation velocity, and results show that a excessive baffling, entrance velocity and width blade may interrupt the liquid mixture, increasing the mixture time. When multiple fluids involved in a flow field, representing them by multiple species equations only works if the fluids mix and not separate. The

most used multiphase models are: Disperse or Discrete phase model, VOF model, Eulerian multiphase model, Eulerian granuler multiphase model and Algebraic slip mixture model. The calculation starts with an iteration to determine the field velocities. The iteration begins with the pressure field and the preliminary determination of the velocity field associated with,then the field rate and pressure is improved by means of a correction equation pressure, giving solutions of transition to all conservation equations. This iterative procedure is repeated until the equations satisfy the convergence criteria. During the iteration, all the conservation equations are solved simultaneously by computer code. The convergence criteria were established such that the equations are solved iteratively until all the nodes for computation field and on changes in pressure and speed of the components between two successive iterations to be less than 10-6 (monitors residual ) Effect of inlet velocity: The impeller is hardly affected by inlet velocity. When the inlet velocity is increased, the condition for mixing is better and better mixing in constant impeller speed could be obtained, but when the inlet velocity is more than 0,5m/s, there is no enough time to separation phases, then can produce a dispersion which is more difficult to separate, requiring greater settler size and higher entrainment levels. Effect of impeller speed: the mixing increases with the impeller speed and the condition to mixing is better. Effect of din/d (diameter of the entrance of the mixing rotor in percentage): the high velocity region in the mixer is approximately to a tip of the impeller, so a low pressure. Then, the impeller efficiency in the suction of liquids depends on the location of these low pressure zones with respetc to the inlet diameter. Effect of the ratio d/W (impeller diameter/mixer width): increasing the ratio, velocity increases. So, with a constant entrance, when the impeller diameter is increased, increases the speed of magnitude, so grows the mixture. Effect of width blade: when the contacting area increases, mixing velocity increases too and hence a better condition of mixture. According to Drown and Thomson, the rate of coalescence dynamics was considerably improved by the deceleration zone of dispersion. Some success has been obtained from the attempt to describe the phenomenon observed with a simplified mathematical model. The coalescence rate grows significantly with the increases of the flow. If the global coalescence rate is faster than the rate that dispersion zone moves to down of the settler, so the thickness of the dispersion zone will decrease with increasing distance from the entrance. The momentum high flow at the top of the dispersion is apparently endorses increasing the rate of coalescence,

which possibly also increases in accordance with the zone of the dispersion volume. The coalescence limit was in the interface between the dispersion zone and the organic bulk phase. The dispersion zone depends on the initial size of the dispersion zone and the relative magnitude of the coalescence rate and speed. The entry of the dispersion to the decanter moves at a speed greater than the average speed of the continuous phase and the other decreases rapidly to zero, so that the dispersion zone disappears (input speed reaches a high value, which causes difficulty in dispersion). Short dispersal areas result in greater thickness at the end and greatly increases the chances of flooding. There is no relation with overall residence time. "Dirty" interfaces produces dispersion values lower than that "clean" interfaces. Even to Drown and Thomson et al., the drops arrive at a liquid-liquid interface usually require a "rest time", before mixxing with the principal phase. It may vary from seconds even to many hours, depends on temperature, drop size, interface shape and purity of the components. In low"O/A" ratios, the dispersion band will be close to the organic weir, and the mode of failure will be aqueous contamination in the organic phase. At high O/A ratios, the dispersion band will be close to the aqueous underflow, and the mode of failure will be organic contamination in the aqueous phase. At some intermediate O/A ratio, failure will occur by both modes simultaneously as the flow rate is increased. For this O/A ratio, the dispersion band completely fills the separating one at maximum throughput so that the dispersion-band volume can be determined and, from this, the dispersion number can be calculated (Ndi).

The dispersion number is given by , where a is the coalescence dispersion acceleration, tR is the average residence time in the coalescing dispersion band within the separating zone of a flowing system or the time to break in a batch system, and Z is the thickness of the dispersion band in the separating zone of a flowing system or the initial thickness of the dispersion in a batch system. Varying efficiency and rotor speed had no significant effect on Ndi, the ratio "O/A" didt have effect on Ndi, except when the ratio varied enough to cause a phase inversion. Phase continuity is important in determining the dispersion number with the aqueous-continuous value being about twice the organic continuous value. The dispersion number increases according to the temperature increasing.

Stokes law is used to determine the settling velocity of the droplets: ud = [d2d g(d - c)] / 18c .

where: dd= droplet diameter(m); ud= settling (terminal) velocity of the dispersed phase droplets with diameter d(m/s); c = density of the continuous phase (kg/m3);d= density of the dispersed phase(kg/m3); c = viscosity of the continuous phase (N s/m2); g= gravitacional acceleration (9,81m/s2) The extraction columns: The control in continuous extraction columns may be, sometimes, problematic, due to multiphase nature and partly due to difficulty of measuring on-line outputs variables. Some new models have potential to explain the non-uniformity profile along the contact and then allow more realistic description. On the other hand, this approach is complicated mathematical formulations Karr column, the dispersion layer is supported on a stack of perforated, vibrating plates, and for a Kuhni column, in which it is supported on rotating plates. the multivariable controller for a Karr column has developed, according to a linear model approaching to the columns dynamic the mathematical model to a extraction colum liquid-liquid is based on following main premises:

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