Investigation of extraction fraction in confined impinging jet reactors for tri-butyl-phosphate extracting butyric acid process

The extraction fraction E and overall volumetric mass transfer coefficient kka of TBP extracting butyric acid pro- cess in confined impinging jet reactors （CIJR） with two jets were investigated. The main variables tested were the concentration of tri-butyl-phosphate （TBP） and butyric acid, the impinging velocity V, the impinging velocityratio of two phases Vorg/Vaq, the nozzle inner diameter di and the distance L between the jet axes and the top wall of the impinging chamber. The results showed that E and kLa increase with an increase of the impinging velocity V, the concentration ofTBP Corg, and the impinging velocity ratio Vor/Vaq. However, E and kta decrease with an increase of the inner diameter d1 from 1 to 2 mm, the concentration of butyric acid Caq from 0.5% （v/v） to 2% （v/v）. The factor L ranging from 3 to 11 mm has a negligible effect on E and kLa. A correlation on these variables and kLa was proposed based on the experimental data. These results indicated good mass transfer oerformance of CIJR in the extraction operation.