Abstract:
This research aimed to study the benzoic acid extraction from n-heptane with water in a spinning disc reactor (SDR). Benzoic acid and n-heptane are immiscible liquids. The study was divided into two parts: the experiment of the extraction process and the simulation of mixing pattern between water and heptane in SDR by ANSYS Fluent software in order to explain mass transfer efficiency in SDR
The mass transfer efficiency in SDR was presented by film thickness, interfacial area (aint), flow pattern of heptane, residence time, velocity profile. The variables of the study were total volumetric flow rate, rotational speed, and disc surface. The conditions in the research were the total volumetric flowrates (Q) of 5 to 15 ml/s, rotational disc speed (R) of 200 to 1500 rpm, water to heptane feeding ratios (θ) of 1: 1 to 5: 1, and disc with smooth surface, roughness sample A (36-grit sandpaper), and roughness sample B (24-grit sandpaper).
The research result showed that the mass transfer efficiency was enhanced when both R and θ were increased. The highest value of extraction efficiency (%E) and volumetric mass transfer coefficient (kLa) were achieved at 69.97% and 11.41 s-1, respectively under the total volumetric flow rate of 5 ml/s, rotational disc speed of 1000 rpm and water to heptane flow ratios (θ) = 1:1 by using the roughness sample disc B surface. Therefore, the mass transfer efficiency of SDR could be improved by increasing the roughness of the disc surface significantly.