Influence of Liquid Properties and Operating Variables on Enrichment Ratio in Nonfoaming and Foaming Adsorptive...

The influence of the liquid properties and the operating variables on the intrinsic volumetric flow rate, q(0), of the droplets at the liquid-atmosphere interface in nonfoaming adsorptive bubble separation and that, W(f0), of the liquid in foam at the liquid-foam interface in foam separation was studied to estimate the enrichment ratio of surface-active substance in the two techniques. Each intrinsic flow rate was determined by the extrapolation method, which the authors proposed previously, and was mainly influenced by superficial gas velocity, liquid viscosity, and surface tension. Although the changes in the surface tension and the liquid viscosity were small, they greatly affected the intrinsic flow rates for both the droplets and the liquid in foam. The experimental results were applied to a dimensional analysis. Dimensionless volumetric flow rates, q(0)/Q and W(f0)/Q, were successfully correlated with a dimensionless number (Ohnesorge number, Z=&mgr;(L)/(rho(L)sigmad(b))(0.5)). q(0)/Q=6.66 Z(1.46) and W(f0)/Q=2.53Z(0.533) were obtained for the nonfoaming and the foaming regions within errors of 30 and 35%, respectively. The enrichment ratio of surface-active substance in the droplets and the liquid in foam to the bulk liquid was derived by using these correlations for the nonfoaming and the foaming regions, respectively. A good agreement of the experimental enrichment ratio and the calculated ones was obtained by using the correlations for nonfoaming and foaming. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.