Intensification of organic liquid dispersion in a rotating packed bed with oleophobic mesh packing

Abstract

Rotating packed bed (RPB) reactors achieved mass transfer and reaction process intensification by breaking liquid into tiny elements under centrifugal field. As the application of RPBs to liquid–liquid heterogeneous processes flourished like extraction, alkylation, sulfonation, and saponification, the working objects were often composed of organic liquid like xylene, isobutane, alkylbenzene, trichloroethane, which urgently required the dispersion intensification. Packing surface modification to regulate wettability has been proven to be an effective route to reinforce aqueous solution dispersion. In this study, the oleophobic mesh packing was fabricated and characterized in an RPB. By grafting low surface energy chemical groups and increasing surface roughness, the modified material achieved stable oleophobicity with a contact angle of 124.9 ± 1.9° to kerosene. Kerosene jet impacting oleophobic mesh packing revealed that the oleophobic modification increased the dispersion cone angle by 30.9 % and decreased the maldistribution index by 35.9 % compared to the original packing at the rotational speed of 1000 r·min⁻¹ and the liquid jet velocity of 3.54 m·s⁻¹, indicating the enhanced breakup of the organic liquid.