The mass transfer studies involving kinetics of extraction of Tributyl phosphate (TBP) saturated in 0.3 M nitric acid using different organic extractants viz. normal paraffinic hydrocarbon (NPH), kerosene, dodecane etc. have been performed in a novel air-sparged single stage mixing unit. Based on the mechanism, a simple kinetic model (analogous to first order) is proposed and experimental data was analyzed. The optimization studies including the effect of diluent, % TBP in NPH, Organic to Aqueous phase (O/A), air flowrate and the nitric acid concentration in aqueous phase have been performed. The experimental and modeled kinetic results suggest that the optimized conditions for the extraction of TBP (174 ppm to 65.5 ppm) from aqueous 0.3 M HNO3 feed are found to be, 3 % TBP in NPH as extracting solvent, O/A is 1/1 and volumetric air flowrate is 15 LPM. However, if pure NPH used as an extractant with these operating conditions 100 % removal can be obtained.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.