Liquid/Solid Mass Transfer in Fixed Beds

Abstract The liquid/solid mass transfer behavior of a fixed bed of cylinders was studied using the diffusion‐controlled dissolution of copper in acidified potassium dichromate. Variables studied were solution velocity and cylinder diameter. For a steady flow, the data were correlated for the conditions 25 < Re < 600 and Sc = 990 by the equation Sh = 2.65 Sc 0.33 Re 0.5 . A comparison between the present data and previously obtained data for a fixed bed of Raschig rings has revealed that cylinder packing produces higher rates of mass transfer than Raschig rings. In view of their high area‐unit volume and their high mass transfer coefficient, fixed beds are widely used by chemical engineers to conduct liquid/solid diffusion‐controlled processes, such as catalytic reactions, ion exchange, and adsorption processes. The aim of the present work was to study the rate of mass transfer in fixed beds of cylinders using the diffusion‐controlled dissolution of copper in acidified potassium dichromate. Variables studied were solution, velocity, and cylinder diameter.