THE RECIPROCATING PLATE COLUMN—DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATIONS

Reciprocating plate columns (RPCs) were first proposed in 1935 but most of the development has occurred in the past 30 years. Three types of RPC are in use in industry for liquid-liquid extraction, in diameters up to about 1·5 m: The Karr column (U.S.A. and Europe), the VPE column (Eastern Europe) and the vaned-perforation plate (KRIMZ and GIAP) columns developed in the U.S.S.R. All types of RPC operate on common principles, but their design characteristics differ, and basic knowledge must be supplemented by engineering tests with the system of interest. The RPC appears to have promise as a gas-liquid contactor and recent research has suggested possible design modifications for this application.