Investigating the Effects of Nanoparticle and Surfactant on Mass
Transfer : Determine dominant mass transfer mechanism
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to improve mass transfer by using
nanoparticles and surfactant simultaneously that the use of surfactant
has not been investigated by researchers. Hence, the influences of
various concentrations of SiO2 nanoparticle and Sodium dodecyl sulfate
surfactant on hydrodynamic characteristics and the mass transfer
coefficient were surveyed. The results show that the droplet size was
decreased by increasing volume fraction of nanoparticles and surfactant.
The effect nanoparticles concentration in chemical system on mass
transfer coefficient was investigated. It was found that molecular
diffusion coefficient was a dominant mechanism which by adding
nanoparticle from 0.01 to 0.1 vol.% extraction efficiency was raised
from 46% to 78%. Also, by adding surfactant from 0.003 vol.% to 0.01
vol.% to the chemical system, the extraction efficiency enhanced
dramatically from 70% to 90%. Finally, using Newman, Krong and Hendlos
theories, the mass transfer coefficient was predicted with and without
nanoparticles.