Mass Transfer in a Rotating Packed Bed with Viscous Newtonian and Non-Newtonian Fluids

A theoretical analysis was developed to predict the apparent viscosity of a non-Newtonian fluid in a rotating packed bed. It is based on laminar liquid film flow on a rotating disk with the assumption of the randomly inclined surfaces in the rotating packed bed. In addition, experiments of deoxygenation were performed in glycerol solutions and CMC solutions, which are Newtonian and shear-thinning fluids, respectively. It is shown that mass transfer coefficients decreased with increasing viscosity, while the centrifugal force still revealed effective in enhancing mass transfer in viscous media. A correlation for mass transfer coefficient was proposed and valid for both the Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids. Compared with a packed column, the influence of mass transfer coefficients by liquid viscosity was less in a rotating packed bed.