Development and Performance Evaluation of a Simple Batch Reactor for Leaching of Potassium Ash

Leaching is ubiquitously used operation for extracting a substance from a solid matrix through interaction between the solid matrix and liquid. Most batch reactors with fairly advanced sophistication are very costly while the less costly ones are of low performance and have quality challenge. The aim of this paper is to develop a simple batch reactor that uses continuous stirred action to leach caustic potash from potassium ash derived from cocoa pod husk. The batch reactor is made up of a hopper for the passage of the feed to the cylindrical vat, variable speed motorized stirrer, filter mesh, basket filter, heating/cooling system, temperature controller, temperature sensor attached to the heating/cooling system. The design has it novelty by the incorporation of temperature controller and sensor to the heating/cooling system. The criteria for the materials selection of the design were strength, corrosion resistance, machinability and economic value. The consideration of the design was based on existing machine design theories. The performance assessment showed that the reactor is capable of leaching caustic potash from potassium ash derived from cocoa pod husk on the basis of 1 Tonne per day. It was discovered that there is a direct relationship between leaching time and mass of caustic potash extracted and an inverse relationship between the leaching time and mass of sludge. At a leaching time of 30 minutes, the mass of the potash leached was 45kg and the mass of sludge was 30kg, whereas, at a time of 45minutes, the mass of caustic potash increased to 75kg and the mass of the sludge decreased to 25kg. From the evaluation, the efficiency of the machine is 74.14%. The development of a 1ton/day potassium ash leaching reactor was achieved. The machine is useful for processing of caustic potash in reasonable time and quality.