Hydrodynamics and mass transfer processes associated with the absorption of oxygen in liquid films flowing across a rotating disc

Abstract

This study is concerned with mass transfer to a liquid film as it flows across the surface of a rotating disc, and in particular with the absorption of oxygen into films of water. The primary aim of the study was the measurement of the distribution of oxygen concentration across the disc radius, for a wide range of liquid flowrates, rotational speeds, and the comparison of these distributions with those resulting from a range of theoretical models of this process. These comparisons, and the observation that with flow and rotary speeds of practical interest, the liquid films invariably exhibit characteristic surface waves indicate the importance of this hydrodynamic condition with respect to the mass transfer process. --3 The main dimensionless variables which are influential in describing flow on the disc have been identified, and used in the formulation of satisfactory mass transfer design equation.