Abstract
Mass transfer of iodine from single charged drops of aqueous iodine solution into a continuous phase of cyclohexane was measured during the overall process of formation, free fall and coalescence of the drops in a range of uniform electric field strength up to 2.4 kV/cm. The total amount of iodine transferred was separated into that during drop formation and that during the subsequent stages. Each mass transfer mechanism during the formation and the free fall of drops in the electric field was investigated with theoretical and empirical equations in the literature, which were obtained in the absence of an electric field.
The mechanism of mass transfer during the formation of the charged drops in the presence of an electric field and that during free fall of the drops are the same as those obtained in the absence of an electric field. The enhancement of mass transfer obtained in the electric field is due to the increased effective interfacial area per volume of dispersed phase and to the increased moving velocity of the drops caused by applying the electric field.
