MODELING OF THALLIUM EXTRACTION IN A HOLLOW-FIBER MEMBRANE CONTACTOR

A mass transfer model was developed to simulate the solvent extraction of thallium by butyl acetate through a hollow-fiber membrane contactor. The model was based on the solving conservation equations including mass and momentum transfers for thallium in both aqueous and solvent phases as well as membrane. The model equations were solved by a numerical method based on the finite element method. The simulations were conducted using experimental data obtained from literature for two different modules consisting of hydrophobic polypropylene (PP) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) fibers. The fibers had different effective membrane areas. The model findings were then verified through comparison with experimental data. The comparison showed an average deviation of 9% with the experimental data. The effect of process variables on thallium mass transfer was investigated. The results confirmed that the developed model predicts well the general behavior of thallium extraction versus process variables.