Liquid-liquid contacting using mechanical agitation and electrostatic fieldin separate zones

Abstract From the Canadian patent

A method for effecting enhanced contact between two intermixed immiscible liquids of different electrical conductivities comprises applying both intense mechanical agitation in a primary zone and in an, immediately adjacent secondary zone a varying, electrostatic field, in order to effect rapid change of their liquid-liquid interfaces but maintaining droplet size of a desirably high magnitude at least outside the primary zone. The primary zone is shrouded from the secondary zone so as to shroud the dispersed phase from the effect of the electro-static field while the dispersed phase is subjected to intense mechanical agitation in the primary zone. The method may be applied to, for instance, …