Bateman Pulsed Column

The Bateman Pulsed Column (BPC) is a high efficiency cost-effective contactor which enhances mass transfer during extraction, stripping and scrubbing or washing processes.
Pulsed Column technology was developed in the 1950’s and has been successfully applied to a range of industries over the last 30 years. Early designs were based upon packed beds or sieve trays which exhibited poor phase dispersion and were prone to fouling. The Bateman Pulsed Column (BPC) was developed to overcome the problems associated with conventional mixer-settlers and other continuous contact columns.
HOW THE BATEMAN PULSED COLUMN (BPC) WORKS:
The BPC consists of a large diameter vessel filled alternatively with "disc and doughnut" baffles which facilitate contact between the immiscible liquids as they pass counter-currently through the column.
The heavy (aqueous) phase enters through a disperser at the top of the column and the light (organic solvent) phase enters through a similar device near the bottom. A decanter at each end of the column permits the liquids to coalesce and be decanted separately. When the solvent phase is continuous the interface between the phases is in the lower decanter and when the aqueous phase is continuous, it is in the upper decanter.
The columns are pulsed by blowing air at the required amplitude and frequency of the pulses which are controlled using four way solenoid valves.
Applications of BPC:
Virtually all industrial SX processes can be enhanced using Bateman Pulsed Columns, particularly those with a fast rate of mass transfer.
* Minerals processing: uranium, nickel, cobalt, zinc, titanium, lithium, zirconium
* Chemical industry: nitric, phosphoric and hydrochloric acid
* Environmental protection: recovery of nitrates, sulfuric acid, cyanides, and halides
* Additional applications include pharmaceutical, food and petroleum industries
BPC Advantages:
* Extraction is a multi-stage continuous process in a single vessel
* Handles liquids with suspended solids or which form a third phase
* Safe and environmentally friendly process
* No internal moving parts
* Fully automated system
* Low maintenance and operating costs Dramatically reduces floor space required Solvent loss and fire risk easily mitigated by inert blanketing of head-space
* Suitable for emulsifying systems
* Nozzle arrangement allows interchangeability between organic and aqueous continuity
BATEMAN PULSED COLUMN KINETIC INTERNALS (BPC-KI):
The BPC-KI provide a solution for processes with slow kinetics and high feed phase ratios.
The internals provides enhanced mass transfer for applications where the system has slow kinetics and potential for back-mixing.
The BPC-KI includes contacting elements on the contours of the "disc and doughnut" plates and optimized spacing between the plates.
The BPC-KI internals reduce back-mixing and increase column hold-up allowing improved mass transfer at the same flux.

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