Mixing effects in a spray‐column heat exchanger

Temperature profiles were measured in a spray‐column heat exchanger 7.5 cm. in diameter and 167 cm. long between the inlets of warm kerosene and cold water. The temperature jump, at the inlet of the continuous phase, is a measure of the amount of mixing in the column and is a function of holdup and ratio of flow rates of the two phases. At holdup the temperature jump had a minimum value of 0.24. A physical model for heat transfer in a spray column based on hydrodynamic principles is proposed. Heat is transferred from drop to wake downstream of drop. Wakes are shed and mixed with the bulk water flow. New material enters the wake and is spilled out at higher temperatures. The physical model is applied to explain the data on temperature jumps in spray‐column heat exchangers and the data on concentration jumps in spray‐column extractors.