الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
A two-dimensional model was developed to simulate the performance of an industrial packed column used to extract aromatics from lube oil fraction using N-Methyl-2pyrrolidone (NMP). The model was numerically solved using a MATLAB code. The effect of operational variables such as voidage of the packing, the flow rates of both dispersed and continuous phases, and dispersed phase holdup on the extraction of aromatics from lube oil and hydrodynamic parameters were studied. The model has been validated using industrial data and the results showed good agreement with the real process data with accuracy ± 1.7 %. It was found that the dispersed phase holdup showed a remarkable effect on extraction of aromatics. Also by increasing flow rate of continuous phase, concentration of aromatics in dispersed phase (lube oil) decreased. While concentration of aromatics in dispersed phase (lube oil) increased by increasing flow rate of lube oil (dispersed phase) as the residence time decreased. On increasing column height, the mass transfer increased between the two phases. On decreasing the voidage of the bed, the extraction efficiency of the aromatics by NMP increased due to the increasing of the rate of mass transfer. This work has provided valuable model for the prediction of the extraction efficiency in a random packed extraction column. This model can be successively applied to predict different extraction efficiencies when using different values of flow rates, voidage of the bed and dispersed phase holdup inside the column.