Pieter Adriaenssens, Jonas Van Olmen, Jinu Joseph John, Koen Binnemans and Tom Van Gerven of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, have published a new article on the investigation of oscillatory baffled reactors for the hydrometallurgical separation of cobalt and nickel. The article will be published in the March issue of the journal Separation and Purification Technology, but is already available online.
Oscillatory baffled reactors (OBRs) utilise strategically placed baffles that interact with fluid pulsations to generate specific flow patterns, yielding exceptional mixing control independent of the net flow rate and residence time. In this study, the mixing performance of oscillatory baffled reactors (OBRs) for the hydrometallurgical separation of cobalt and nickel is systematically explored using a 3D-printed reactor. The impact of operational parameters such as oscillation frequency, oscillation amplitude and residence time on the overall extraction and stripping is investigated. High-speed imaging and velocimetry are employed to examine droplet size and flow behaviour of the two-phase system. The overall findings highlight the advantages of oscillatory baffled reactors over conventional systems, such as mixer-settlers, and successfully demonstrate, for the first time, the application of oscillatory baffled reactors for the hydrometallurgical separation of cobalt and nickel.
Reference
Pieter Adriaenssens, Jonas Van Olmen, Jinu J. John, Koen Binnemans, Tom Van Gerven, Investigation of oscillatory baffled reactors for the hydrometallurgical separation of cobalt and nickel, Separation and Purification Technology, Volume 355, Part B, 2025, 129465, ISSN 1383-5866, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2024.129465.
Acknowledgement
The authors thankfully acknowledge the support from the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO), Senior Research Project G0D7421N and SB PhD Fellowship 1S13722N.
