Hybrid modeling of drop breakage in pulsed sieve tray extraction columns

Accurate models for pulsed sieve tray extraction columns (PSEs) depend on the correct prediction of the drop diameter to estimate extractive mass transfer across the phase boundary. Phenomenologically, the drop diameter is determined by a balance of drop breakage and coalescence. While for most industrial solvent systems, coalescence plays a minor role; breakage is mostly the dominant phenomenon determining the drop diameter. However, most modeling approaches for drop breakage in PSEs are characterized by a trade-off between a broad validity range and good prediction accuracy. To overcome this limitation, we developed a hybrid breakage model for drop breakage in PSEs in which a physical-empirical model basis is enhanced by data-driven parameter estimator models (PEMs). The hybrid model is based on a revised form of Garthe’s breakage model, for which we developed a linear PEM for the model parameters and two data-driven PEMs for dstab and d100, respectively. The hybrid breakage model was validated on 743 experimental data sets and evaluated based on the pull metric. In a sensitivity analysis, the model correctly predicted the breakage probability over a wide range of solvent properties, operating conditions, and sieve tray geometries. In future studies, the hybrid breakage model can be incorporated into extraction column models without an initial parametrization.