Apparatus for counter-current contact of fluids

In an apparatus for counter-current contacting of at least partially immiscible fluids having different densities, which apparatus comprises a normally vertically extending vessel enclosing a plurality of superposed mixing compartments with rotatable agitator means and being separated from each other by separating walls with perforations for the passage of fluid, the improvement comprising:

• said mixing compartments being positioned adjacent to each other and separated by walls pierced by perforations which are substantially uniformly distributed over their wall areas;
• deflecting elements arranged to cooperate with a proportion of said perforations which proportion is correlated with the ratio of the volumetric flow rates of the fluids to be treated;
• and
• said deflecting elements being positioned and oriented with respect to the direction of flow of the dispersed fluids and the direction of rotation of said agitator so that they tend to prevent flow of the dispersed fluid through the perforations with which they cooperate, so that the apparatus is particularly suitable for contacting fluids with a large ratio of their respective flow rates and is capable of providing stable operation with the fluid having the smaller volumetric flow rate as the dispersed phase.