The predicting equations for mass transfer rate in cross-flow rectangular dialyzers with double flow and recycle, have been derived by mass balances. The recycling operation has two conflicting effects. One is the desirable effect of the increase in fluid velocity, resulting in an increased mass transfer coefficient. The other is the undesirable effect of the reduction in concentration difference due to remixing, resulting in decreased mass-transfer driving force. In contrast a single-pass device without recycling, considerable improvement in mass transfer is achieved if the cross-flow rectangular dialyzer of same size is operated with double pass and external recycling. It is concluded that recycle can enhance mass transfer, especially for larger reflux ratio.
