The design of liquid/liquid gravity separators requires extensive research and optimization. In this context, the current contribution provides experimental insights into the droplet size distributions and the separation behavior of paraffin oil-in-water dispersions. The investigated dispersions result from the two-phase flow through perforated plates, which are placed inside the dispersion unit of a continuous mixer-settler. The droplet sizes are examined in relation to the geometry and number of perforated plates, the specific energy dissipation rates and the dispersed phase concentrations. A self-similar state, to which all normalized droplet size distributions converge, is approximated using a large sample of experimental data and modeled with suitable probability density functions. Finally, the influence of the Sauter mean diameter and the aforementioned process parameters on batch separation time is examined. It is suggested that the ratio between sedimentation and total separation time is analogous to a power-law decrease of the Sauter mean diameter and that the correlation is characteristic of the perforated plates geometry.

液/液重力分离器的设计需要大量的研究和优化。在这种情况下，目前的贡献为石蜡水包油分散体的液滴尺寸分布和分离行为提供了实验性的见识。所研究的分散液是通过两相流过多孔板的结果而形成的，多孔板放置在连续混合沉降器的分散单元内部。检查液滴的大小与穿孔板的几何形状和数量，比能量耗散率和分散相浓度有关。使用大量实验数据样本可以近似所有归一化液滴尺寸分布都收敛到的自相似状态，并使用合适的概率密度函数对其进行建模。最后，研究了索特平均直径和上述工艺参数对批次分离时间的影响。建议沉降和总分离时间之间的比率类似于Sauter平均直径的幂律减小，并且相关性是多孔板几何形状的特征。