Study On The Micro-Mixing Performance Of A Clustered Countercurrent-Flow Micro-Channel Reactor

In the field of process intensification, micro-reactors have gained significant attentions due to their excellent micromixing performance and safe operating environment. Micro-reactor does not have amplification effects; therefore, it can achieve the high throughput to meet industrial needs by increasing the number of operating unit. In this work, a novel countercurrent-flow micro-channel reactor was designed and integrated, forming the clustered countercurrent-flow micro-channel reactor. The main contents and results were as follows:(1) Based on the iodide-iodate parallel competing reaction system, the relationships between the micromixing efficiency of single countercurrent-flow micro-channel reactor (S-CFMCR) and the structures of reactor and the operating conditions were investigated. The results indicated that the segregation index of S-CFMCR decreased with the increase ofReynolds number within a certain range. The segregation index increased with the increase of volumetric flow ratio. The micromixing efficiency was also improved by increasing the inner diameter of the flow channel. According to the incorporation model, the micromixing time of S-CFMCR was ranged from 0.34 to 4.96 ms. Nanoparticles of barium sulfate with a narrow PSD and small mean particle size was prepared in S-CFMCR.(2) The clustered countercurrent-flow micro-channel reactor (C-CFMCR) was formed by numbering up S-CFMCR with the most optimal structure. The segregation index of C-CFMCR also decreased with the increase of volumetric flow rate within a certain range. The micromixing efficiency was the best at volumetric flow ratio of 1:1. The micromixing time was ranged from 0.62 to 10 ms based on incorporation model. Under the same operating condition, the mean particle size of the prepared nano barium sulfate in S-CFMCR and C-CFMCR was about 43 nm. The results showed that the micromixing efficiency of S-CFMCR and C-CFMCR was very close, and was apparently more superior over our previously reported multi-channel micro-impinging stream reactor.