Mixing Behavior of Reactive Liquids in Micro Channels

Abstract

Good mixing in fluids is an important factor that ensures efficient reactions as well as effective heat and mass transfer operations. The mixing behavior of fluids in micro channels has been assessed using identification numbers to characterize flow regimes as, laminar, vortex and engulfment. To demonstrate this, the hydrolysis of ethyl acetate with potassium hydroxide was studied in three different sized micro channels of diameters 0.27, 0.53 and 0.86 mm. The identification numbers obtained from the hydro dynamics within these channels have been compared with the improved performance in these micro channels, based on percentage conversion of the hydrolysis reaction. In this study the identification numbers ranged from 5 to 23. The performance as percentage conversion was better in the smaller diameter channel where the identification number was higher and was found to be lower in the larger diameter channel where the identification number was lower.