Chemical Engineering and Processing, Vol.86, 36-46, 2014
CFD modeling of mixing intensification assisted with ultrasound wave in a T-type microreactor
This paper aims to demonstrate the effect of ultrasound wave on mixing in a T-type microreactor. In order to create vibration in this microreactor, a low frequency (42 kHz) piezoelectric transducer was used. A well-known parallel-competitive reaction (Villermaux-Dushman reaction) was employed to study the mixing in the microreactor and the segregation index values were found for layouts with and without sonication. Results show that the ultrasound waves have a significant favorable influence on product distribution and the segregation index at various total flow rates. In all cases, the segregation index decreased with increase in total flow rate. The results reveal that the segregation index improved up to 10-20% by consuming a low energy (2.45 WKg(-1)) by the piezoelectric transducer. Finally, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling was carried out to explain the observed experimental results. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.