Enhancing mixing in curved membrane micro reactor channels

We study the effect of mass transport of reacting species through curved membrane micro-channels. The direct synthesis of Hydrogen Peroxide from Hydrogen and Oxygen is studied. Inside the channel, the solvent flows with the catalyst suspended in it. The gaseous reactants enter the channel by diffusion from the micro-membrane walls. The momentum and species transport pertinent equations are solved numerically. It is observed that the conversion is determined by diffusion in straight channels. In the curved channel, the Poiseuille flow is disturbed by centrifugal forces which results in the formation of counter-rotating vortices and skews axial velocity profile. The vortices formed increase the mixing in the transverse direction. This results in higher conversion for curved micro-channel compared to the straight channel. The reactor geometry is further optimized.

Keywords: Curved Micro-channel, reactive mixing