A micro-reactor based on opposed-jet configuration: flow features and chemical reaction

Microreactors are very attractive for a wide range of applications, spanning from lab-on-chip to nanoparticle production or chemical reactions.  For the latter, they ensure a continuous operation with large heat transfer, thus enabling significant intensification of many pharmaceutical and fine-chemistry processes with respect to conventional batch reactors. Although very complex geometries have been proposed in the literature to trigger the mixing of reactants in the laminar flow conditions occurring in microfluidic devices, simple designs are preferred to facilitate microfabrication and avoid fouling. 

One promising geometry is based on an opposed-jet configuration, having an X-shape with two inlets and two outlets. However, little is known about the resulting mixing and reaction performances. This work aims at gaining insight into the flow regimes occurring in this microdevice and into how they impact the progress of a chemical reaction. To this purpose, we carry out experimental flow visualizations and numerical simulations at different Reynolds and Damköhler numbers and we provide quantitative trends of the mixing degree and reaction yield for the different flow regimes.