Experimental and numerical investigation of aqueous reactive flows in a jet-stirred reactor

Jet-stirred reactors (JSR) have been widely used to study reaction rates for developing detailed chemical kinetic models. However, the prediction and characterization of JSRs unmixedness have received little attention. Our recent modeling results suggest that another JSR geometry based on optimally-positioned sets of inlet jets with concentric outlet ports yields much higher mixing homogeneity than “industry standard” JSR designs. To evaluate the performance of such reactor designs experimentally, in this study we employed aqueous Fenton reagents (combinations of hydrogen peroxide and ferrous ion), visualized with a Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) technique; the fluorescence signal from a reactive tracer (rhodamine B) is quenched by OH radicals produced therein. The extent and uniformity of reaction is characterized by the spatial distribution of fluorescence intensity. By adjusting the volumetric flow rate and concentrations of reactants, a wide range of Damköhler numbers (ratio of residence time to reaction time scale) were investigated. Reacting-flow computations including the Fenton reactions were performed to enable direct comparisons with the PLIF measurements.