A finite element model of enzymatically catalyzed hydrolysis in an electrostatic spray reactor

Abstract

The overall goal of the work was to determine the effect of the electrically driven hydrodynamics on transport processes and the reaction rate at the interface. The theoretical approach adopted here was based upon the fundamental relationships governing the electrical field, the equations of motion for both continuous and dispersed phases (with mutual coupling) and most importantly, the mass transfer between the phases with the accompanying enzymatic reaction. Michaelis–Menten kinetics were used for evaluating the reaction rate and its inter-relationship with the mass transport at the interface. A new algorithm was implemented using original FEM software involving the Lagrangian approach for both the particle/droplet tracking on one hand, and for the convection-dominated transport equations involving the cloud model on the other. The latter was further developed to account for the mass transport between the continuous and the dispersed phases. The model was verified using our own experimental data.