An Experimental Study of Micromixing Using Two Parallel Reactions

Abstract

It is well-known that the product distribution of fast multiple reactions can be influenced by mixing. Fast, single-phase competitive-consecutive reactions of the type $$ A + B \to R\quad R + B \to S $$ have been studied theoretically and experimentally as “tracer reactions” to characterise micromixing. Little attention has been given to fast parallel reactions of the type $$ A + B \to P\quad A + C \to Q $$ and how their product distribution is influenced by the way in which the reactions are conducted, especially with reference to micromixing(1). This paper presents some experimental results. The two competitive reactions reported here are acid-base neutralization and alkaline hydrolysis of ethyl chloroacetate. They were carried out in a standard stirred tank reactor with a Rushton turbine. The product distributions at different feed positions, volume ratios, turbine speeds and initial concentrations were measured. Qualitative conclusions about the rate of micromixing for two parallel reactions are drawn and discussed. In addition to competitive-consecutive reactions, the two parallel reactions presented here provide another useful tracer system for micromixing studies.