(Digital Presentation) A Novel Electrochemical Reactor Design-2

Abstract

(In this design emphasis is given particularly on the tube types of the secondary winding without much change in the previous description of the reactor)Different kinds of energies such as optical, thermal, mechanical etc. are used for carrying out chemical reactions.The following presentation deals with a simple and an innovative idea of utilization of electromagnetic energy for carrying out chemical reactions.Proposed here is an entirely different electrochemical reactor design with an innovative experimental setup which will give - or rather - is very likely to give interesting results while carrying out chemical reactions. The setup is a modified transformer. Unlike the conventional transformer which has a primary and a secondary coil of insulated copper wire wound on a transformer core; this suggested setup has a primary coil of copper, but the secondary coil is in the form of a tube in which a reaction mixture i.e. the reactants can be introduced as shown in Figure 1. Reactants that have at least some electrical conductivity are preferable. If not, provision can be made by adding compatible additives. On applying an alternating sinusoidal electric current in the primary coil; the reactants will directly receive energy by the phenomenon known as mutual electromagnetic induction from the primary coil which will/or should initiate, accelerate or aid the reaction.In the experimental setup we have:1) A primary coil of copper,2) A secondary coil in the form of a tube to carry the reactants,3) Variable frequency and amplitude of the alternating electric current to be applied to the primary coil,4) Type of waveform from the waveform generator,5) Provision to control the rate of flow of the reactants through the tubular secondary coil.By experimenting using the proposed setup, it is very likely that we well get some primary results. Based on these primary results/observations, the setup then can be further tuned down to get the desired results by choosing:1) Number of turns of the primary coil,2) Number of turns of the secondary tube coil carrying the reactants,3) Deciding the frequency, amplitude and the duration of the alternating electric current to be applied to the primary coil,4) Selecting the waveform from the waveform generator,5) Deciding the rate of flow of the reactants through the tubular secondary coil,6) Deciding the material and properties of the tube used in the secondary winding etc.Simultaneously, ultrasound, UV radiation, temperature (either cooling or heating) etc. can also be thought of as an application on the reactants contained in the secondary tube.A catalyst can be coated or inserted at proper locations and in proper shape inside the secondary tube.Different frequencies in a particular sequence and duration can also be applied at the input.The tube of the secondary may be: Transparent,Electrically non-conducting,Electrically conducting with insulation coating from outside,Or a combination of conducting - non-conducting - again conducting as shown in Figure 2,And of any such combinations using two or more types of tubes mentioned above. Such combinations of multiple tube types may prove to be beneficial (e.g. for simultaneous application of UV radiation through the transparent portion) and can be experimented on.Different types of transformer assemblies with secondary in the form of a tube to contain the chemicals can also be used. For example, multiple winding transformers which have two or more primary or secondary windings allowing for different combinations of voltages and current, three phase transformers etc.The reactor can be used to study various types of parameters in different types of chemical reactions such as:1) The study of frequency dependence on the rate of chemical reactions,2) Estimation of triggering frequencies for breaking of bonds in a reaction,3) The threshold of a chemical reaction in terms of frequency can also be tested by application of a triggering pulse at the input etc.Here we have an unusual secondary in a transformer wherein the secondary is a coil of reactants.Experimental validation of the reactor needs to be done which will require a team of experts in chemistry/electrochemistry, transformer designing etc. On reviewing the abstract, should any scientist or a group if scientists find the design intriguing, they are welcome to conduct further research using the proposed reactor design. A provisional patent has been filed for the same. Figure 1