Effect of blade packing structure and high-frequency ultrasound on micromixing efficiency enhancement in an RPB reactor

Abstract

In this study, a rotating packed bed (RPB) reactor equipped with angled blade packings and high-frequency ultrasonic transducers with a frequency of 1.7 MHz was used to enhance micromixing efficiency. In order to investigate the effect of packing structure, blade packings with angles of 0°, 30°, 45°, and 60° to the radial axis of the bed were made. The operational parameters were rotational speed, liquid flow rate and volumetric ratio. All the experiments were performed in the absence and presence of ultrasound. The results showed that the segregation index (Xs) decreases as the rotational speed and liquid flow rate increases, while it increases with an increase of volumetric ratio. Blade packing with an angle of 45° has had the greatest effect on enhancing the micromixing efficiency, and blade packings with an angle of 30° and 60° had the same efficiency and were in the next priority. According to the results, the use of angled blade packing had a much greater effect on enhancing the micromixing efficiency compared to the ultrasound.