Ethylene/ethane absorption with AgNO3 solutions in ultrasonic microreactors

Abstract

Ultrasound is an effective method to intensify gas-liquid processes as the oscillation energy is easily focused at the gas-liquid interface, which can induce strong interface oscillation and acoustic streaming. The combination of ultrasound and microreactor provides ideal control over the ultrasound field, making the energy efficiently utilized. In this study, characteristics of chemical absorption of C2H4 from the mixture of C2H6/C2H4 into AgNO3 solutions under Taylor flow are investigated in a high-power ultrasonic microreactor. The effect of ultrasound on the bubble size reduction, absorption and mass transfer coefficient is presented and discussed. It is demonstrated that very large mass transfer coefficient with kLa and kL in the range of 7–42 s−1 and 0.00169–0.0225 m s−1 respectively are obtained, presenting significant intensification compared to absorption without ultrasound in the same reactor.