Experimental and numerical investigations of flow behavior in an open falling film microreactor equipped with curved flow splitting elements

Abstract

This work aims the experimental and numerical characterization of gas–liquid flow in an open multichannel falling film microreactor containing 64 coated microchannels, and a split & curve structure for the flow distribution. The operating flowrate range, the flow distribution, and the residence time of the liquid in the single channels were assessed via self-designed pulse input tracer experiments.3D simulations based on Volume of Fluid (VoF) multiphase model were developed in ANSYS Fluent considering a representative section of a single microchannel. Simulation results indicate that backflow phenomena and an increase in film thickness along the channel length are the main reasons for the high film thickness observed experimentally. While the flow rate has only a marginal effect on both processes, the plate inclination angle has considerable contribution in overflow and flow stability. Finally, the numerically calculated transversal wetted area is mainly determined by the defined GLS contact angle at the sidewalls.