Selectivity of competitive-consecutive reactions depending on the turbulent mixing conditions in a co-axial jet mixer

Abstract

This paper considers the numerical results on the interaction between a turbulent co-axial jet and a co-flow of incompressible fluid (Schmidt number Sc≈1000) when competitive-consecutive reactions occur in a co-axial jet mixer. Firstly, RANS modeling was performed to predict flow phenomena. Two different mixing regimes were analyzed with and without a recirculation zone near a mixer wall. To describe the problem mathematically, the two-parameter turbulence k–ε model and various models for the computation of the averaged mixture fraction and its variance σ2 were used and verified by comparing them with the experimental and large eddy simulation (LES) data. The results revealed that the decay of and σ2 obtained by the developed RANS mixing model with the low-Reynolds-number effects (mechanical-to-scalar time ratio and turbulent Schmidt number in the transfer equation for σ2 as a function of Ret) was similar to the one found by LES and experiment. Second, the behavior of the competitive-consecutive reactions (A+B→P, B+R→S) in the co-axial mixer was considered. To calculate averaged chemical reaction rates, the transfer equations for concentrations adopted two approaches: a model with no regard to concentration fluctuations and the Li–Toor model with the Gaussian PDF of the mixture fraction. The yield of a desired product R was found to depend strongly on the mixing regime. The regime without recirculation zone appeared to be preferable as the reaction selectivity was smaller within the whole range of Reynolds number and initial reactant concentration ratio. This means that the amount of an undesired by-product S to be formed is minimal.