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Liquid–liquid two‐phase flow in ultrasonic microreactors: Cavitation, emulsification, and mass transfer enhancement
Author(s) -
Zhao Shuainan,
Dong Zhengya,
Yao Chaoqun,
Wen Zhenghui,
Chen Guangwen,
Yuan Quan
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.16010
Subject(s) - microreactor , mass transfer , cavitation , mass transfer coefficient , pressure drop , ultrasonic sensor , chemistry , materials science , analytical chemistry (journal) , drop (telecommunication) , ultrasound , oscillation (cell signaling) , chromatography , mechanics , organic chemistry , acoustics , physics , catalysis , telecommunications , biochemistry , computer science
The effects of ultrasound on the hydrodynamic and mass transfer behaviors of immiscible liquid–liquid two‐phase flow was investigated in a domestic ultrasonic microreactor. Under ultrasonic irradiation, cavitation bubble was generated and underwent violent oscillation. Emulsification of immiscible phases was initiated by virtue of oscillating bubbles shuttling through the water/oil interface. The pressure drop was found to decrease with increasing ultrasound power, with a maximum decrement ratio of 12% obtained at power 30 W. The mass transfer behavior was characterized by extraction of Rhodamine B from water to 1‐octanol. An enhancement factor of 1.3–2.2 on the overall mass‐transfer coefficient was achieved under sonication. The mass transfer performance was comparable to passive microreactor at similar energy dissipation rate (61–184 W/kg). The extraction equilibrium was reached under a total flow velocity 0.01 m/s and input power 20 and 30 W, exhibiting its potential use in liquid‐liquid extraction process. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J , 64: 1412–1423, 2018