Macro- and Micromixing in a Taylor-Couette Reactor with Axial Flow and their Influence on the Precipitation of Barium Sulfate

A new set-up for precipitation experiments capable of independent adjustment of micromixing and macromixing conditions is presented. The setup consists of a Taylor-Couette (TC) reactor serving as the reaction zone and an external loop where the slower stages of precipitation processes take place. Micromixing in the TC reactor has been investigated with a chemical reaction system and with PIV-measurements. Micromixing times range between 6·10–3 and 8·10–2 s. Tracer experiments reveal the macromixing performance of the whole set-up which has been compared with the behavior of ideal reactors. Precipitation experiments with barium sulfate show some influence of micromixing intensity on the particle size and of macromixing on particle morphology.