Characterisation of mesoscale oscillatory helical baffled reactor—Experimental approach

Abstract A novel mesoscale helical baffled design of oscillatory baffled reactor (OBR) has been constructed and characterised in the net flow laminar regime net flow Reynolds numbers (Re n ) (net flow Reynolds numbers Re n  ≤ 10). A high degree of plug flow can be achieved in this design of OBR. In conventional OBR designs, plug flow is generated by the formation of well-mixed volumes in series due to toroidal vortex formation generated by the interaction of the baffle geometry with an oscillatory motion superimposed upon the net flow. The helical baffled design represents a significant development in oscillatory baffled reactors, as this system can provide plug flow behaviour over a wider range of oscillatory Reynolds number (Re o ), (50–800). This is due to the combined effect of the swirling flow and vortex production. The oscillation amplitude was demonstrated to have a strong effect on the flow behaviour. The results revealed that the helical baffled design exhibited plug flow at high oscillation amplitudes ( x o  ≥ 2 mm or Strouhal number (Str), Str ≤ 0.2).The highest number of equivalent tanks-in-series was obtained at Re o  = 400–700.

[1]  Amine Kamen,et al.  Design parameters and performance of a surface baffled helical ribbon impeller bioreactor for the culture of shear sensitive cells , 1992 .

[2]  António A. Vicente,et al.  Residence times and mixing of a novel continuous oscillatory flow screening reactor , 2004 .

[3]  Anh N. Phan,et al.  Development and evaluation of novel designs of continuous mesoscale oscillatory baffled reactors , 2010 .

[4]  M. Mackley,et al.  The axial dispersion performance of an oscillatory flow meso-reactor with relevance to continuous flow operation , 2008 .

[5]  Adam Harvey,et al.  The fluid mechanics relating to a novel oscillatory flow micro reactor , 2003 .

[6]  P. Stonestreet,et al.  The Effects of Oscillatory Flow and Bulk Flow Components on Residence Time Distribution in Baffled Tube Reactors , 1999 .

[7]  Anh N. Phan,et al.  Characterisation of fluid mixing in novel designs of mesoscale oscillatory baffled reactors operating at low flow rates (0.3–0.6 ml/min) , 2011 .

[8]  Malcolm R. Mackley,et al.  Experimental fluid dispersion measurements in periodic baffled tube arrays , 1993 .

[9]  Petr Stehlík,et al.  Comparison of correction factors for shell-and-tube heat exchangers with segmental or helical baffles , 1994 .

[10]  B. Gupta,et al.  Use of a Helical Baffle for Red Wine Clarification on a Mineral Membrane , 1996 .

[11]  C. Chavarie,et al.  Development of a helical‐ribbon impeller bioreactor for high‐density plant cell suspension culture , 1992, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[12]  The development of asymmetry and period doubling for oscillatory flow in baffled channels , 1996 .

[13]  Petr Stehlík,et al.  Different Strategies to Improve Industrial Heat Exchange , 2002 .

[14]  J. P. Solano,et al.  Enhancement of laminar and transitional flow heat transfer in tubes by means of wire coil inserts , 2007 .

[15]  Malcolm R. Mackley,et al.  Experimental residence time distribution measurements for unsteady flow in baffled tubes , 1989 .

[16]  O. Levenspiel.  Chemical Reaction Engineering , 1972 .

[17]  Adam Harvey,et al.  Fluid Mechanics and Design Aspects of a Novel Oscillatory Flow Screening Mesoreactor , 2005 .

[18]  Tony Howes,et al.  THE SIMULATION OF CHAOTIC MIXING AND DISPERSION FOR PERIODIC FLOWS IN BAFFLED CHANNELS , 1991 .

[19]  May May Teoh,et al.  Investigation of different hollow fiber module designs for flux enhancement in the membrane distillation process , 2008 .

[20]  P. G. Vicente,et al.  Flow pattern assessment in tubes with wire coil inserts in laminar and transition regimes , 2007 .

[21]  A. Viedma,et al.  Experimental study of heat transfer enhancement with wire coil inserts in laminar-transition-turbulent regimes at different Prandtl numbers , 2005 .

[22]  Peter J. Disimile,et al.  The effect of fluid properties on two-phase (vapor-liquid) flow patterns in the presence of helical wire ribs , 1996 .