Micro-mixing enhancement in a Taylor-Couette reactor using the inner rotors with various surface configurations

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of various inner cylinder configurations on micromixing and fluid dynamics within a Taylor-Couette (TC) reactor using the inner cylinders with different surface designs, including the traditional smooth-surfaced rotor cylinder. The four innovative inner cylinders were specifically designed with axial corrugations (N40 and N80) and three-dimensional rough surfaces (NZ40 and NZ80). Micromixing efficiency was assessed experimentally using the iodide-iodate reaction as a probe. To further understand the impact of the rotors' surface structures on micromixing, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling was utilized to analyse the fluid dynamics within the TC reactor. An incorporation model was employed to calculate the micromixing time. The experimental findings reveal that the segregation index decreases with increasing rotation speed for all inner cylinders. Besides, NZ80′s micro-mixing efficiency surpasses that of its counterparts, NZ40, N40, and N80. The CFD modelling results underscore the significant influence of the inner cylinder's surface configuration on the turbulence dissipation rate and volume probability distribution, which are likely to contribute positively to the micromixing efficiency within the TC reactor. Furthermore, the empirical correlations obtained have been established to understand the micro-mixing time within TC reactors using different rotating cylinders.