STRATEGIES FOR SIZE REDUCTION OF MICROREACTORS BY HEAT TRANSFER ENHANCEMENT EFFECTS

One of the likely aims of reactor miniaturization in the field of chemical production and energy generation is to increase the conversion to the desired product and the selectivity of the process through better control of heat and mass transfer. In addition to the effects related to miniaturization, a further increase of the transfer coefficients is achieved by applying microstructuring techniques. In this context, three different approaches for heat transfer enhancement in miniaturized reaction systems are presented. The ideas put forward rely on entrance flow effects, inertial flows in meandering channels, and suppression of axial heat conduction. Among these ideas the entrance flow effect, realized by an arrangement of microfins with a typical dimension of a few hundred micrometers, provides the most efficient heat transfer. It is found that a heat transfer enhancement of at least one order of magnitude can be achieved compared to unstructured channels. On this basis, a miniaturized heat-exchanger reaction system is investigated, where a kinetic model of an endothermic, heterogeneously catalyzed gas-phase reaction is used. The miniaturized heat-exchanger reactor, both with and without heat transfer enhancement, is subsequently benchmarked against conventional fixed-bed technology. It is shown that, for the reaction system under study, a substantial reduction of the required amount of catalyst can be achieved in microsystems.     

微型硅基内肋管内的流动与换热特性

目前内肋管强化换热研究大多基于铜、铝或者不锈钢等常规材质,其加工精度和加工尺寸均受到限制。本文采用MEMS工艺首次在硅片上制作成带有方形内肋的平行硅基微通道,并对其内部流动和换热特性进行了实验研究,结果表明：在通道深度和宽度相同的情况下,肋高和肋间距对工质在通道内的流动阻力和换热特性有显著的影响;微通道内加肋以后,通道内的流动阻力和换热性能有不同程度的增加,且提高程度与肋高和肋间距有关;通过合理的设计肋高和肋间距,可以起到明显的强化换热作用。结果还显示,进口段效应对硅基微通道内的流动和换热影响较为显著。     

Single-phase fluid flow distribution and heat transfer in microstructured reactors

Single-phase microreactors and micro-heat-exchangers have been widely used in industrial and scientific applications over the last decade. In several cases, operation of microreactors has shown that their expected efficiency cannot be reached either due to non-uniform distribution of reactants between different channels or due to flow maldistribution between individual microreactors working in parallel. The latter problem can result in substantial temperature deviations between different microreactors resulting in thermal runaway which could arise from an exothermic reaction. Thus advances in the understanding of heat transfer and fluid flow distribution continue to be crucial in achieving improved performance, efficiency and safety in microstructured reactors used for different applications. This paper presents a review of the experimental and numerical results on fluid flow distribution, heat transfer and combination thereof, available in the open literature. Heat transfer in microchannels can be suitably described by standard theory and correlations, but scaling effects (entrance effects, conjugate heat transfer, viscous heating, and temperature-dependent properties) have often to be accounted for in microsystems. Experiments with single channels are in good agreement with predictions from the published correlations. The accuracy of multichannel experiments is lower due to flow maldistribution. Special attention is devoted to theoretical and experimental studies on the effect of a flow maldistribution on the thermal and conversion response of catalytic microreactors. The review concludes with a set of design recommendations aimed at improving the reactor performance.     

Design of a microstructured reactor with integrated heat-exchanger for optimum performance of a highly exothermic reaction

The activity and the heat transfer characteristics of several microstructured reactors have been compared in the ammonia oxidation on Pt catalyst. The main parameters which influence reactor performance are catalyst loading, temperature, and the intrinsic conductivity of the reactor material. In case of aluminum as a reactor material, hot spot temperatures were within 5°C at full conversion of 6 vol.% NH₃. Temperature gradients were considerably larger when the microreactor was made from pure platinum due to the smaller intrinsic material conductivity. As a result, the maximum N₂O selectivity was by 20% lower than in the case of the aluminum-based reactor due to considerable differences in the selectivities between the central and wall channels. Experimental data obtained on the above microreactors were used to design an externally cooled cross flow microreactor/heat-exchanger operating at almost isothermal conditions even with a reaction mixture corresponding to an adiabatic temperature rise of about 1400°C. Such system can provide new opportunities for improvement of existing gas/solid catalytic processes with strongly exothermic reactions.     

Preliminary design and simulation of a microstructured reactor for production of synthesis gas by steam methane reforming

The present study considers the potentials of the well-known production of syngas by steam methane reforming (SMR), by operation within microstructured reactors. The model of a microchannel reactor is developed, including very fast kinetic reaction rates on the coated catalytic walls of the reactor module. By varying the characteristic dimensions of the channels, and considering technical constraints on the design and operating conditions, the results demonstrate that the SMR reactor can be drastically miniaturized while maintaining its productivity without any additional pressure drop. Furthermore, by reducing the channel characteristic dimensions, it is possible to suppress heat and mass-transfer limitations enabling SMR reactor operation at thermodynamic equilibrium. A fast method for preliminary design of microstructured heat-exchanger reactors is developed, that enables to identify the optimal channels number and heat power needed to reach process specifications.     

Distillate flux enhancement in the air gap membrane distillation with inserting carbon-fiber spacers

A new design of air gap membrane distillation (AGMD) with inserting carbon-fiber spacers with various hydrodynamic angles in flow channels for eddy promoting under concurrent-flow operations was developed theoretically and experimentally. Attempts to enlarge eddy flow in aiming to reduce the temperature polarization were achieved with the inserted carbon-fiber spacers that enhance the heat and mass transfer in the AGMD system. A mathematical model considering heat and mass transfer mechanisms has been developed, and the Nusselt number was correlated with the experimental data. The effects of various operation parameters on the distillate flux enhancement were studied as compared to the modules without inserting carbon-fiber spacers (empty channels).     

CC板通道入口效应对传热特性和阻力特性的影响

选取低Reynolds数k-ε湍流模型,采用数值模拟的方法计算了不同Reynolds数下入口效应和CC板通道单元体传热特性、阻力特性的关系。数值模拟的结果表明：入口效应的存在使得CC板通道前3个单元体的湍流强度显著变大,在第4个单元体之后入口效应对传热特性的影响可以忽略;随着Reynolds数的增加,由于CC板通道入口处湍流强度增加的程度逐渐变小,入口效应对传热效果的强化能力下降;随着Reynolds数的增加,入口段和充分发展段的摩擦阻力系数均有所下降;此外,由于入口效应的存在,CC板通道入口段的摩擦阻力系数比充分发展段高20%左右。     

转鼓反应器中油酸氧化裂解制备壬二酸的研究

在转鼓反应器中实现了油酸臭氧氧化裂解制备壬二酸的连续化操作。考察了转鼓转速、液体流量、气体流量对转鼓反应器内气液传质反应速率的影响。在双膜理论的基础上,利用恩田公式来计算气相传质系数、液相传质系数,建立了转鼓反应器中两步反应速率模型,并将模型预测值与实验值进行了比较。实验结果表明:在转鼓反应器中,油酸氧化裂解反应速率分别随转鼓转速和液体流量的增大,先增大后趋于平缓;随着气体通量的增加,转鼓反应器内油酸氧化裂解反应速率先增大然后减小;在转鼓转速为1 699 r/min、液体流量为45 mL/min、气体流量为3 L/min时,在转鼓内油酸氧化裂解可获得最大的气液传质反应速率。模型预测值与实验值比较,两者吻合得较好,验证了模型的可靠性。     

单侧加热方形通道内超临界水传热研究

数值模拟了辅助冷却剂超临界水在单侧加热方形通道中的流动传热特性,从边界层厚度与近壁区湍动能两方面阐述传热恶化产生和恢复的机理。研究了不同工况（压力、入口温度、热通量、质量流量、流动方向和管径）下超临界流体常用传热关联式的适用性,发现Fan关联式预测精度较高。采用PEC因子对不同强化传热结构（双通道和凹槽）进行评价,发现上下双通道PEC因子普遍小于1,综合强化换热效果不佳,而偏下游的非对称倒角凹槽结构PEC因子为1.13~1.51,不同工况下均为最大值。场协同原理分析也证明偏下游的非对称倒角凹槽结构具有最佳的综合换热性能。     

加入惰性固体粒子的二元物系的流动沸腾传热特性

引　言流动沸腾传热广泛存在于石油、化工、轻工、动力及能源等各个领域 ,但三相流动沸腾传热的研究极少 .李修伦等[1]在流动沸腾系统中加入惰性固体粒子 ,进行了汽 -液 -固三相流沸腾传热的初步研究 .李修伦、闻建平[2 ,3]进一步将三相流和沸腾换热相结合 ,较好地解决了沸腾传热强化和防垢、除垢问题 .李修伦、张利斌等[4 ]又采用循环流化床技术 ,结合粒子在沸腾系统中的强化特性 ,开发了汽 -液 -固三相循环流化床蒸发器 ,它具有良好的强化传热和防、除垢性能 .上述研究均属于单组分三相流动沸腾传热 ,而关于二元物系三相流动沸腾传热的研…     

Multiphase mass transport in mini/micro-channels microreactor

This paper describes a computational study of two-phase gas/liquid flow in mini/micro-scale reaction channels at low Reynolds numbers. The direct fluorination of toluene is used as a sample process. We consider two different configurations, a falling film and membrane microreactor. The detailed mathematical model of the processes in these configurations is based on mass and momentum conservation equations, which are solved numerically using the finite element method.

Gas-phase mass transport in both reactor configurations is analysed by means of the mathematical model. For fully developed gas flow a correlation for the gas-phase mass transport is developed in terms of the Sherwood and the relative Reynolds number. It is shown that the flow pattern in this regime and entrance effects strongly influence mass transport from the bulk flow to the reaction plane. The velocity profile for the falling film reactor yields higher Sherwood numbers compared to the membrane reactor. The latter has the advantage over the falling film reactor that the gas and liquid phases are decoupled and operating conditions and channel design can be freely chosen.     

Scale-up concept for modular microstructured reactors based on mixing, heat transfer, and reactor safety

Microstructured reactors are characterized by rapid mixing processes and excellent temperature control of chemical reactions. These properties allow the safe operation of hazardous chemistry in intensified processes. Problems occur during scale-up of these processes, where heat transfer becomes the limiting effect. With high flow rates and transitional or even turbulent flow regimes in small channels, rapid mixing and excellent heat transfer can be maintained up to high production rates. For exothermic reactions, limits for parametric sensitivity and safe operation are shown from literature and combined with convective heat transfer for consistent scale-up. Good knowledge of reaction kinetics, thermodynamics and heat transfer is essential to determine runaway regions for exothermic reactions. From these correlations, consistent channel design and continuous-flow reactor setup is shown.     

波纹管传热强化效果与机理研究

通过有限元数值计算考察了波纹管内的流动与传热性能,研究了不同的流体入口雷诺数Re及结构参数对管内平均传热系数的影响,探讨了其强化传热机理。研究发现,在常见的湍流范围内,波纹管内平均传热系数是相同条件下直管的1.06—3.0倍,最佳强化效果出现在Re=16 000附近;波峰处回流区的存在对波纹管的传热强化起到了决定性的作用。此外还拟合出了波纹管内的传热准则方程,有助于指导波纹管换热器的工程设计。     

Flow and heat transfer in serpentine channels

Serpentine channels are often used in microchannel reactors and heat exchangers. These channels offer better mixing, higher heat and mass‐transfer coefficients than straight channels. In the present work, flow and heat transfer experiments were carried out with a serpentine channel plate comprising of 10 units (single unit dimensions: 1 × 1.5 mm² in cross section, length 46.28 mm, D_h 1.2 mm) in series. Pressure drop and heat‐transfer coefficients were experimentally measured. Flow and heat transfer in the experimental set‐up were simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models to understand the mechanisms responsible for performance enhancement. The CFD methodology, thus, developed was applied to understand the effect of various geometrical parameters on heat transfer enhancement. A criterion was defined for evaluation of heat transfer performance (heat transfer per unit pumping power), thus, ensuring due considerations to required pumping power. The effect of geometrical parameters and the corresponding mechanisms contributing for enhancement are discussed briefly. Based on the results, a design map comprising different serpentine channels showing heat transfer enhancement with pumping power was developed for Reynolds number of 200 which will be useful for further work on flow and heat transfer in serpentine channels. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 1814–1827, 2013     

外凸式波节管结合内插扭带复合强化换热性能分析

针对一种新型的外凸式波节管结合内插扭带（CT）的流动与传热特性进行了RNGk-ε数值模拟研究。数值结果与实验结果进行了对比,验证了数值模型的精确性。将CT和传统的光管结合内插扭带（ST）的流动与传热特性进行了对比研究,揭示了其复合强化换热机理。结果表明CT相比于传统的ST,传热性能以及综合传热性能最多分别提高1.48和1.3倍,并且在低Reynolds数时提高得更加明显。CT在波节与扭带的间隙区域形成了脱体涡旋,破坏了近壁面的热边界层,同时扭带增加了主流区的扰动,使得湍动能增加,因此波节和扭带的协同作用使管内达到了复合强化换热效果。     

Evaluation of mass transport performance in heterogeneous gaseous in-plane spiral reactors with various cross-section geometries at fixed cross-section area

Due to its compactness, high heat and mass transfer rate and ease of manufacture, coiled/spiral tube has been widely used in process industries, especially as heat exchangers and chemical reactors. This study addresses the mass-transport enhancement and reaction performance in in-plane spiral reactor with various cross sections geometries, i.e. circular, half-circular, rectangular, square, trapezoidal and triangular, at fixed cross-section area at several Reynolds numbers. The mass transfer performance is compared with those of straight channel counterpart. Laminar flow of gas with catalytic reactions is investigated using a validated three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. The results suggest that spiral ducts offer better reaction performance as compared to straight duct, especially at higher Reynolds number. However, it imposes higher pressure drop. Amongst various cross-section, the coil reactor with half-circular geometry yields the highest reaction performance. This study can provide insight for design guidelines of high performance coiled reactor.     

Intensification of steam reforming of natural gas: Choosing combustible fuel and reforming catalyst

The steam reforming of methane in a parallel plate microreactor, consisting of alternating channels carrying out catalytic combustion and reforming on opposite sides of a wall, is modeled with fundamental kinetics and a pseudo-2D reactor model. It is shown that at high fuel conversions, the choice of hydrocarbon combustible fuel is immaterial when suitable compositions are used so that the energy input is kept the same. On the other hand, direct comparison of Rh and Ni indicates that the choice of reforming catalyst is critical. Speed up of heat transfer via miniaturization is insufficient for process intensification; catalyst-intensification is also needed to avoid hot spots and enable compact devices for portable and distributed power generation.     

连通微通道内过冷流动沸腾传热强化机理分析

连通微通道（平行主通道由支流通道连通）流动沸腾传热具有优越的换热性能,但其传热传质强化机理尚不够明确,限制了其实际应用。鉴于此,本文基于流体体积函数（VOF）方法,对连通微通道内过冷流动沸腾进行二维非稳态数值模拟,研究了流场扰动、脱落汽泡与壁面间的薄液膜分布对微通道当地传热系数的影响规律。结果表明,连通微通道存在两种强化换热机理：支流通道脱落汽泡可增强主通道流场扰动,进而促进了通道热边界层再发展;脱落汽泡与热壁面间可形成薄液膜,该薄液膜减小了换热热阻。同时研究了支流通道倾角（θ）对连通微通道强化换热的影响,结果发现,不同θ时,连通微通道整体平均传热系数提高10.51%~17.66%,单个主通道平均传热系数最高可提升27.94%,且θ=45°时连通微通道具有最佳换热特性。该研究有望为芯片高效冷却结构的设计提供指导。     

Boiling local heat transfer enhancement in minichannels using nanofluids

This paper reports an experimental study on nanofluid convective boiling heat transfer in parallel rectangular minichannels of 800 μm hydraulic diameter. Experiments are conducted with pure water and silver nanoparticles suspended in water base fluid. Two small volume fractions of silver nanoparticles suspended in water are tested: 0.000237% and 0.000475%. The experimental results show that the local heat transfer coefficient, local heat flux, and local wall temperature are affected by silver nanoparticle concentration in water base fluid. In addition, different correlations established for boiling flow heat transfer in minichannels or macrochannels are evaluated. It is found that the correlation of Kandlikar and Balasubramanian is the closest to the water boiling heat transfer results. The boiling local heat transfer enhancement by adding silver nanoparticles in base fluid is not uniform along the channel flow. Better performances and highest effect of nanoparticle concentration on the heat transfer are obtained at the minichannels entrance.