Mixing efficiency of a multilamination micromixer with consecutive recirculation zones

Adding recirculation zones to a mixer for a microplant is proposed for enhanced mixing efficiency. A multilamination interdigital micromixer has been widely used in microchemical plants for precision or small scale chemical process. The mixing efficiency of this micromixer is relatively low as the mixing of two fluids is executed by the laminar diffusion process. To assist the mixing by fluid action, a series of recirculation zones were added to the mixing chamber. The effectiveness of the recirculation zones on mixing was estimated through a numerical simulation which indicated the dependence on Reynolds number. Mixing efficiency increased at Reynolds number that is relevant to the condition that is prevalent in a microchemical plant. The proposed micromixer was fabricated by the lithography process on the photosensitive glass wafers. The mixing qualities of the fabricated micromixer were measured by two methods; the flow visualization of dilution type experiments and the reactivity measurement. The measurement of color intensity of the mixed fluid followed the predictions by the simulation. For a Reynolds number greater than 400 that was relevant in mixers for microchemical plant, a mixing efficiency higher than 90% was obtained by adding the recirculation zones.