Towards the design of an intensified coagulator

Kevin Lachin (1) , Nathalie Le Sauze (1) , Nathalie Di Miceli Raimondi (1) , Joelle Aubin (1) , David F. Fletcher (2) , Michel Cabassud (1) , Christophe Gourdon (1)

1 LGC - Laboratoire de Génie Chimique
2 School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

This study compares the hydrodynamics in three millimeter-scale continuous reactor geometries that can be easily used in laboratories and industries – a straight tube, a coiled tube and a Dean-Hex reactor – via numerical simulations and analyses the data in a way that is specifically relevant to coagulation processes, thereby offering insights for engineers to develop new coagulation reactors. A numerical approach based on Lagrangian particle tracking is presented to better understand the impact of the geometry and flow on properties that influence coagulation. The results show that the Dean-Hex meandering geometry provides narrower residence time and shear rate distributions, as well as higher mean average shear rates and Camp number distribution than the other geometries. This is attributed to the generation of transverse flows and radial mixing in the Dean-Hex reactor and suggests that a faster and more homogenous coagulation can be expected.

Mots clés: Coagulation; Laminar flow simulation; Lagrangian particle tracking; Millimetric reactors; Meandering channels; Process intensification

Domaines: Génie chimique; Génie des procédés

Kevin Lachin, Nathalie Le Sauze, Nathalie Di Miceli Raimondi, Joelle Aubin, David F. Fletcher, et al.. Towards the design of an intensified coagulator. Chemical Engineering and Processing: Process Intensification, 2017, 121, pp.1-14. ⟨10.1016/j.cep.2017.08.003⟩. ⟨hal-01769569⟩