In liquid-liquid segmented flow slug size determines the interfacial area as well as the intensity of Taylor vortices and is thus an important operational parameter, decisive for mass transfer performance of biphasic micro-reactors and -extractors. Resulting slug sizes conventionally depend on material properties, flow and geometric parameters of the mixing point of the liquids. To evade tedious material specific design of the mixing point, modular devices, which allow active adjustment of developing slug sizes, are desirable. Such a slug generator is presented in this study. By altering the mixing point geometry during operation, it allows continuous manipulation of the slug formation process and thus slug size. The slug generation process in this device is investigated experimentally and with help of CFD simulations in order to identify its geometric influences. The findings lead to an optimized device design, whose capability to generate slugs of adjustable size and with low dispersity is demonstrated experimentally.

Graphical Abstract

在液-液分段流中，段塞的大小决定了界面面积以及泰勒涡旋的强度，因此是重要的操作参数，对双相微反应器和萃取器的传质性能起决定性作用。产生的团块尺寸通常取决于液体混合点的材料特性，流量和几何参数。为了避免繁琐的混合点材料的特定设计，需要允许主动调节显影块尺寸的模块化装置。这项研究提出了这样的块状发生器。通过在操作过程中改变混合点的几何形状，可以连续控制团块形成过程，从而可以连续调节团块尺寸。为了确定其几何影响，在CFD模拟的帮助下，对该设备中的团状塞生成过程进行了实验研究。这些发现导致了设备的优化设计，并通过实验证明了其产生可调节尺寸和低分散度的团块的能力。

图形概要