Abstract

Miniaturization of chemical equipment is one of process intensification methods. The main advantage of microstructured chemical equipment originates from the small cross sizes of microchannels (2–3 mm or less, usually less than 1 mm). Thus, the capillary and viscous forces dominate over the inertial and gravitational forces, leading to the formation of structured flows. The microsized reactors, mixers, heat exchangers, extractors, etc., have the following significant advantages: (1) lower mass and heat losses during processing; (2) better temperature control of processes; (3) shorter diffusional paths for molecules and ions; (4) ultimate safety due to a small reaction volume; (5) much higher heat and mass transfer rates as compared to macrolevel devices; and (6) narrow residence time, consequently, better selectivity and yield. This special issue includes several papers in the field of hydrodynamics and heat and mass transfer in two-phase flows in microchannels.

中文翻译：

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微型化是化学工程中过程强化的途径之一

摘要

化学设备的小型化是工艺强化方法之一。微结构化学设备的主要优势来自微通道的较小交叉尺寸（2-3 mm或更小，通常小于1 mm）。因此，毛细作用力和粘性作用力超过惯性作用力和重力作用，从而导致结构化流动的形成。微型反应器，混合器，热交换器，提取器等具有以下显着优点：（1）加工过程中的质量和热量损失较低；（2）更好的过程温度控制；（3）分子和离子的扩散路径更短；（4）由于反应量小，因此具有极高的安全性；（5）与宏观装置相比，传热和传质速率高得多；（6）缩短了停留时间，因此具有更好的选择性和产率。