Impingement Dynamics of Jets in a Confined Impinging Jet Reactor

The interaction of two impinging liquid jets in a confined impinging jet reactor (CIJR) is explored. Multiphase flow simulations were performed using the volume of fluids (VOF) approach to investigate the impingement dynamics of liquid impinging jets, and single-phase CFD simulations have been performed to understand the turbulence and the mixing performance in the system. At identical inlet velocities, the liquid sheet formed on the impingement axis was found to move toward the liquid jet inlet of the lesser density fluid until reaching equilibrium. The formation and transient movement of liquid sheets are characterized for different jet velocities. An improved reactor geometry is proposed that reduces the wall effect on sheet formation and wall deposition on discharge points of jets. Upon breaking away from the impinging film, the two liquid phases are found to be intertwined in the form of ligaments and droplets after fragmentation of the sheet, providing a higher interfacial area. The performance of the novel CIJR device was confirmed by performing high-throughput continuous antisolvent precipitation.