Simultaneous Detection of Hydrodynamics, Mass Transfer and Reaction Rates in a Three-Phase Microreactor

Hydrodynamics, mass transfer and reaction rates were studied experimentally in a microreactor that had a square channel with a size of 1.0 × 1.0 mm × mm. The gas-limited hydrogenation of alpha-methylstyrene was chosen as the model reaction. The experiments covered superficial two-phase velocities in the range from 0.05 to 0.30 m/s and gas holdups at the channel inlet between 0.25 and 0.94. Overall hydrogen mass transfer elevated mainly with two-phase velocity and reached values between 0.1 and 1.2 1/s. Novel mass transfer equations were derived because the film theory which had often been applied was not applicable in this case. These equations are based on Reynolds, Schmidt and Sherwood numbers as well as the specific interfacial areas from the hydrodynamic observations.