Characterization of the Mixing Performance of an Innovative Hepatic Sinusoids-Based Microreactor Using Villermaux-Dushman Protocol

Microreactor technology has drawn attention in many industrial applications, especially those that requires the use of low flow rates whereas the flow is considered to be stratified. At such low flow rates, the reactor performance is usually down especially if mass transfer occurs mainly by diffusion. In the present work, the mixing performance of a novel hepatic sinusoids-based microreactor has been investigated using Villermaux–Dushman protocol. The protocol is an iodide/iodate chemical test reaction that relies on testing the absorbance of the product at 352 nm as an indication of the formation of triiodide. The investigation is carried out at low flow rates ranges from 0.5 to 3 ml/min. The novel microreactor has proven to give satisfactory performance and is easy to be fabricated as it consists of a single layer. The absorbance of light ranges between 0.29 to 0.48 resulting on the creation of limited amount of triiodide ions. It is also noticed that the mixing performance of the reactor is nearly the same over the whole studied range of flow rate. The mixing quality is also determined using another system containing 200 ppm congo red aqueous solution and pure distilled water. About 94% to 96% mixing quality is achieved.