{"title":"The Hydrodynamic Simulation Characteristics of Droplet Flow of H2SO4/C4 System in a Mini-Channel","authors":"Yousong Zheng, Chao Chen, Li Lv, Tao Zhang","doi":"10.1002/ceat.70106","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Mini-reactors have the advantages of good transportability, easy operability, low cost, and facile scalability. In the liquid–liquid two-phase system with a large density difference, gravitational force plays a significant role in shaping fluid hydrodynamics in mini-channels. The flow characteristics of the sulfuric acid/C<sub>4</sub> hydrocarbon (H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>/C<sub>4</sub>) system in a mini-channel were studied via computational fluid dynamics model under different flow directions to illustrate the gravity effect. The results show that vertical downward direction is more beneficial for forming C<sub>4</sub> droplets. The C<sub>4</sub> droplets display M-shaped axial velocity, vortex-driven interface renewal, and a wriggling motion with periodic shape change. The interface deformation and disturbance during the movement can intensify mass transfer of acid–hydrocarbon two-phase system significantly. These findings deepen the fundamental understanding of gravity effect on multiphase flows in mini-scale devices.</p>","PeriodicalId":10083,"journal":{"name":"Chemical Engineering & Technology","volume":"48 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Chemical Engineering & Technology","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ceat.70106","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, CHEMICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Mini-reactors have the advantages of good transportability, easy operability, low cost, and facile scalability. In the liquid–liquid two-phase system with a large density difference, gravitational force plays a significant role in shaping fluid hydrodynamics in mini-channels. The flow characteristics of the sulfuric acid/C4 hydrocarbon (H2SO4/C4) system in a mini-channel were studied via computational fluid dynamics model under different flow directions to illustrate the gravity effect. The results show that vertical downward direction is more beneficial for forming C4 droplets. The C4 droplets display M-shaped axial velocity, vortex-driven interface renewal, and a wriggling motion with periodic shape change. The interface deformation and disturbance during the movement can intensify mass transfer of acid–hydrocarbon two-phase system significantly. These findings deepen the fundamental understanding of gravity effect on multiphase flows in mini-scale devices.
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