Study on turbulent micromixing in a tubular packed bed reactor

The turbulent micromixing in a tubular packed bed reactor was studied via using the parallel competing reaction system-iodide-iodate reaction system. Distribution of segregation index (Xs) in the reactor was studied through sampling along the axial positions. The experimental results indicate that the segregation of the reagents in the reactor mainly appeares in the initial contacting region and is improved with the increase of liquid flux. Based on the experimental results and the incorporation model, the micromixing time in tubular packed bed reactor was estimated as 0.001-0.004 s, which is much shorter than that in tank reactor and it can be therefore concluded that the tubular packed bed reactor may suit rapid reactions better. It is also illustrated by present study that the installation of the wired packing could enhance the micromixing process and improve the micromixing efficiency apparently.