Ultrasound spray nozzle atomizer as a chemical reaction medium: Evaluation using Villermaux-Dushman test reaction

The present work illustrates the possibility of atomizing the reactant mixture using an ultrasound spray nozzle atomizer to increase reactant contact surface area. The more surface area of the mist-like spray generated due to the atomization provides a means for mixing of reactants, thereby enhancing the reaction rate. Therefore, this work implements an ultrasound spray nozzle atomizer as a reactor. The micromixing efficiency of this novel reactor was evaluated using the Villermaux-Dushman test reaction protocol. An inlet micromixer was placed upstream of the ultrasonic atomizer reactor to provide an early mixing of the reactants. Two simple Y-shaped micromixers with diameters of 0.8 mm and 1.5 mm were examined as the inlet micromixers. The effects of flow rate ratio, flow rate, reactant concentration and inlet micromixer diameter on micromixing efficiency were investigated. Furthermore, the micromixing time was calculated based on the incorporation model through a detailed mathematical formulation. For the studied ranges of operating conditions, the micromixing time was in the range of 0.1-1 s. The small value of estimated micromixing times confirmed that the proposed technique is a valuable concept for intensifying micromixing in chemical reactors.