Abstract
The residence time distribution among parallel microchannels is one of the key design specifications for microreactors, because the poor uniformity in the distribution reduces the yield or the selectivity of reaction products. In spite of the recent advances in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), it is not practical to apply CFD simulations directly to the optimal design problem of microreactors due to their long computational time. Therefore, in this research, a new systematic approach is proposed to efficiently design microreactors with constraints related to flow uniformity, pressure drop, size boundary conditions. In the proposed method, a pressure drop compartment model, which can estimate the pressure distribution over a microreactor from the design parameters and flow velocity, is used at initial design stage to effectively select the good shape of the microreactor, and the CFD simulation is utilized at the final design stage to optimize the shape rigorously. The validity of the proposed design method is assessed through a case study, and the feasibility study on the pressure drop compartment model is also performed. In addition to the systematic design approach, a transfer function compartment model is newly developed to derive the residence time distribution of fluid in a whole microreactor without running unsteady CFD simulations. The proposed approach has a potential as an optimal design tool for various microreactors.
