Numerical study on the hydrodynamics behavior of a central insert microchannel

In this work, the computational fluid dynamics method is used to study the liquid hydrodynamics behavior in the microchannel without central insert(MC1) and the central insert microchannel(MC2), respectively. The maximum deviation between simulation and experiment is 24%. The formations of flow patterns are explained based on contours and force analysis where the flow pattern maps are established by two-phase flow rate. The effects of aqueous phase viscosity and two-phase flow rate on the characteristic sizes of each flow pattern are also explored. Specifically, four unconventional flow patterns are found in MC2, namely the unique droplet flow, the unique slug flow, the unique coarse annular flow and the unique film annular flow. Though the insert occupies part of the channel, the pressure difference in the channel is significantly reduced compared with MC1. Moreover, the insert significantly changes the formation velocity range of each flow pattern, greatly broadens the formation range of annular flow and also has an important influence on the characteristic size of the flow pattern. The organic-phase dimensionless axial size(Lo/W) and the dimensionless radial size(Do/W) of the droplet(slug) are negatively related to the aqueous-phase viscosity(μa) and flow rate(ua). The Do/W of the annular is negatively correlated with μaand positively correlated with organic-phase flow rate(uo). This study provides direct numerical evidence that the insert is key to the formation of bicontinuous phase flow pattern, as well as further strengthens our understanding of the flow characteristics and optimization design of insert microchannels.

Research on Freeze Drying and High-temperature Molding in Medium-temperature Fluorocarbon Board

A research and test system for the carbon anode plate preparation technology was established to optimize the physical and chemical indicators of carbon anode plates,such as bulk density,resistivity,and compressive strength,and improve the operating cycle.In this study,a carbon plate was prepared via a combination of high-temperature molding and freeze drying using a formulation with asphalt content much lower than the industry standard.The experimental results show that the density of the carbon plate is increased by 0.02-0.04 g/cm^(3) by improving the drying method.The carbon plate prepared in the laboratory has a bulk density of 1.814 g/cm^(3),resistivity of 29.8μΩ·m,and compressive strength of 89.27 MPa.The bulk density,room-temperature resistivity,compressive strength,graphitization,and other key indices of the carbon plates made in the laboratory and those procured from a factory in Shanxi,Datong,were tested.Additionally,the specimens were analyzed using thermogravimetry-differential scanning calorimetry,scanning electron microscopy,and X-ray fluorescence.The laboratory-made carbon plates were superior to the factory specimens in terms of all the indicators tested.The process in this study improves the performance of the carbon anode plate and is used to provide technical support for electrolytic fluorine production in enterprises.The carbon plates prepared in the laboratory fully meet the process requirements of a medium-temperature electrolytic fluorine production line,which indicates the possibility of its use in the stable production of fluorine gas.

Liquid-liquid two-phase flow in a wire-embedded concentric microchannel: Flow pattern and mass transfer performance

In this work, flow pattern and mass transfer of liquid-liquid two-phase flow in a wire-embedded concentric microchannel are studied using toluene-water system. Droplet flow, slug flow, oval flow and annular flow are observed in the wire-embedded concentric microchannel. The effects of embedded wires and physical properties on flow patterns are investigated. The embedded wire insert is conducive to the formation of annular flow. The flow pattern distribution regions are distinguished by the Caaq(capillary number)±We_(org)(Weber number) flow pattern map. When Weorg<0.001, slug flow is the main flow pattern, and when Weorg>0.1, annular flow is the main flow pattern. Oval flow and droplet flow are between We_(org)= 0.001-0.1, and oval flow is transformed into droplet flow with the increase of Caaq. The effect of flow rate, phase ratio, initial acetic acid concentration, insert shape and flow patterns on mass transfers are studied. Mass transfer process is enhanced under annular flow conditions, the volumetric mass transfer coefficient is up to 0.36 s^(-1) because of the high interfacial area and interface renewal rate of annular flow.

Leaching calcium from phosphogypsum desulfurization slag by using ammonium chloride solution: Thermodynamics and kinetics study

Phosphogypsum(PG) desulfurization slag is a calcium-rich residue from reductive decomposition of PG using sulfur as the reductant. We proposed a technology of preparation light calcium carbonate with PG desulfurization slag, which mainly contains two steps: leaching and carbonizing. In this work, we concentrated on the former, in which ammonium chloride aqueous solution was utilized as leaching agent to extract calcium from the slag, and conducted thermodynamics and kinetics study on it. Fact Sage software was employed to do thermodynamic and phase equilibrium diagram calculations. The influence of leaching conditions including agitation speed, initial concentration of leaching solution, reaction temperature, and liquid/solid ratio on the calcium leaching rate was discussed in detail by means of experiment optimal design. A kinetic model developed from the shrinking core model was given to describe the leaching process. The apparent kinetic activation energy(Ea) of the leaching reaction was calculated to be 10.58 kJ·mol^-1.

Study on liquid–liquid two-phase mass transfer characteristics in the microchannel with deformed insert

In this work, the liquid-liquid two-phase mass transfer characteristics in the microchannel with deformed insert were studied. The experiment used di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid/kerosene-Cu^(2+)as the mass transfer evaluation system. The effects of some key factors such as the total flow velocity,channel inner diameter, channel length, insert diameter, extractant concentration on the extraction efficiency and mass transfer coefficient were systematically investigated. Compared with a simple microreactor, the liquid-liquid mass transfer enhancement effect of the insert was quantitatively analyzed. The study found that the regular deformation of the insert could cause fluid interface deformation and promote flow state chaos, effectively increasing the mass transfer rate. And the enhancement effect of the insert was more significant at high flow velocities. The highest mass transfer coefficient in the microchannel with deformed insert was 7.886 s^(-1), the enhancement factor could reach 4.17. And only needed 0.095 s to approach the extraction equilibrium. The deformed center insert exhibited an effective liquid-liquid mass transfer enhancement effect, which can be used as a micro-chemical process enhancement method to be applied in the fields of higher throughput mass transfer and chemical synthesis,and at the same time provide ideas for development and structural optimization of microreactors.