Effect of Ultrasound Source Position on Catalyst Particle Trajectories in a Sonic Batch Reactor

Application of US for intensifying enzyme catalyzed reactions is reported in the literature. For  industrial application enzymes are immobilized on a carrier material and are termed as immobilized enzymes. Trajectories of enzyme particles resulting from ultrasonic field is an important aspect for optimizing the performance of such reactors as it directly governs the mass transfer phenomenon. An important parameter that governs the  particle trajectories the number and position of ultrasonic sources inside reactor. In the present poster, effect of multiple ultrasonic sources on particle trajectories is simulated. It is shown that how the particle trajectories vary as function of spacing between sources. This helps in determining the optimum configuration for a given reactor.  Results of simulation are validated against experimentally determined data using particle image velocimetry [PIV].