2022 Annual Meeting
3dP Fixed Beds for Continuous Emulsification
Multiphase processes are important in a wide range of industries, including cosmetics and consumer products, automotive and petrochemicals, and fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Process intensification, PI, is a framework of improving the efficiency and reducing waste of processes. A key principle in PI is to provide molecules with the same process experience. Multiphase processes present numerous challenges in accomplishing a uniform process experience; continuous processing is one approach used to address these challenges. Nearly all approaches that leverage continuous processing encounter issues that arise from the hydrodynamics associated with a unit operation. Therefore, it is advantageous to consider strategies that seek to optimize the hydrodynamics. One approach to customizing device hydrodynamics is the use of additive manufacturing (AM); a method that affords nearly independent variation of the geometric parameters of a design. Therefore, using AM, it should be straightforward to customize the hydrodynamics of a unit operation.
We built and tested fixed bed reactors capable of dispersing two immiscible phases using three dimensional printing (3dP). We characterized the hydrodynamics of these reactors in emulsification operations using pressure drop, drop size distribution, and computed properties such as tortuosity and dispersion efficiency. We establish key relationships among fixed bed design variables and process performance metrics. In this study, we report the effect of bed internal geometry and void fraction on emulsification efficiency and dispersion drop size distribution. We discuss a balance of heuristic design principles and quantitative modeling frameworks to guide the design of fixed beds for dispersing one liquid into another.