Dispersed phase mixing: I. Theory and effects in simple reactors

Abstract

Abstract When drops in a two‐liquid phase chemical reactor are able to mix with one another by coalescences and redispersions, any spread of concentration among the drops tends to be averaged out. This phenomenon can affect average reaction rate and selectivity in non first‐order reactions or mass transfer rate controlled reactions in the dispersed phase. It was found that for mass transfer rate controlled reactions, or the equivalent zero‐order reaction, quite large dispersed phase mixing rates are required to bring conversions close to the level obtained with complete mixing.