Active Micro Mixing

In chemical micro process technology there is a clear dominance of pressure-driven flows over alternative mechanisms for fluid transport However, any kind of supplementary mechanism allowing promotion of mixing is a useful addition to the toolbox of chemical engineering. Also in conventional process technology, actuation of the fluids by external sources has proven successful for process intensification. An example is mass transfer enhancement by ultrasonic fields which is utilized in sonochemical reactors [143], There exist a number of microfluidic principles to promote mixing which rely on input of various forms of energy into the fluid. 

Qian and Bau [144] have analyzed such electroosmotic flow cells with embedded electrodes on the basis of the Stokes equation with Helmholtz-Smoluchowski boimdary conditions on the channel walls. They considered electrode arrays with a certain periodicity, i.e. after k electrodes the imposed pattern of electric potentials repeats itself An analytic solution of the Stokes equation was obtained in the form of a Eourier series. Specifically, they analyzed the electroosmotic flow patterns with regard to mixing applications. A simple recirculating flow pattern such as the one 

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Figure 1.3 Schematic diagrams of selected passive and active micro mixing principles [66] (source IMM).

The experimental results in Fig. 27 show the influence of the reactor system (see Fig. 28) on the disintegration of enzyme activity. It was found that the low-stress bladed impeller results in less activity loss than the propeller stirrer which causes much higher maximum energy dissipation ,. The gentle motion the blade impeller produces means that stress is so low that its disadvantage of worse micro mixing in NaOH (in comparison with the propeller) is more than compensated. 

Micro emulsions based on a heparin-chitosan complex suitable for oral administration based on ingredients acceptable to humans were studied with or without biologically active ingredients. Appropriate mixing and modifications of these microemulsions lead to nanometer-sized heparin-chitosan complexes [108]. 

C30 oil, homopolymer of 1-decene, Ethyl Corp., Inc.) served as the start-up solvent for the experiments. The catalyst (ca. 5-8 g) was added to start-up solvent (ca. 300 g) in the CSTR. The reactor temperature was then raised to 270°C at a rate of l°C/min. The catalyst was activated using CO at a space velocity of 3.0 sl/h/g Fe at 270°C and 175 psig for 24 h. FTS was then started by adding synthesis gas mixture (H2 CO ratio of 0.7) to the reactor at a space velocity of either 3.1 or 5.0 sl/h/g Fe. The conversions of CO and H2 were obtained by gas chromatography (GC) analysis (HP Quad Series Micro-GC equipped with thermal conductivity detectors) of the product gas mixture. The reaction products were collected in three traps maintained at different temperatures—a hot trap (200°C), a warm trap (100°C), and a cold trap (0°C). The products were separated into different fractions (rewax, wax, oil, and aqueous) for quantification by GC analysis. However, the oil and the wax (liquid at room temperature) fractions were mixed prior to GC analysis. 

The hydroxylation of octane and cyclohexane catalyzed by Ti-MMM-1, a mixed- phase material (TS-1 and Ti-MCM-41) containing both micro- and mesopores, with aqueous H202 was reported by Poladi et al. (223). Ti-MMM-1 was found to be more active and selective in these hydroxylations than either Ti-MCM-41 or TS-1 the yield of alcohol was higher (Table XXVII). 

Directed Synthesis of Micro-Sized Nanopiateiets of Goid from a Chemicaiiy Active Mixed Surfactant Mesophase... 

Mixed protein/polysaccharide micro-beads have also been found to be promising delivery vehicles for immobilized bifidobacteria (Guerin et al, 2003). Such micro-beads were made by a transacylation reaction involving the formation of amide bonds between protein and alginate (Levy and Edwards-Levy, 1996). This produces a membrane on the bead surface, protecting the immobilized bifidobacteria against both the very acidic conditions (pH 1-2) and the pepsin activity in the stomach. 

External energy sources for active mixing are, for example, ultrasound [22], acoustic, bubble-induced vibrations [23,24], electrokinetic instabilities [25], periodic variation of flow rate [26-28], electrowetting induced merging of droplets [29], piezoelectric vibrating membranes [30], magneto-hydrodynamic action [31], small impellers [32], integrated micro valves/pumps [33] and many others, which are listed in detail in Section 1.2. 

M 68] [P 60] At a very early stage of worldwide activities in the field of mixing with micro mixers, an experimental comparison was made between the mixing performance of straight and zig-zag channels [151]. The investigations covered mini and micro channels. 

Hessel, V., Lowe, H., Micro mixers-a review on passive and active mixing priciples, Chem. Eng. Sci. 2005, in print. 

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