Development of a Liquid-Liquid Biphasic Reaction Using a Taylor Vortex Flow Reactor

This paper describes a liquid-liquid biphasic flow reaction system that is simple to control. In a liquid-liquid biphasic flow reaction, the slug-flow in the tube reactors generally improves the reaction rate. However, we show that larger tube diameters decreased the reaction rate and the formation of the slug-flow was influenced by the tube diameter, the size of the mixer, and the pump mechanism. These results indicated that technical difficulties with the slug-flow could be an obstacle to scale-up. To resolve this problem, we suggest the use of a Taylor vortex flow reactor to achieve a higher reaction rate than with batch and slug-flow systems.

Automated summary

This paper discusses a liquid-liquid biphasic flow reaction system, highlighting the influence of tube diameter, mixer size, and pump mechanism on reaction rate and formation of slug-flow. Technical difficulties with slug-flow may hinder scale-up, and using a Taylor vortex flow reactor is recommended for higher reaction rates.