Lattice Boltzmann simulation of reactive microflows over catalytic surfaces

We investigate the effects of geometrical micro-irregularities on the conversion efficiency of reactive flows in narrow channels of millimetric size with heterogeneous catalysis. Three-dimensional simulations, based upon a Lattice-Boltzmann-Lax Wendroff code, indicate that micro-corrugations may have an appreciable effect on the effective reaction efficiency of the device. Once extrapolated to macroscopic scales, these effects can result in a sizeable increase of the overall reaction efficiency.