Experimentally-Validated Micromixing-Based CFD Model for Feld-Batch Stirred-Tank Reactors

A model was developed to predict the final product distribution in fed-batch, stirred-tank reactors carrying out fast, parallel, chemical reactions, and the predictions were compared with experimental data. The following reaction system was chosen: A + B →^k1 P + R A + C →^k2 Q + S Comparison between the experimentally determined flow field inside the reactor, obtained with a laser-doppler velocimeter (LDV), and the predictions from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations was favorable. A model was developed to predict the yield, X_s, of forming S from A, using CFD to describe the velocity distribution inside the reactor, two micromixing models to represent the interaction between turbulence effects and chemical reactions, and a multiphase model (Volume of Fluid (VOF) model) to track the reacting zone in a Lagrangian fashion, Model predictions for X_s were compared with experimental data, The agreement between the experiments and the results of the simulations was good.