Acoustic resonance and atomization for gas-liquid systems in microreactors

• Main Authors: Keiran Mc Carogher, Zhengya Dong, Dwayne S. Stephens, M. Enis Leblebici, Robert Mettin, Simon Kuhn
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2021-07-01
• Series: Ultrasonics Sonochemistry
• Subjects: Acoustic resonance; Microreactors; Gas-liquid Taylor flow; Atomization; Gas-liquid mass transfer
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S135041772100153X

It is shown that a liquid slug in gas–liquid segmented flow in microchannels can act as an acoustic resonator to disperse large amounts of small liquid droplets, commonly referred to as atomization, into the gas phase. We investigate the principles of acoustic resonance within a liquid slug through experimental analysis and numerical simulation. A mechanism of atomization in the confined channels and a hypothesis based on high-speed image analysis that links acoustic resonance within a liquid slug with the observed atomization is proposed. The observed phenomenon provides a novel source of confined micro sprays and could be an avenue, amongst others, to overcome mass transfer limitations for gas–liquid processes in flow.