Competing Rates in Mixing Sensitive Processes: Test Cells and Models for Robust Design from the Bench Scale (1L) to the Mega-L and micro-L Scales

混合敏感过程中的竞争速率：用于从台式规模 (1L) 到兆升和微升规模的稳健设计的测试单元和模型

• 批准号: 121592-2013
• 负责人: Kresta, Suzanne
• 金额: $ 2.55万
• 依托单位: University of Alberta
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2015-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=569211
• 关键词: Competing; Rates; Mixing; Sensitive; Processes

There are two interesting global trends to watch in chemical process engineering. In Europe, land is scarce and there is a strong commitment to process intensification. This has led to the development of micro-reactors which are extremely small (volumes of the order of micro-litres). In the global commodity chemicals market, economies of scale drive process design and "record capacity" plants are regularly commissioned. These reactor volumes are typically 1 Mega-litre. Two important industries in Canada, oil sands extraction and mineral processing, require some of the largest vessels in the world. These two industries also face difficult problems in multi-phase and partially-miscible multi-component mixing. Nano-technology has taught us that dramatic changes of scale require a shift in thinking: the physics stays the same but the dominant variables change. On moving from the litre to the micro-litre scale, the particle mass becomes negligible and tiny surface charges become extremely important. On moving from the 1L to the 1 ML scale, the blend time becomes so long relative to the key process time-scales that it is essentially infinite. At the Mega-Scale, local mixing conditions become extremely important and often dominate process performance. To successfully design and operate 1ML process vessels, clear mixing specifications are needed. The relationship between the local mixing conditions and the important process rates (e.g. reaction rates) must be defined. Two innovative test vessels provide tightly controlled mixing which satisfies this need. The first has been applied to scale-down of nano-particle precipitation; the second has successfully predicted improved demulsifier performance at the Mega-Scale. In this research these test cells find two new applications, developing the fundamental theory and models which will allow robust mixing design from the micro-litre to the Mega-litre scale.

在化学过程工程中有两个有趣的全球趋势值得关注。在欧洲，土地稀缺，人们强烈致力于工艺集约化。这导致了微型反应器的发展，微型反应器非常小（体积为微升数量级）。在全球商品化学品市场上，规模经济驱动工艺设计和“创纪录的能力”工厂定期投产。这些反应器体积通常为1兆升。加拿大的两个重要行业，油砂开采和矿物加工，需要一些世界上最大的船舶。这两个行业还面临着多相和部分混溶的多组分混合的难题。 纳米技术告诉我们，规模的巨大变化需要思维的转变：物理学保持不变，但主导变量发生了变化。在从升到微升的尺度上，粒子质量变得可以忽略不计，微小的表面电荷变得极其重要。在从1L移动到1ML规模时，混合时间相对于关键过程时间尺度变得如此之长，以至于它基本上是无限的。在大规模生产中，局部混合条件变得极其重要，并且通常主导工艺性能。 为了成功设计和操作1 ML工艺容器，需要明确的混合规范。必须定义局部混合条件与重要工艺速率（例如反应速率）之间的关系。两个创新的测试容器提供严格控制的混合，满足这一需求。第一个已被应用到规模缩小的纳米颗粒沉淀，第二个已成功地预测改善破乳剂的性能在兆规模。在这项研究中，这些测试单元找到了两个新的应用，开发了基础理论和模型，这些理论和模型将允许从微升到兆升规模的稳健混合设计。