Analytical calculation of the flow superposition effect on the power consumption in oscillatory baffled reactors

Abstract

The aim of this communication is to clarify some aspects related to the power consumption in continuous Oscillatory Baffled Reactors (OBRs). The first aspect studied is the effect of the flow superimposition on the power consumptions associated to the net flow and the oscillatory flow. The quasi-steady model is used to obtain an expression for the oscillatory flow effect on the net flow power consumption, and vice versa. The expression obtained for the oscillatory flow effect is in good agreement with the one available in the literature, whose deduction is still unknown. The second aspect is the effect of the energy recovery in the power consumption. An analytical expression, function of the pressure drop-velocity phase lag, is derived, showing that the power consumption difference between a system with and without energy recovery can be significant.