Flow rate effect
As can be seen in Figure 7d and be expected for a closed-loop recycle flow system, for a certain time of operation, larger flow rates result in a higher conversion. For instance, if the total flow rate is equal to 0.66 ml/min, after almost 3hr, more than 80% of cis -cyclooctene is converted. While, if we double the total flow rate to 1.2 ml/min, a conversion of more than 90 % can be reached within 3 hr. On the other hand, if the flow rate is kept lower, for instance 0.2 ml/min, after 3 hrs, only 50 % of cis -cyclooctene is converted. By increasing the total flow rate, although the stable equilibrium may not be reached in photo-microreactor, we get benefit from recycling the feed faster and the whole process speeds up. Therefore, comparing the higher flow rate case with the lower flow rate cases, indicates that in less time of operation, higher conversion is achieved.