In the microfluidic systems, the structure of micromixer is one of the important influence factors for the mixing performance. The traditional trial-and-error method for the optimization design of micromixer structure is difficult to consider both the mixing performance and power dissipation. Here we show the topology optimization method of designing the passive micromixer with the minimum power dissipation. The micromixer structure is updated with the adjoint method and adjoint variables are solved by the continuous adjoint equation derived manually. The forward fluid problem and adjoint equation are constructed using OpenFOAM. The optimal structure of micromixer is generated at different mixing index constraint and Re in two-dimensional design problem. Furthermore, in the three-dimensional optimal design, the multiple spiral slice structures are produced along the micromixer, which generate chaotic advection. This open-source topology optimization modeling framework is effective to design optimal structure of micromixer.

Open-cell foams as the column tray are promising candidates for the purpose of process intensification in the distillation process. In this paper, the real foam porous structure is obtained based on Micro Computed Tomography (µ-CT), and the bubble formation process on pore-scale foam tray is discussed based on the VOF-CSF model (volume of fluid method-continuous surface force). The results show that the wettability (CA), superficial gas velocity (Ug), porous structure, and clear liquid layer height (HCL) all affect a crucial factor of the foam tray - the liquid holdup in the porous channels (LHPC). It determines the effective porosity, which in turn affects the bubbling frequency and pressure drop. Meanwhile, the evolutionary mechanism of instantaneous pressure drop is analyzed based on the flow patterns, force analysis and interfacial phenomena. Moreover, the new model to predict pressure drop is proposed based on LHPC, which shows good consistency with experiments.

Ethyl levulinate, one of main derivatives of levulinic acid (LA), is of significant potential as platform chemicals for bio-based materials. The esterification of LA was generally carried out in a conventional batch reactor or in a conventional reactive distillation column. However, traditional methods are hard to deal with equilibrium limited reactions and azeotropic issues. Therefore, the reactive-vapor permeation-distillation (R-VP-D) process, which integrated reaction, distillation and membrane dehydration into one single unit, is proposed in this paper and validated in the pilot-scale experiments. A comparative study is made between a pilot-scale RD column with and without vapor permeation membrane module. Owing to the water-selective membrane and the ingenious design of related apparatuses, the R-VP-D process reveal a superiority in LA conversion of 21.9% maximum higher than RD without VP process and removing of product water about 53.6% from VP module, which indicates its promising industrial application in process intensification field.

Distillation reactor is one of the important equipment to improve the reaction conversion limited by the chemical equilibrium, however, the design of distillation reactor in industrial scale is still challenging due to the lack of efficient catalytic packing with corresponding kinetics. This work developed the novel catalytic packing consists of the structured ZSM-5@SiC foam catalyst and corrugated sheet, which used in distillation reactor for synthesis of ethyl levulinate (EL). The kinetic of structured ZSM-5@SiC foam catalyst was measured and model regarding the “structure factor” of ZSM-5@SiC catalyst and fluid flow conditions. Furthermore, the design of distillation reactor in industrial scale has been performed based on the developed kinetics, which demonstrated an excellent performance in the designed distillation reactor (EL yield 37.65% with energy consumption 3695 kJ/kg) are achieved. X-ray CT characterization revealed that the ZSM-5 coating thickness has the significantly effects on the kinetics and performances of distillation reactor.

As an attractive alternative technology for the separation of long chain olefin and paraffin, a novel silver-based deep eutectic solvent (Ag-DES) was prepared and utilized for 1-octene/n-octane separation. Comprehensive reactive extraction separation experiments were performed to highlight the Ag-DES concentration and operating temperature discriminations using compounds with different ratio of 1-octene/n-octane. The novel Ag-DES showed optimal separation performance regarding 1-octene/n-octane and possessed the highest levels separation selectivity in the range 3.75-16.74 with excellent circulation stability in our best knowledge. Furthermore, FT-Raman measurements and quantum chemistry calculation were conducted to elucidate the interaction mechanism of Ag-DES in the separation of 1-octene and n-octane, which revealed that both chemical complexation and strong physical attraction existed in the complex of Ag-DES with 1-octene rather than n-octane. This study lends important insight for the development of Ag-DES reactive extraction separation process for the energy-efficient long chain α-olefin purification from F-T synthesis products.

As an attractive alternative technology for the separation of long chain olefin and paraffin, a novel silver-based deep eutectic solvent (Ag-DES) was prepared and utilized for 1-octene/n-octane separations. Comprehensive reactive extraction separation experiments were performed to highlight the Ag-DES concentration and operating temperature discriminations using compounds with different ratio of 1-octene/n-octane. The novel Ag-DES showed optimal separation performance regarding 1-octene/n-octane and possessed the highest levels separation selectivity in the range 3.75-16.74 with excellent circulation stability in our best knowledge. Furthermore, FT-Raman measurements and quantum chemistry calculation were performed to elucidate the interaction mechanism of Ag-DES in the separation of 1-octene and n-octane, which revealed that both chemical complexation and strong physical attraction existed in the complex of Ag-DES with 1-octene rather than n-octane. This study lends important insight for the development of Ag-DES reactive extraction separation process for the energy-efficient long chain α-olefin purification from F-T synthesis products.