Modeling and Finite Difference Numerical Analysis of Reaction-Diffusion Dynamics in a Microreactor

A theoretical description with numerical experiments and analysis of the reaction-diffusion processes of homogeneous and non-homogeneous reactions in a microreactor is presented considering the velocity profile for laminar flows of miscible and immiscible fluids in a microchannel at steady-state conditions. A Mathematical model in dimensionless form, containing convection, diffusion, and reaction terms are developed to analyze and to forecast the reactor performance. To examine the performance of different types of reactors, the outlet concentrations for the plug-flow reactor (PFR), and the continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) are also calculated for the case of an irreversible homogeneous reaction of two components. The comparison of efficiency between ideal conventional macroscale reactors and the microreactor is presented for a wide range of operating conditions, expressed as different Pe numbers (0.01 < Pe < 10). The numerical procedure of complex non-linear systems based on an implicit finite-difference method improved by non-equidistant differences is proposed.