Scalar transport in a milli-scale metal foam reactor

We present an investigation on species mass transfer in a milli-scale plug flow reactor using metal foams to enhance the mixing process. In the current design the reactor consists of a pipe with an inner diameter of 7 mm and metal foam inserts with different pore sizes of 20, 30 and 45 ppi. Simultaneous PIV and LIF measurements were performed in orthogonal planes normal to the radial and axial direction downstream of a foam element of 50 mm length. The investigated Reynolds numbers range from 600 to 7600 defined with the empty tube diameter and the bulk velocity. We discuss the influence of the pore sizes on the scalar mixing efficiency and compare the results to the reference empty tube case. A strongly intermittent flow caused by the metal foam was observed over the whole range of Reynolds numbers. The increased radial velocities lead to an enhanced mixing performance. Coefficients of Variation in the order of 0.1 were achieved.