Small-scale flow reactors for electro- and photochemistry support the shift in chemical manufacture towards green and sustainable processes based on renewable energy sources. However, the industrial application of these small-scale flow reactors is significantly limited by their currently achieved throughput and productivity.
This project aims to overcome these productivity limitations by exploiting the synergistic effect of ultrasound on intensified electro- and photochemical reactors. Specifically, we will gain a fundamental understanding of the underlying ultrasound physics and their interplay with reactor geometry, material and fluid properties, based on beyond state-of-the-art modeling and experiments. Subsequently, we will exploit this fundamental understanding to controllably excite ultrasound resonance modes to overcome species and electron/photon transport limitations in rationally designed intensified reactors. We will eliminate the diffusion limitation of electrochemical reactors for high-throughput self-supported organic synthesis by inducing active mixing via ultrasound resonance. Furthermore, we will increase light utilization and mass transfer in two-phase photochemical reactors by inducing the gas-liquid atomization phenomenon (i.e. to nebulize liquid droplets from the liquid slug into the illuminated gas bubble) via ultrasound resonance.
This project will provide fundamental understanding of ultrasound resonance modes and a theoretical tool for their prediction, leading to innovative and intensified electro- and photochemical reactors promoting green and sustainable chemistry.
