CFD–PBM Simulation for Continuous Hydrothermal Flow Synthesis of Zirconia Nanoparticles in a Confined Impinging Jet Reactor
Qingyun Li,
Zihua Wang,
Xuezhong Wang
Affiliations
Qingyun Li
School of Materials and Environment, Beijing Institute of Technology, Zhuhai 519088, China
Zihua Wang
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China
Xuezhong Wang
Pharmaceutical and Crystallization Systems Engineering Group, Beijing Key Laboratory of Enze Biomass and Fine Chemicals, School of Chemical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing 102617, China
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and population balance models (PBM) were coupled together for the first time to simulate the synthesis of zirconia nanoparticles in a continuous hydrothermal flow synthesis (CHFS) system with a self-designed confined impinging jet mixing (CJM) reactor. The hydrodynamic and thermodynamic behaviors within the CJM reactor strongly influenced the formation of the ZrO2 nanoparticles. Crucial parameters, such as velocities, temperatures, mixing conditions, and reaction rates, were analyzed under various supercritical conditions. Temperature and velocity measurements as functions of distance were also investigated. Normal particle size distribution (PSD) patterns were observed in all cases. The mean particle sizes in this study were calculated and compared using PBM aggregation analysis.
