Flow pattern and break-up of liquid film in single-channel falling film microreactors

This paper concerns an experimental investigation into the flow pattern transition and break-up mechanism of liquid film in single-channel falling film microreactors. Three major flow patterns were observed to be 'corner rivulet flow', 'falling film flow with dry patches', and 'complete falling film flow'. The critical flow rate associated with the transition between each flow pattern was determined. Hysteresis was found, as the critical flow rate was higher when the flow pattern shifted from 'falling film flow with dry patches' to 'complete falling film flow' than it was when the flow pattern shifted in the opposite direction. There existed a minimum wetting flow rate (MWF) in order to the complete falling film flow pattern to be present. MWF was observed to increase with the width or depth of microchannel and could not be well predicted by traditional falling film correlations. Based on the obtained data, an empirical correlation has been proposed for the prediction of MWF in falling film microreactors, where the influence of fluid physical properties and channel dimension is revealed. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.