Liquid-Liquid Mass Transfer in an Oscillatory-Flow Mesoscale Coil Reactor without Baffles

Interphase mass transfer rates of an immiscible liquid liquid system are investigated in an oscillatory-flow coil reactor without baffles. A baffle-less system is chosen since much research has been completed in baffled tubes with little performance comparison to baffle-less tubes, which offer lower operating and capital costs. In our experiments, interphase mass transfer rates are evaluated via the two-phase alkaline hydrolysis of 4-nitrophenyl acetate (4-NPA) in a toluene-water biphasic system. The mass transfer rate increased 7-fold at the maximum tested oscillation of 5000 oscillatory-flow Reynolds number. The best application for the oscillatory-flow coil reactor is determined using a comparison to other liquid liquid flow platforms in the presented toolbox approach. The oscillatory-flow coil reactor becomes a clear complement to a plate microreactor for gaining volume.