In the present paper four passive micromixers designs (G1, G2, G3 and G4) inspired on distillation columns trays were proposed. The devices performance was assessed by numerical simulations. The mixing performance was investigated for a Reynolds number range from 0.01 to 100 and channel height of 200 µm, 500 µm and 1000 µm for oil/ethanol flow. G1 and G4 designs provided high mixing index (> 0.975). The G1 device achieved superior mixing performance with a moderate pressure drop (about 0.5 MPa) due to the induced flow recirculation pattern for a relative high flow rate of 0.21 L/min, highlighting the potential use of such microdevice for scale-up and numbering-up of microdevices in modular chemical plant processing.

In the present paper four passive micromixers designs (G1, G2, G3 and G4) inspired on distillation columns trays were proposed. The devices performance was assessed by numerical simulations. The mixing performance was investigated for a Reynolds number range from 0.01 to 100 and channel height of 200 µm, 500 µm and 1000 µm for oil/ethanol flow. G1 and G4 designs provided high mixing index (> 0.975). The G1 device achieved superior mixing performance with a moderate pressure drop (about 0.5 MPa) due to the induced flow recirculation pattern for a relative high flow rate of 0.21 L/min, highlighting the potential use of such microdevice for scale-up and numbering-up of microdevices in modular chemical plant processing.

The chapter aims to introduce the computational fluid dynamics (CFD). A review was provided, outlining its development and applications on chemical engineering and microfluidics. The fundamental points of the CFD, listing the advantages and precautions of this numerical technique were provided. The description of CFD methodology including the three essential stages (pre-processing, solving, and post-processing) was made. The fundamental transport equations—total mass (continuity), momentum, energy, and species mass balances—and the usual boundary conditions used in CFD were explained. The main approaches used in multicomponent single-phase flows, single-phase flow in porous media, and multiphase flows in microscale were detailed, as well as the numerical mesh types and its quality parameters. A brief introduction of finite volume method (FVM) used by most of the available CFD codes was also performed, describing the main numerical solution features. Finally, the conclusions and future prospects of CFD applications are exposed.

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Quatro novos designs de micromisturadores para micro- e milirreatores foram propostos e estudados. O estudo foi desenvolvido com base em simulações numéricas, utilizando índices de mistura (grau de mistura dos reagentes) e variação de pressão para óleo de girassol e etanol, variando o número de Reynolds de 0,01 a 100. As geometrias foram estudadas com alturas de 200 µm, 500 µm e 1000 µm. Elevados índices de mistura (~0,99) foram obtidos em baixos e elevados números de Reynolds em todas as alturas. Em relação à variação de pressão foram observadas reduções significativas com o aumento da altura. Os maiores números de Reynolds também apresentaram maiores variações de pressão.