CFD-PBM Simulation for Continuous Hydrothermal Flow Synthesis of Zirconia Nanoparticles in a Confined Impinging Jet Reactor

Qingyun Li; Zihua Wang; Xuezhong Wang

doi:10.3390/ma16093421

CFD-PBM Simulation for Continuous Hydrothermal Flow Synthesis of Zirconia Nanoparticles in a Confined Impinging Jet Reactor

Materials (Basel). 2023 Apr 27;16(9):3421. doi: 10.3390/ma16093421.

Authors

Qingyun Li¹, Zihua Wang², Xuezhong Wang³

Affiliations

¹ School of Materials and Environment, Beijing Institute of Technology, Zhuhai 519088, China.
² School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China.
³ 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.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics; confined impinging jet mixing reactor; continuous hydrothermal flow synthesis; population balance model; zirconia nanoparticles.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NNSFC) (grant references: 61633006), the Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Projects under the Scheme of Applied Science and Technology Research Special Funds (grant reference: 2015B020232007).